Procedures for implementing random assignment with trickle processing and ways they can be corrupted are described. A computerized method for implementing random assignment with trickle processing is presented as a desirable alternative in many situations and a way of protecting against threats to assignment validity. (SLD)

With the advent of the computer and user-friendly statistical software packages, factor analysis has become accessible to most researchers. However, conventional factor analysis, or R-technique, is only useful for research concerning types or groups of variables. Educational and psychological researchers are often interested in types of people,…

Computer concordancing, a form of lexical analysis that locates and gives information about all occurrences of a particular lexical item within a text, is useful in literary analysis. Concordancing programs are available for small computers in all price ranges. Applied to literary text, the programs make it possible to specify each item's…

A review of the literature and of currently available computer programs for the use of log-linear models in analysis of qualitative data is presented, and two types of log-linear models and procedures for investigating both types are outlined. (MSE)

A guide to the use of microcomputer statistical analysis packages for loglinear analysis describes the application of one popular package to a straightforward problem and critically surveys features available in four of the leading packages. Survey findings and suggestions for further development are included. (Author/MSE)

Researchers persist in using stepwise regression in spite of problems with this approach. As noted by B. Thompson (1995), three problems accompany the use of stepwise applications. The first is that computer packages may use incorrect degrees of freedom in their computations, resulting in a greater likelihood of obtaining a spurious statistical…

The effectiveness of manual and computer-assisted legal research (CALR) methods are examined and compared, and the limitations of each are noted. The current state of law students' research skills is then discussed, and the Brooklyn Law School (New York) response to the problem, integrating the methods, is described. (MSE)

Procedures recommended in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Third Edition) (WISC-III) manual for factorial estimation may be replaced by new methods using the computer and a spreadsheet program. Constants and formulas needed to draft a spreadsheet program for estimating the factors using WISC-III scaled scores are presented. (SLD)

Working from a common data base and hypothesized model, this paper demonstrates and compares the EQS and LISREL computer program strategies in the analysis of a second-order factor model. Program similarities and differences are noted with respect to: (1) preliminary analyses of the data; (2) treatment of data that are not multivariately normal;…

The involvement of a large regional university's institutional support units in a self-study is discussed. The university had initiated its first experience with a comprehensive and systematic approach to planning. Attention is focused on the self-study procedures in the support units and on the resulting reports. Four support units with diverse…

The use of Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS), a type of microcomputer application software, to analyze open-ended survey questions is discussed. Using open-ended questions allows researchers to ask respondents to express themselves freely about their attitudes and beliefs. This approach also can elicit a precise answer even though the…

With respect to the design of cooperative systems, issues related to the fundamental communication channels, sociotechnical factors, and task characteristics associated with collaborative work situations are reviewed. Research strategies incorporating theory-motivated design, ethnographic methods, and controlled testing methods are discussed as a…

The computerized morphological parser, AMPLE, grew out of work in computer assisted dialect adaptation. AMPLE contains no language-specific code, but is controlled entirely through external, user-written files, the notations of which were designed for linguists. AMPLE's constructs are linguistic: e.g., allomorph, morpheme, conditioning…

The application of computer technology in qualitative research and evaluation ranges from simple word processing to doing sophisticated data sorting and retrieval. How computer software can be used for qualitative research is discussed. Researchers should consider the use of computers in data analysis in light of their own familiarity and comfort…

This report describes and evaluates the methods, procedures, techniques, and activities that produced the fourth (1992) follow-up of the High School and Beyond (HS&B) study. HS&B began in 1980 as the successor to the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The original collection techniques of HS&B were replaced…