A seminar paper concerning the relationship between applied and basic research in the study of educational and social inequality, and two commentaries are presented. The paper--"In Defense of Ivory-Towerism: Confessions of an Unreconstructed Basic Researcher," by Karl L. Alexander, the seminar's main speaker, presents the point of view of a…

This paper examines how various equating methods are affected by: (1) sampling error; (2) sample characteristics; and (3) characteristics of anchor test items. It reviews empirical studies that investigated the invariance of equating transformations, and it discusses empirical and simulation studies that focus on how the properties of anchor tests…

At the request of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement, the Panel to Evaluate the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was established in 1985 by the National Academy of Sciences. This report culminates an extensive two-year study of NCES and reflects the panel's broad view of the center's…

Statistical significance is misused in educational and psychological research when it is applied as a method to establish the reliability of research results. Other techniques have been developed which can be correctly utilized to establish the generalizability of findings. Methods that do provide such estimates are known as invariance or…

Interviews with 180 federal agencies that conduct social research and development (R&D) were conducted and documents were examined to determine: (1) what types of social R&D are supported, and what levels of support are provided; (2) who defines the problems to be researched, who decides the level of support to be provided, and how investigators…

The paper discusses a number of issues concerning the practical usefulness of cognitive psychology research, and presents a case study of pilot training methods to illustrate a model of research processes that produces outcomes which contribute to both basic and applied research goals. Research studies are described as varying in the degree to…

Isolated research conducted by federal agencies or individual researchers is not as effective in implementing educational improvement as a well-integrated program among government, theoretical researchers, and local schools. In order to reduce federal intervention in local school affairs, federal agencies should work cooperatively with…

This book contains the proceedings of a multidisciplinary workshop convened to explore issues relating to the conduct of medical research on children. In the keynote address, John Holt discusses the right of children to informed consent. The main body of presentations is organized into three categories of concerns: medical imperatives, ethical…

This planning conference was one in a series of such conferences aimed at providing continuous guidance for the development of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) a study designed to discover what happens to young adults after they leave high school, and to relate this information to earlier educational…

Using as an example the development of the comprehensive school concept in the Netherlands, this paper explores the strategy for educational innovation in a centralized national educational system, the role of educational research and evaluation in educational innovation, the impact of research on policy-making, and the strengths and weaknesses of…

A study was designed to evaluate the use of summated rating (Likert) scales of agreement, evaluation, and frequency. The subjects, 58 female and 45 male college students, rank ordered the descriptive adjectives for the areas of agreement, evaluation, and frequency on a scale of 1 to 100. They also completed the Personal Report of Communication…

In order to design programs that will work well with Indian students, the Indian Education Section of the urban Minneapolis Public Schools is seeking accurate data about its 1,800 American Indian students through a conceptual research model that focuses on demographics, background and socialization variables, and school performance. Among the…

Objectives, challenges, and needs of an educational research and development center at Biyadh University, Saudi Arabia are discussed. Major objectives of the center are to cooperate with the ministry of education and other agencies in conducting projects, to foster research projects of qualified individuals, and to exchange information and…

Despite the rapid growth and popularity of the magnet school movement, little systematic research has been conducted on questions of vital importance in assessing the movement's impact on the quality of educational opportunities in big-city school districts. There are certain issues that are important and deserve immediate attention from educators…

In-depth interviews with a randomly selected sample of 192 University of Washington faculty members who reported conducting scholarly research investigated their need for and utilization of a number of university support services. Users were asked to evaluate the services they had used, to identify any problems encountered, and to suggest…