Background: Over the past 20 years, much has been written about the merits and limitations of matching methods, particularly propensity score matching (see, e.g., Stuart, 2010 for a review of matching approaches), and the myriad ways matching can be implemented to identify a comparison group that is similar to the treatment group on observable…

Objective: To clarify the nature and extent of differences in the ways that physically abusive, neglectful, and non-maltreating parents communicate during interactions with their children. Method: A meta-analysis was conducted of 33 observational studies comparing parent-child interactions in families where parents have a documented history of…

Assumes a process-in-action approach to studying young children's concept of self. Conceptualizes self-concept as spontaneously emerging from social interaction. Pedagogical implications are provided to suggest that teachers can take a number of positive steps toward respecting and enhancing children's attempts to achieve self-other knowledge.…

Presents conceptual framework for library and information science research and analyzes research methodology that has application for information science, using as example results of study conducted by authors. Rationale for use of qualitative research methods in theory building is discussed and qualitative and quantitative research methods are…

Investigates (1) whether differences between boys and girls indicated by teacher rating were similar to those indicated by direct observation and (2) whether teachers' assessments of the relative frequencies with which children show particular types of behavior agree with those obtained by direct observation. (RH)

This report describes a two-phase study designed to (1) investigate the appropriate evaluation literature and develop a formative evaluation model; (2) investigate the formative evaluation procedures utilized by Advanced Systems Incorporated (ASI), a successful producer of training materials; (3) develop a model based upon these procedures; and…

Social participation behavior of 33 2- and 3-year-old children was observed during free-play in order to identify differences between age groups as well as differences between contemporary outcomes and Parten's 1932 findings. Trained observers recorded the frequencies of play behaviors, utilizing a time sampling procedure and Parten's categories…

Two methods of researching second language learning are described, analyzed, and compared: student diaries giving a first-person account of the second language learning experience; and participant observation, in which the observer is in the language learning situation recording in descriptive terms all possible data about the situation.…

A comparison is made between the tools of observation and research used by journalists to study society and the media, and the qualitative and clinical research tools used in the social and psychological sciences. The first part of the paper, a journalistic approach to sociology, traces the notion of the sociologist as a super-reporter using…

Multiple measures of social and cognitive functioning were obtained to investigate whether abused and neglected children demonstrate serious psychological disturbances following instances of child maltreatment. Participants were 42 preschool children who had a previous history of physical abuse, serious neglect, or no maltreatment. (Author/RH)

Aware of some educators' concerns that computers isolate children and are too abstract for chilren under the age of eight, two studies investigated young children's use of LOGO and their interactions with the computer. Data were collected on kindergartners working in a public school computer lab and on preschoolers using computers in a…

Motivational strategies and attitudes toward learning were examined among students in three fifth-grade classrooms. Teacher statements used to frame lessons, maintain the session and keep students on task, and handle responsibility for learning were extracted from transcripts of classroom observations. Lesson framing and management/maintenance…

A test of predicted anxiety which focused on public speaking was given before and after two life skills courses in an English college. The students' own reports and observations by the author supported the results, which indicated a reduction of anxiety in the course which used simulations. (Author/LRW)

This study compared the peer functioning of a community sample of preschool boys with pervasive hyperactivity (N=33) and comparison boys (N=34), and examined the extent to which any differences in peer functioning between these groups could be explained by comorbid child conduct problems and parenting factors. The quality of boys' peer relations…

Designed to compare instructional strategies and effectiveness of medical school faculty using both in-person and two-way television delivery systems, this paper presents classroom observation data obtained from presentations by seven faculty members of the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University over a 9-month period. It includes a…