An overview of market research is provided, with advice about conducting market research for the educator. Market research is any kind of research that gives information about the current state of the market and offers guidance in improving one's position in that market. The relative advantages of conducting market research by oneself or by hiring…

This document contains eight newsletters prepared by the Minnesota Social History Project (MSHP), an experimental curriculum project in local social history. The newsletters offer classroom exercises, participant suggestions, and supportive essays designed for teachers working with the MSHP. The premise of the project is that "American history can…

The six articles of this issue discuss the place of meta-analysis in the health professions and present two state-of-the-art meta-analyses using a variety of innovative methodologies, statistics, and secondary analytic procedures. A survey conducted for this issue and its sequel explores interventions to facilitate meta-analysis. (SLD)

Ways that higher education institutions can improve their compliance procedures in responding to external requests for reports and information are addressed. Institutional officers must first determine how the data will be used by the external agency. By questioning how the requested information will be used, a determination can be made of what…

This publication reviews and analyzes the research on issues affecting faculty supply and demand in higher education and looks at how recent research can assess future trends. An introduction describes many researchers' prediction that three trends will soon create a faculty shortage: (1) increasing faculty retirements based on extensive hiring…

This eight chapters of this special issue introduce the use of a template to specify program components as a new tool for program evaluation. The template articulates the components needed for program delivery and provides a systematic method for assessing program implementation. (SLD)

Abstracts are presented of the major conference papers and thematic discussions delivered at the 1978 Measurement and Methodology Conference. The titles of the presentations are: Policy-Responsive Evaluation (Wiley); When Educators Set Standards (Glass); Comments on Wiley and Glass (Schutz); Key Standard-Setting Considerations for Minimal…

With accurate information, educators are better able to make effective decisions. Besides being used to assess student performance, a complete program of data collection and use can also show educators how management skills, individual learning styles, and other elements affect student achievement. This digest provides an overview of how…

The analytical problems faced by gross interstate comparisons of higher education funding are reviewed, the overall usefulness to decision-makers of interstate comparisons, and other approaches to comparative analysis are considered. It is claimed that the usefulness of gross interstate comparisons is limited, since both technical and structural…

Approaches for undertaking a faculty salary equity analysis are discussed. An institutional researcher must have a clear understanding as to why the study is being performed. Faculty handbooks and policy manuals are good starting points for determining how salary decisions are made. Once the salary allocation criteria have been identified, the…

A study was conducted to collect statistical data (age, sex, race, years of school completed, occupation, field of training, and family income levels) on U.S. students who were participating in postsecondary vocational programs in October 1976 or who had participated in such programs during the previous year. Vocational, business, technical, or…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been collecting data on student achievement since 1969. It currently maintains three different assessments: long-term trends, cross-sectional national, and cross-sectional state-by-state data. Although the data are available to researchers outside the Federal Government, limited use has…