Research studies trying to understand, predict, and control dropout from distance education display various points of view and quite a few build on one another at a conceptual level, but their findings are rarely generalizable outside the situations in which the research is conducted. Although academics claim that new work on dropout should be…

The purpose of this study was to determine the types of research methods used to study cognitive processing development in gifted learners, from 1975-1986. Of 870 research publications identified on giftedness, 522 publications (60 percent) dealt with cognitive processing development. Research designs used most frequently were causal-comparative,…

High rates of learner attrition from courses continue to plague distance education institutions. As educational researchers continue to examine the attrition/completion issue, many measurement problems emerge. Focusing on Athabasca University, Alberta, this paper, part of a series produced by Project REDEAL (Research and Evaluation of Distance…

Cognitive aging research needs to clarify whether or not there are functional or ability declines with aging and, if so, to understand and mediate these declines. Recent research which has demonstrated declines in cognitive functioning with age has involved episodic memory and rehearsal-independent forms of such memory. It is not known how much of…

K. Burke's (1945) pentad identifies five contributing factors in any communication event: agent, purpose, act, scene, and agency. Using the pentad as an organizational schema, this paper summarizes problems in methods used by behavioral researchers to study the deceptive communication event. The paper argues that fragmenting the communication act…

The purpose of this review is to determine the scientific status of the proposition that viewing television in general or viewing "Sesame Street" in particular affects children's attentional skills, abilities, or behaviors. It has been frequently claimed that television viewing negatively affects children's attentional abilities. The…

The research reviewed in this paper concerns the visual perceptual processes occurring as people are engaged in the act of reading. The issues that are examined include the control of eye movements, perception during a fixation, and perception across successive fixations. Consideration also is given to problems related to obtaining information…

This introduction to the major concepts of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is intended for individuals involved in health care provider education who are attempting to measure the costs and benefits of their educational activities. After tracing the development of CBA, the paper defines it as an attempt to quantify and compare the expenditures for a…

Because the attitude research approach to determining public opinion typically yields data irrelevant to public policy formation, researchers need to consider nontraditional approaches to public opinion measures. Attitude research assumes that people actually have readily measurable opinions and that each attitude can be measured singly.…

Among the many problems faced by family researchers in conducting experimental research in field settings is that posed by nonequivalent and intact treatment and control groups. Nonequivalence refers to the assignment of individuals to treatments on a nonrandom basis, thus generating treatment groups with different expected values on one or more…

The scientific approach with humans is usually subject to many human and environmental variables that are difficult to control. Reading behavior and reading disability are two of the most researched topics in education and psychology, yet reading research continues to abound with contradictions. Standardized tests, speed reading, and computer…

A number of methodological and substantive issues were raised by the ethnographic research for the book (coauthored by the author of this paper), "Teaching Tales and Theories: A Story and A Commentary on a Science Classroom" (1981). First, the origin of the "problem" came not only from earlier research but also from a serendipitous meeting with…

Noting that social interaction theory has long been characterized by a plethora of divergent research studies in search of an organizing paradigm, and that a common failing of most social interaction research has been its focus on process or change in relationships, the first part of this paper specifies the major limiting, or boundary, conditions…

Qualitative research that takes into account children's views of themselves as well as their own assessments of their talents and capabilities in reading and other academic areas can enhance understandings already established in research and measured by standardized instruments. New avenues of qualitative research can prove amenable to assessing…

Semi-projective holistic methods in political science research can augment knowledge of political attitudes and political reasoning. Semi-projective methods refer to techniques which present focused or structured stimuli and allow an unrestricted range of responses. Visual stimuli include ink blots, standard drawings, political cartoons, or…