Experimental designs are distinguished as the best method to respond to questions involving causality. The purpose of the present paper is to explicate the logic of experimental design and why it is so vital to questions that demand causal conclusions. In addition, types of internal and external validity threats are discussed. To emphasize the…

The purpose of this paper is to articulate the common confusion of correlation for causation. Various articles that have addressed this issue are reviewed, and possible reasons for the misinterpretation of correlation as causation are presented. The differences between correlational and experimental research designs are reviewed, and the…

Program directors and evaluators need to address the important program accountability question of attribution of outcomes. This discussion is a beginning. Starting with some basics, such as the meaning of the program, approaches to program theory development, and the nature of attribution, the paper suggests three types of attribution. An…

There is a growing sense of frustration among members of the science education research community that results from the fact that the impact of research in science education on classroom practice has been disappointing. In this theoretical paper, the questions of relevance and accountability in science education research are first reviewed and…

This study examined the process of college choice focusing on the earlier stages of the college choice process among 4,923 high school students (3,110 students participated by returning completed surveys) involving 21 high schools in Indiana. The study attempted to: (1) construct a mid-range model representing the search phase of the college…