Institutional researchers (IRs) are often asked to conduct focus groups as an efficient way to address an institutional concern or problem. Typically, IR professionals depend on external consultants and specialists to conduct these group interviews for them; however, due to recent resource constraints (staffing, budgets), they are increasingly…

To support rural postsecondary students' college access and completion, researchers, policy makers, and educators need a more comprehensive understanding of their demographic characteristics and financial needs, especially compared to nonrural students. Previous rural-nonrural analyses have not disaggregated students by degree type (bachelor's,…

College campuses have become rich sites of hip-hop culture and knowledge production. Despite the attention that campus personnel and researchers have paid to student life, the field of higher education has often misunderstood the ways that hip-hop culture exists in college students' lives. Based upon in-depth interviews, observations of…

Although the belief that women are not socialized to be competitive is widely held, research findings in this area are not conclusive. To compare the behaviors and the perceptions of behavior in men and women in a realistic setting, 180 students participated in a 2-hour, two-part simulated job interview that required either competitive or neutral…

Physiological measures were monitored as 80 undergraduate women watched videotapes of responsive and unresponsive children in anticipation of interaction with them and later during a postinterview. Results were interpreted as indicating the importance of social cognitions as moderators of caregiver response to child behavior. (RH)

Recent research on hypothesis testing strategies (the strategy a person uses to determine the correctness of a specific hypothesis) has produced contradictory results. The three strategies available have been labeled confirmatory, neutral, and disconfirmatory. Some research has found that a confirmatory testing style predominates, while other…

Essay questions, interviews, and personality inventories of 35 male and female college students revealed that the avoidance of sexist language was linked to less traditional sex role views and a lesser adherence to fundamentalist Christian beliefs. (DM)

A series of tests and interviews with 45 Hispanic first year students at 2 Ivy League universities was conducted to examine the relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem. A strong Hispanic identity acted as a buffer to perceived threat, particularly for men. (DM)

A phenomenological interview process in two stages was employed to elicit the life stories of six academically gifted college students. Participants' stories were edited with themes identified and interpreted by the researcher. A sample life history of a high achieving female college senior is provided. Commentary by the researcher focuses on the…

Previous research has shown that interviewers need to be aware of job requirements in order to make valid selection decisions. Such job information may be provided in several different formats. To determine if the type of job information influences decisions, management psychology students (N=48) received information about a job that stressed…

To determine if interviewers utilize confirmatory information seeking strategies, 170 subjects rated applicant suitability after reading resumes, posing questions, and receiving written answers. Seventy-three percent of the variance in applicant ratings was accounted for by the content of applicants' responses; no clear-cut confirmatory…

This document contains a compendium of research on the job placement of college students and graduates. The objectives of this publication are to help individuals involved in job placement learn the research findings in the field and to provide guidance to researchers in the field regarding areas needing additional study. The introduction explains…

This paper presents the thesis that pair problem-solving serves as an aid to students in developing their metacognitive skills. Metacognition has been defined as knowledge and cognition about cognitive objects and as any kind of monitoring. The ability to monitor one's thoughts and actions is greatly facilitated through the pair problem-solving…

This study was part of a continuing exploration of the naive misconceptions of students in the physical sciences conducted within the context of current literature in alternative frameworks. The sample was selected from among those students registered for a liberal education physical science class at a small private college. The method used was a…

In-person interviews were conducted with 147 randomly selected students to study usage of microfiche serials holdings list to determine accessibility and retrievability of periodical issues housed in four separate locations in California Polytechnic State University Library. Results showed that 80.6 percent of students were successful in their…