This guide will help researchers design and implement impact studies in education so that the findings are more generalizable to the study's target population. Guidance is provided on key steps that researchers can take, including defining the target population, selecting a sample of schools--and replacement schools, when needed--managing school…

In this paper the authors present a new method for sample selection for scale-up experiments. This method uses propensity score matching methods to create a sample that is similar in composition to a well-defined generalization population. The method they present is flexible and practical in the sense that it identifies units to be targeted for…

This issue of "FOCUS" discusses external validity and what rehabilitation researchers can do to help practitioners answer the question "How far can we generalize this finding-- is it applicable to other clients/patients, with different characteristics, in dissimilar settings treated by other clinicians?," which clinicians and…

Donald Campbell's approach to causal inference (D. T. Campbell, 1957; W. R. Shadish, T. D. Cook, & D. T. Campbell, 2002) is widely used in psychology and education, whereas Donald Rubin's causal model (P. W. Holland, 1986; D. B. Rubin, 1974, 2005) is widely used in economics, statistics, medicine, and public health. Campbell's approach focuses on…

Meta-analytic reliability generalizations (RGs) are limited by the scarcity of reliability reporting in primary articles, and currently, RG investigators lack a method to quantify the impact of such nonreporting. This article introduces a stepwise procedure to address this challenge. First, the authors introduce a formula that allows researchers…

Procedures are proposed for increasing the accuracy of generalization assessment in applied behavior analysis with behavior problem populations by accounting for the degree of natural covariation between treated and untreated behaviors. (Author/DB)

The assessment of generalization has become a priority of applied behavior analysis. The study provided a thorough assessement of the generality of a comprehensive self-control intervention designed to increase the math performance of an underachieving student in a regular elementary school classroom. (Author/DB)

Information integration theory (IIT) seeks to develop a unified theory of judgment and behavior. This theory provides a conceptual framework that has been applied to a variety of research areas including personality impression formation and decision making. In these applications information integration theory has helped to resolve methodological…

This literature review addresses the technical adequacy of time sampling observation systems, which is fundamental to ensuring the generalizability of data obtained from behavioral observation. Investigations comparing partial interval, whole interval, and momentary time sampling have yielded consistent results. These suggest that duration of…

The meta analysis examined the ecological validity of 241 research studies concerned with changes in targeted behaviors in the moderately or profoundly retarded or autistic. Analysis of setting (least restrictive or not), maintenance, generalization, and social validity of procedures and outcomes indicated only a slight trend toward increased…

Reports findings of interindexer consistency tests--quantitative measure of degree to which indexers agree in assignment of terms representing subject contents of document--on print materials, which may be generalizable to indexing of visual materials. Results of interindexer consistency test on nonspecialists indexing pictorial art works are…

This review of research on the social integration of children with disabilities in mainstreaming programs addresses the problems of generalizing findings to other groups of children, use of simplistic measuring techniques, limited evidence supporting the use of multivariate statistical procedures, and interpretation of treatment effects.…

Describes three themes that have informed research on cognitive development in sub-Sahara Africa over the past 10 years: (1) extending the range of generalizability of Western theories; (2) interpreting the uniqueness of the African situation; and (3) deriving implications for social policy. (Author/AS)

This review of research discusses how children with autism may acquire equivalence classes after learning to supply a common oral name to each stimulus in a potential class. A proposed methodology for researching referent naming and class formation, analysis of stimulus classes, and generalization is offered. (CR)

When conducting a two-year college program review, there are several advantages to supplementing the standard quantitative research approach with qualitative measures. Qualitative research does not depend on a large number of random samples, it uses a flexible design which can be refined as the research is executed, and it generates findings in a…