The report deals with the relationship between measurement and data analysis procedures in sociological research. The author finds that too many measured variables exist in both theory and measurement assumptions. Since these procedures are interrelated, improvements in either or both areas are necessary. Presented are three sections: (1) specific…

Sixty-two firms within 20 industries were surveyed to determine (1) a definition for the term "job vacancy," (2) the extent of job vacancy records of employers, (3) the possibility of data collection on job vacancies, and (4) the problems expected to be encountered in such a collection. After stratification of an industry by the relative size of…

This paper suggests that, at present, a science of natural developmental processes does not exist because few studies are concerned with development as it transpires in naturalistic environments and because truly developmental data are not collected or analyzed. (Author/JMB)

Notes that major changes have occurred in the factors investigated and the data collection procedures employed in teacher effectiveness research and that the generalizability of significant findings continues to be limited by methodological and experimental design problems. (FL)

Existing data on illegal immigration in the U.S. is inadequate. The limited availability of macrodata on the size of the annual flows and of the accumulated stock of individuals as well as of microdata on their influence on selected labor markets has been used to forestall policy reform efforts. (Author/RDN)

Examines these questions: What are life histories? What problems and people are best suited for them? What motivates people to write them? Does the collection procedure affect the content? and How should the material be analyzed? (Author/SK)

To test the use of Bayes's theorem to adjust for nonresponse bias, 600 hospitals were used in a simulated sample survey. On the basis of known information on five variables, Bayes's formula correctly predicted the status of 92 of the 100 "nonrespondents" relative to a sixth variable. (Author/BW)

Investigates the extent of differences among survey results obtained as responses to an initial letter, a second letter, and a third contact by telephone or handwritten letter. There were considerable differences among the results from the three different contacts, with the later respondents being more negative in their answers. (CT)

Problems of research and data collection in the West Indies include that territories without campuses are smaller and poorer, generally have no indigenous social science personnel so that research has to be undertaken by people unfamiliar with the environment, and that responses to interviews tend to be particularly unreliable because people are…

Introduces the application of informetric methods to the World Wide Web (Webometrics). Presents a case study comparing the number of specific informetric analysis parameters of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway on the Web. Concludes that problems with data collection occur because current tools are inadequate and because collection methods, manual and…

A study examining the evaluation components of merit pay programs in Illinois suggests that such components significantly influence a program's success or failure. Merit pay programs should incorporate evaluation systems tht emphasize their formal purpose, target variables related to effective teaching, and utilize sound data collection…

Reports findings from a study of the confidence expressed by ministry-level decision makers in five developing countries (i.e., Somalia, Botswana, Liberia, Yemen, and Nepal) about the quality of the national-level education data available to them and reasons for the perceived 16-40 percent error rate. (DMM)

Analyzes and documents classification issues as part of the assessment of data quality in the Common Core of Data (CCD). Focuses on the Public Elementary/Secondary Education Agency Universe Survey. Indicates shortcomings in the definitions used for the CCD. (SLD)

This paper presents a model which illustrates the cyclical and interactive nature of the basic elements of the research design process. Rather than presenting each research design component in isolation, the model emphasizes their interrelationships. A brief discussion is presented on each of the following components of the model: (1) the "words"…

A dilemma faces the ethnographer whose discipline forces the creation of an objective text from an intimate participatory experience. There have been three ways in which ethnographers have attempted to solve the dilemma of producing the objectivity of a scientific text while acknowledging their presence in the field. The first approach is the…