Author responds to critique by Daniel Griffiths (Educational Administration Quarterly v. 19, p. 201-21) by defending his work in three areas: derivation of hypotheses, testing of hypotheses, and erroneous attribution of assumptions. (JW)

Suggests a framework for structured observation using a psychosocial approach to describe work styles, differences in performance, and outcomes of behavior patterns. (JW)

Much of educational administration research suffers from lack of conformity between data analysis and research design, inattention to the test/retest stability of measurement instruments, and the use of statistics for nominal or interval data with ordinal data, random-sample statistics with nonrandom samples, and unnecessarily complex statistical…

Explains the characteristics and importance of random assignment in experimental research on education. Considers factors supporting causal inferences, the nature of "assignment units," differences between random sampling and random assignment, the characteristics of randomization tests, forms of random assignment, and effects of experimental…

Methodological adequacy in naturalistic inquiry is enhanced by understanding the differences between the naturalistic and rationalistic paradigms; by using simultaneous data collection and analysis, with prolonged field research, an audit trail, multiple sources, and referential materials; and by employing "thick description" extensively…

The background essay introducing this special issue on leadership describes potential initiatives aimed at educational leadership research and development. The research supporting the invited journal articles was conducted at two national education leadership research centers. (MLF)

Briefly describes the development and objectives of the leadership center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign; then describes the rationale and activities of an in-service training program for principals. (15 references) (MLF)