Results of two studies indicate that the way in which Likert scale data are scored can make a difference when statistical significance tests are used. The studies raise a number of questions about the use of Likert scales in communication research. (GT)

Reports that the typical communication research study published from 1970 through 1976 was cross-sectional, was carried out in the United States only, cited literature published in the United States only, focused on the individual as the level of analysis, and used only sample survey data. (GT)

Reports that follow-up mailings are generally worth the time and money in communications surveys of elite groups, that they are essential in studies in which the return rate for the first mailing is quite low, and that they can sometimes make the difference between a worthwhile and a worthless study. (GW)

Although readership scores were slightly higher for the clipping method, both techniques for mail survey of readership produced returns close to those of interview surveys. (KS)

A survey of 110 Seattle, Washington, newspaper readers revealed that they read twice as many newspaper headlines as units of text, that they "read" more photographs than cutlines, and that they read scarcely any tables. (GT)

Presents a communication and law analysis focusing on the use of survey research in Wayne Newton's libel litigation against NBC. Argues that legal proof is currently less rigorous than proof demanded by sound social science. Argues that Newton's lawyers' argument that survey research shows the large monetary award restored the entertainer's…

A comparison of the data from the 1976 "Editor and Publisher" poll regarding newspapers' editorial endorsements with data from a survey of the nation's voters suggests that the poll overstates the partisanship of the press and its Republican bias. (GT)

Reports that neither the projected prestige of the sender nor a nonmonetary incentive (a bookmark) had an effect on the response rate in a survey of librarians. (GW)

A survey of 210 Texas residents revealed a preference for local and independent ownership of newspapers, although the quality of independent and group-owned papers was rated about the same. (GT)

A survey of 132 newspaper publishers revealed that only 15 percent had a full-time ombudsman on the staff but that there appeared to have been a broadening and strengthening of ombudsmen's responsibilities between 1967 and 1977. (GT)

Takes an integrative look at the correlates of newspaper school students from Dallas, Texas. Suggests that the most important predictor of nonreadership is perception of time and effort needed to read the newspaper, with nonreaders having neither time nor interest. (MG)

Reports on a study of the reasons why 40 of 125 persons did not respond to a questionnaire asking them about the accuracy of news stories in which they had been mentioned. (GW)