The possibility of differential sex proportions as a confounding factor in the Lovaas (1987) study is raised. It is argued that the chi-square analysis was inadequate and that the appropriate comparison should be made between the experimental and the control group using population data to estimate expected cell frequencies. (Author/CR)

Discusses the limitations of "The Academic Ethic and College Grades: Does Hard Work Help Students to 'Make the Grade'?" by William Rau and Ann Durand. States that it is partly a replication of the author's research, performed with three colleagues, on the association between the amount of studying by students and their grades. (CMK)

Responds to the article "Students' Effort and Reward in College Settings" by Howard Schuman. States that there were two reasons why the author and Ann Durand did not copy Schuman et al.'s research design: (1) key questions on study hours contains serious flaws; and (2) the research lacks a theory. (CMK)

In three experiments, the authors investigated whether statistical language influences readers' interpretations of research results. Although the authors argue that "significant" language changes should not be mandated for quantitative research studies in scientific journals, if such changes are mandated, then use of the term "statistical" is…

Refutes the claim that top-rated programs in library science tend to maintain and enhance their reputation by hiring their own and each other's graduates and that this pattern of inbreeding was likely to be harmful to the field. Concludes convincing evidence was not provided and the true situation may be other than claimed. (PEN)

School reform implementations most often proceed from an ahistorical position. A study analyzing articles in three volumes of each of two education journals ("Phi Delta Kappan" and "Educational Leadership") revealed that 17 to 48 percent had no references to support assertions; few references were older than 15 years. (Contains…

Addresses concerns raised in Neale's commentary regarding the Bussell et al. (1999) Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development study. Discussion of assumptions focuses on those most relevant to study sample. Because Neale's proposed alternative models did not provide a better fit, the appropriateness of Bussell's model and importance of…

Data on cancer among American Indians and Alaska Natives are sparse and riddled with misclassification errors, resulting in underreporting of cancer incidence and mortality. Incidence rates are discussed for various cancer types in seven Native nations. Barriers to participation in cancer prevention and control programs are examined. Contains…

Discusses family selection issues that should be considered in child care research, and evidence demonstrating why each should be considered. Issues include whether causal inferences can be made from observational studies and the impact on conclusions from regression analyses that include highly correlated measures of child care experiences,…

States that the efficiency of computer-supported learning cannot be substantiated without difficulty. Explores basic problems of the measurement of school achievement from a theory of (1) measurement and (2) the psychology of learning. Examines the form of "achievement" as a construct of measurement and the consequences of developing a design of…

Discusses the value of administrative data to child welfare researchers. Considers issues in using client records--confidentiality, selection of data, historical data, sampling reliability, replication of findings, and access to data--that can be resolved in standardized ways. Notes other problematic issues, such as greater distance from subject,…

In their article "Scholars Before Researchers: On the Centrality of the Dissertation Literature Review in Research Preparation", David N. Boote and Penny Beile argue that the literature review is the fundamental task of dissertation and research preparation. They claim that doctoral students receive minimal formal training, and little guidance…

This article provides a response to the National Research Council's report, "Scientific Research in Education." While it concedes the report provides recommendations useful for improving research with students with low incidence disabilities, it argues the preference for random-assignment experiments may leave out research on students…

This article reviews research conducted on the cigarette, alcohol, and illicit drug use of adolescents and adults with mental retardation (MR). The majority of the research related to substance use conducted on this population has been limited to surveys. Overall, results of these studies suggest that, although substance use is slightly lower…

This study involves three dimensions: distance language education (DLE) as the context, videoconferencing as the technology, and the provision of synchronous oral and visual interaction in DLE as the core research problem. This article follows on this author's previous research in regard to the inclusion of oral and visual interaction in distance…