This paper discusses the process of analysing online discussion and argues for the merits of mixed methods. Much research of online participation and e-learning has been either message focused or person focused analysis. The former covers methodologies such as content and discourse analysis, the latter interviewing and surveys. The paper discusses…

In an increasingly competitive economy, the capacity for self-motivation, problem-solving skills and an ability to think critically are core graduate attributes. However, the capacity to create an educational environment that develops and harnesses such skills is a distinct challenge as resources become increasingly restricted. Geographical Skills…

Describes the first stage in a study of home information systems in the United Kingdom that is being conducted to develop a theory of household information systems that will inform investors, producers, and consumers in a given region. Highlights include methodology, questions for structured interviews, task model, and technical model. (Author/LRW)

An introduction to profiles is presented with examples provided to permit an overall appraisal of the potential of profiles, of the principles upon which they might be based, and of the problems that will have to be overcome if their potential is to be realized in practice. The larger scale examples of profiles discussed are the Scottish Pupil…

The methodologies employed in comparative higher education and comparative education are briefly summarized and analyzed. Weaknesses of the following approaches used by scholars/researchers in the field are identified: (1) locating decision-making structures and relations in broadly differentiated aggregations of systems; (2) case study; (3)…

In this address, the author examines what it means when one uses phrases like "evidence-based practices" and "evidence-based policies." She suggests that there is a need to re-think the meanings attached to these terms and she presents a rebuttal of the reliance on a single conceptualisation of evidence. The author then argues…

Ethnographers have traditionally encountered problems in conducting qualitative research in elite settings. The powerful, in this case, the administrative and political elite in the United Kingdom, have considerable constitutional, legal, and cultural resources that enable them to deflect or channel any research in which they are the objects of…

Collection of detailed data on normative overall patterns of television viewer behavior has been an ongoing effort of the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) in the United Kingdom. While their measurement system--self-completion viewing diaries in conjunction with electronic meters recording television set use--may register that an…

A four-stage feminist research project investigating European Social Fund (ESF)-funded vocational training for unemployed women used the grounded theory approach. Stage 1 involved the formation of the research questions and design. Steps included the ontological, epistemological, and methodological positioning of the researcher. Stage 2 was the…

Based on an analysis of programs in a British Broadcasting Company (BBC) series transmitted during the 1984-1985 school year, this discussion of the pedagogy of educational television in Great Britain reviews previous analyses of children's television from both a media studies perspective and from within educational psychology, and proposes an…

Reviews research related to school effectiveness and how this research has been applied to various school improvement projects in the United Kingdom. Issues to be addressed include the possibility of creating a national database of student examination results and examining differences in effectiveness within schools, as well as between students…

The Sex Stereotype Measure II (SSM II), a 32-item picture-story technique, was developed to assess children's knowledge of conventional, adult-defined, sex-trait stereotypes. The procedure was based on stereotype characteristics identified by college students using the Adjective Check List item pool. A second procedure, the Sex Attitude Measure…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on research methods in human resource development (HRD) that was conducted as part of a conference on HRD. "Utilizing Electronic Mail To Survey Human Resource Development Practitioners: A Comparison between Electronic Mail and the U.S. Postal Service for the Purpose of Data Collection:…

This discussion of educational technology and the role of computers is based on the author's experiences with the United Kingdom's National Development Programme in Computer Assisted Learning (NDPCAL). Highlights include curriculum development; teachers' roles; research and development; evaluation; control group experiments; instructional…

Recent empirical and theoretical literature in cultural geography, feminist and postcolonial philosophy, cultural studies, and political economy, was explored in an examination of the significance of spatiality to the changes taking place in the policy, practice, and study of adult education and lifelong learning. The following were among the key…