A test of statistical significance is a procedure for determining how likely a result is assuming a null hypothesis to be true with randomization and a sample of size n (the given size in the study). Randomization, which refers to random sampling and random assignment, is important because it ensures the independence of observations, but it does…

This guide is designed to assist adult educators who are also first-time practitioner-researchers. It is organized in three parts. Part 1 is an introduction to practitioner research. The following steps of designing and conducting a research project are examined in a section on strategies and methods: identify a research question, collect data,…

Experts on distance education in developing countries were asked their opinions regarding the availability of research information, areas in which research efforts should be concentrated, and the order of priority to be given to various research areas in distance education. Five-page questionnaires were mailed to 90 randomly selected members of…

This paper provides a general overview of the type of problems encountered in the field of research so that individuals who are contemplating conducting research in an underdeveloped country for the first time are better prepared, and hence, better able to complete their research. The paper recounts a female researcher's personal experiences in…

This report summarizes changes that have occurred in understanding of the health implications of the use and abuse of illegal and legal drugs as a result of research since 1986. It is noted that wherever possible, research findings have been summarized in non-technical language. Some technical material is included because of its basic importance…

Uses of quantitative research for studying the relationship between school leadership and educational reform are discussed in this paper. Perceived inadequacies of quantitative methods are that such methods are inadequate for dealing with real-life complex phenomena, and that they require degrees of control that cannot be realistically achieved.…

Case study rhetoric, or the rhetoric of real experience, is concerned with the ways by which case studies appeal to their own intrinsic realness or authenticity. On the surface, case studies are often accepted fully as representing real experience. But the design, arrangement, and emphases of case studies are rhetorically constructed by the writer…

The research base on cooperative learning was examined for its applicability to academically talented students. Common types of cooperative learning are described with highlights of the model characteristics as they apply to academically talented students. The models include: Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT); Student Teams Achievement Divisions…

An issue facing researchers who study very select populations is how to obtain reliability estimates on instruments. When the populations and resulting samples are very small and select, the ability to obtain reliability estimates becomes very difficult. As a result, many researchers ignore reliability concerns and forge ahead with data…

It is argued that careful attention to the role of the researcher's experience in qualitative research is desirable for several reasons. A rationale for such examination is established, and the research and scholarly activity pursued by the author for the last 11 years are described to present a kind of career case study for analysis of the…

Students in grades 3 to 8, who participated in the Follow Through program in Portland, Oregon, were tested for their reading and mathematics achievement during Fall 1979, Spring and Fall 1980, and Spring 1981. The measuring instrument used was the Portland Basic Skills Achievement Levels Testing Program. Test results were reported as RIT (Rasch…

One of the important roles of the community psychologist is that of researcher. To determine how well that role is being fulfilled, and to what extent community psychology research conforms to accepted standards of social scientific endeavor, 621 articles published in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP) and the Journal of Community…

Suggests that educational research may have to settle for the role of information purveyor rather than that of a catalyst for change because education is so much intertwined with the political processes which permeate our national life. (Author/AM)

Responds to a number of recent criticisms of labeling theory made by those who criticize it for its empathy with deviants, and Marxists who criticize it for ignoring oppression and exploitation. Conceptual problems of defining what is deviance and who is a deviant are discussed. (Author/AM)

As guidelines for research assessing institutional effects, three general principles are outlined (establishing realistic expectations, information as opposed to data, institutional research as institutional provocation) and recommendations made: focus on meaningful academic units, relate goals to outcomes, involve faculty, regard measures as…