This paper describes a split-ranking multiphase questionnaire design used to establish a set of valid evaluation targets, evaluating Community Living Support Services (CLSS) in Victoria, Australia, through a survey of CLSS managers and Disability Program Evaluation Unit managers. Results indicate differing priorities between the groups, but an…

This article describes the research methods used in the recruitment and analysis of a sample of 72 Puerto Rican mothers of a child with mental retardation. Emphasis is on the importance of involving the community in order to: (1) ensure that the community benefits, (2) strengthen the scientific integrity of the study, and (3) facilitate sample…

This response to a study by D. Strauss and T. Kastner, which compared mortality rates for individuals with mental retardation in either community or institutional settings, notes that all previous research on this subject had found institutional mortality rates higher than those in the community. Methodological concerns are raised about the study.…

This paper outlines challenges for community research endeavors such as avoiding exploitative relationships with research participants. It then outlines 10 values for community research and action, involving establishing collaborative relationships with research participants, determining research goals and methods, designing and disseminating…

The promise of behavioral community research remains vibrant today, but behavior analysts are reminded that there are differences among advocacy, application, and research; there are many forms of research; knowledge alone is often insufficient to foster long-term change; and the complex environments of most community work involve multiple and…

This paper expresses concerns about implementing the behavior analysis values for community intervention expressed by Stephen Fawcett in EC 602 711. Concerns include inclusion of participants in selecting research goals, methods, and outcome measures; research impact on public policy; tension between research requirements and research settings;…

Specific points of question and concern are presented in response to Stephen Fawcett's paper on community research and action values (EC 602 711). These include who decides on community intervention priorities? who should be the target of preventive interventions? and what about problems that cannot be solved with local resources? (JDD)

This paper reports on findings of the first of a series of cross-sectional surveys to evaluate a community-based child abuse prevention initiative in Boston (Massachusetts). The survey assessed social support, attitudes about parenting, perceptions of the neighborhood, and ways in which these relate to child abuse. (Author/DB)

This book presents a fresh view of action research as a methodology uniquely suited to researching the processes of innovation and change. Drawing on twenty-five years' experience of leading or facilitating action research projects, Bridget Somekh argues that action research can be a powerful systematic intervention, which goes beyond describing,…

This paper presents an example of "optimistic research," a qualitative approach which focuses on positive interventions helpful to practitioners, in this case an examination of programs successfully integrating people with severe disabilities. The study evaluated 40 programs through site visits which focus on observation, interviews, and…

This paper focuses on a community's educational improvement project in Tennessee that resulted from executive appointment of a citizen task force in each community. The paper reports project development and results; discussion emphasizes implications for school administrators. A joint task force, appointed in 1985, was directed to develop…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) convened a meeting of 23 stakeholders representing a national cross-section of experts in the fields of health and education on April 30, 2004. Among the participants were school health practitioners, educators, researchers, and funders. The meeting's purpose was to clarify and document…