Across all social science disciplines, but in particular public administration, there is a shared concern about the costs of using traditional random samples to generate data, and its impact on researchers' ability to engage in "quality" research. As a result of these costs, more academics, practitioners, and students are turning to…

Survey sampling is fundamentally an applied field. The goal in this book is to put an array of tools at the fingertips of practitioners by explaining approaches long used by survey statisticians, illustrating how existing software can be used to solve survey problems, and developing some specialized software where needed. This book serves at least…

Presents the findings from a nationwide survey by the Educational Research Service, Inc. of principals on early childhood education. (MD)

A dialog between two fictional teachers provides some basic examples of how research that uses approved methodology may provide results that are significant statistically but not significant practically. (PGD)

The second half of a dialogue between two fictional teachers examines the significance of statistical significance in research and considers the factors affecting the extent to which research results provide important or useful information. (PGD)

Reviews a computer-assisted learning package (available from CONDUIT) which introduces survey and sampling techniques by pretending that the user is a pollster asking one of six questions of a more or less political nature. Documentation and performance are rated fair while ease of use is considered excellent. (JN)

Uses imaginary tools to create distributions of sample means, the differences among them, the mean difference scores, and the raw score populations. Using this technique helps students grasp the distinctions between them. Generalizes to hypothesis testing aids in answering probability questions, and enhances teaching techniques. (Author/NL)

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that people often overestimate the similarity between characteristics of random samples and those of the populations from which they are drawn. This paper: reviews studies that have attempted to determine whether the basic heuristic employed in thinking about random samples is passive and descriptive…

Presents a method for teaching sampling that uses hypothetical, small-scale target populations. Suggests that this method can best introduce the basic concepts of sampling in the context of a concrete example. Uses actual data collected from the class in order to provide a hands-on experience. Notes some potential limitations of the approach. (KO)

Third in a series, the monograph summarizes the key evaluation issues, design approaches, and statistical techniques used in conducting the 1980-1983 impact evaluation of Indian Education Act Title IV Part A programs. The monograph describes the major problems in evaluating the program to determine the degree of its positive contribution to…

Demonstrates a statistically valid method allowing students to explore randomization. Described are two examples: counting techniques for a small set of data and simulation for a large sample. (YP)

This booklet provides some systematic guidelines for assisting educational planners to discriminate between high-quality educational research and research that should not be relied on for decision making. The guidelines focus on educational research studies that employ either experimental or survey-research methodologies. A checklist is presented…

Maintains that few statistical representations are as tenuous as public opinion. Maintains that social studies students need to be taught to analyze statistical data carefully. Presents and discusses four guidelines for students reviewing statistical information. (CFR)

A study of job satisfaction at a college registrar's office investigated overall job satisfaction, physical working environment, motivational culture, and worker needs. Findings included significant differences in satisfaction between registration and admissions units. Recommendations for improved sampling, choice of variables, and research design…

A manual on sampling is presented to assist audit and program reviewers, project officers, managers, and program specialists of the U.S. Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA). For each of the following types of samples, definitions and examples are provided, along with information on advantages and disadvantages: simple random sampling,…