A latent variable modeling-based procedure is discussed that permits to readily point and interval estimate the design effect index in multilevel settings using widely circulated software. The method provides useful information about the relationship of important parameter standard errors when accounting for clustering effects relative to…

In this commentary, we offer a set of visual tools that can assist education researchers, especially those in the field of mathematics, in developing cohesiveness from a mixed methods perspective, commencing at a study's research questions and literature review, through its data collection and analysis, and finally to its results. This expounds…

This dialogue, also extracted from a conversation among members of the Equity Special Issue Editorial Panel, involves the role of a researcher's position in mathematics education. It raises issues about the non-neutrality of research; the relationship between a researcher's identity and the design, analysis, and conclusions of a research…

In the wake of an increasing political commitment to evidence-based decision making and evidence-based educational reform that emerged with the No Child Left Behind effort, the question of what counts as evidence has become increasingly important in the field of science education. In current public discussions, academics, politicians, and other…

Identifying an area of research a topic, deciding on a problem, and formulating it in to a researchable question are very difficult stages in the whole research process at least for beginners. Few books on research methodology elaborates the various process involved in problem selection and clarification. Viewing research and problem selection as…

This article contains reflections provoked by the articles in this volume of "The Counseling Psychologist." As a relative outsider to counseling psychology, the author thoroughly enjoyed immersing herself in these contributions and then extracting a set of thoughts inspired by the writers.

An experiment is deemed to be valid, inasmuch as valid cause-effect relationships are established, if the results are due only to the manipulated independent variable (possess internal validity) and are generalizable to groups, environments, and contexts outside of the experimental settings (possess external validity). Consequently, all…

Paul Stapleton's (2006) critique of quantitative research brings to the surface some common interpretive problems arising when experimental and quasi-experimental research designs are compared. While Stapleton may be correct in pointing out the superiority of experimental research designs because they best eliminate the influence of extraneous…

The fervent debate over the last 100 years about quantitative and qualitative research paradigms has resulted in a great divide between quantitative and qualitative researchers, who often view themselves as in competition with each other. This polarization has promoted "uni-researchers," researchers who restrict themselves exclusively to either…

The article proposes a sequential alternating treatments design requiring that two treatments be initially implemented in a random or counterbalanced fashion followed by a sequential change in one or both treatments across settings, subjects, or tasks. This design is appropriate when it is not feasible to obtain a traditional baseline condition.…

We highlight major themes emerging from the articles in this special issue. These themes include (a) the importance of theoretical frameworks and clearly defined constructs for guiding the development of interventions, (b) a consideration of intervention effects on ethnic minority children, (c) the importance of positive social interactions and…

Over the last decade emphasis has shifted from theoretically based models of practice to empirically based models whose elements are derived from clinical research. These models are defined and a developing model of practice through the use of single-case methodology is examined. Potential impediments to this new role are identified. (Author/BL)

Discusses training costs and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of training. Topics addressed include tracking training investments; tracking individual and business performance, including measurement techniques; research designs for analyzing performance; demonstrating return on investment; reasons for low return on investment; and ways to…

In this article, I argue that when design and intervention are central to the research process, context as a construct is problematized. How we define context can facilitate or impede our ability to construct rich and veridical accounts of learning. A design stance may predispose us to less profitable notions of context. I present the advantages…

Reflects briefly on how the author chooses what research to do. Discusses specific communication research projects that arose from near-sighted, midrange, and far-sighted planning. (RS)