This paper examines the major problems which confront researchers who wish to study sensitive topics in family relations. The major obstacles typically encountered are (1) locating subjects; (2) getting cooperation; and (3) obtaining valid and reliable data. A second section of the paper discusses methods of overcoming these obstacles. One…

This paper indicates underlying philosophic assumptions which are compatible with the behavior analysis approach to child development. Four issues taken into consideration are (a) biology and environment, (b) structure and function, (c) traits and situations, and (d) mechanistic and organismic approaches to development. The following ideas…

A study was conducted to determine the research and development priorities for Minnesota as perceived by vocational educators and selected groups of industrial personnel trainers and to determine to what extent research and development priorities have changed during the past seven years. A total of 998 vocational educators and 364 industrial…

This paper presents results of a generalizability assessment of two sets of scales designed to evaluate the quality of verbal and nonverbal interactions between parent and child. The Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS) and Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scales (NCATS) were developed as part of a longitudinal study aimed at…

This brief report summarizes the findings and conclusions of studies concerning the relation between birth order and various aspects of personality and intellectual development. Major topics discussed are the relation between birth order of the child and: (1) the effects of sex and spacing between siblings on personality characteristics of the…

This paper criticizes Zajonc's confluence model of the relationship between sibling spacing and sibling intelligence. According to Zajonc, variations in the intellectual performance of individuals are accounted for in part by two features of the individual's family of orientation: (1) the number of children in that family, and (2) the spacing…

Two naturalistic studies of young (18-30 month old) children's memory for object location are reported which indicate that young children's memories are better than non-naturalistic studies suggest and that they have confidence in their memories. In the first study, 17 children were observed attempting to find objects they had watched their…

These guidelines are divided into three short papers: (1) critique of a research article; (2) critique of a conceptual article or chapter; and (3) construction of a research report. Research articles published in educational psychology journals should be organized, and critiqued, according to the following topics: title; problem area; method;…

Twenty-six papers concerning Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I program evaluation--presented at the 1978 American Educational Research Association/National Council on Measurement in Education meeting--are summarized. Speakers from the federal government are: C.T. Cross (see ED 156 695); R.L. Fishbein; and D. Ozenne. State department…

In sociological literature, there exist three paradigmatic approaches to the study of women and the family, i.e., positivism, interpretive sociology, and radical sociology. Because study of the sociology of women and the family has been carried out primarily in the positivistic paradigm, the emphasis has been on the constraints of existing social…

This document is part of a series of chapters described in SO 011 759. This chapter reports the results of Monte Carlo simulations designed to analyze problems of using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE: see SO 011 767) in research models which combine longitudinal and dynamic behavior data in studies of change. Four complications--censoring of…

This document is part of a series of chapters described in SO 011 759. This chapter offers guidelines for studying change in dynamically interdependent variables, even when a model that ignores interdependence is estimated. Many sociological studies concern dynamically interdependent variables; for example, in a study of female employment, a…

This paper addresses the problems posed by the staggering volume of research in human communication and by vital supportive studies in social and behavioral sciences, as well as the difficulties in comparing competing studies to determine greatest usefulness and merit. The paper describes an approach to the systematic consideration and evaluation…

A STUDY WHICH USED A VARIETY OF BEHAVIORAL TASKS TO STUDY POTENTIAL CREATIVITY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IS PRESENTED. THE BEHAVIORAL TASKS, ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR MEASUREMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN, ARE DESCRIBED ON THE DIMENSIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FREEDOM, WILLINGNESS TO TRY DIFFICULT TAKS, FREEDOM IN USE OF CONFORMING AND NONCONFORMING BEHAVIOR,…

IN A DISCUSSION OF THE EFFECTS, PRESENT NEEDS, AND FUTURE OF RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH, THE POSITION OF THE TEACHER IN ENGLAND IS EMPHASIZED. IN CONSIDERING THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF RESEARCH IN ENGLISH TEACHING, THE IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE FUNCTIONING BETWEEN TWO ASPECTS OF RESEARCH--COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION--IS STRESSED. ALSO…