Researchers are often distressed to discover that the data they wanted to use in their landmark study is not configured in a way that is usable by a Statistical Analysis Software Package (SASP). For example, the data needed may come from two or more sources and it may not be clear to the researcher how to get them combined into one analyzable…

This project comprises the second year's work of a 3-year research plan to develop computer programs, necessary data, and procedures for using the computer in a special field of musicology known as thematic indexing, and to explore the use of these techniques in other areas of music. During the second year, the research centered on three areas:…

Student data banks for ongoing research and evaluation have been implemented by a number of professional schools. Institutions selecting software designs for the establishment of such systems are often faced with making their choice before all the possible uses of the system are determined. Making software design decisions involves "rational"…

The purpose of this article is to describe a system for protecting the anonymity of subjects in longitudinal research and for maintaining the security of data files. The basic system comes from the American Council on Education Cooperative Institutional Research Program. Data is collected from questionnaires, and converted to magnetic tape.…

Twenty-nine steps necessary for data file preparation for secondary analysis are discussed. Data base characteristics and planned use vary the complexity of the preparation. Required techniques (file verification, sample verification, file merger, data aggregation, file modification, and variable controls) and seven associated pitfalls are defined…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the public release data for the student component of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The general aim of NELS, a continuing long-term project, is to study the educational, vocational, and personal development of students at various grades and the factors that…

This documentation has been prepared to guide the analyst who intends to analyze the data collected for the Safe School Study. Along with the Volume 2 Methodology report, its objective is to serve as a reference guide to the distributed data files. Together, these two volumes describe the data, the techniques utilized in their collection, and the…

Explores the intended and unintended outcomes of information technology on (1) business and economics, (2) research, and (3) library career preparation. Specific examples of the potential effects of databasing in these areas are provided, and four references are listed. (SW)

This manual provides documentation and guidance for users of the public release data files (adult file and course file) for Adult Education (AE) component of the 1991 National Household Education Survey (NHES:91). The NHES:91 was a random-digit dial telephone survey developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and conducted by…

Explores the increased use of computers in the humanities. Discusses computer applications in dissertation writing, research databases, classroom teaching, professional communication, and statistical analysis. Cites problems with data entry and sampling, record linkage, and resistance among some historians to new technologies. (SG)

Ways in which computers and audio tape recorder techniques were used to record, index, and present data collected during two summers of field work in a rural area of Mexico are described. The research goal was to study the Otomi Indian shamans. Two computers were used: the Honeywell 6800 DPS-2 and the Osborne-1 microcomputer. The database system…

Miami-Dade Community College has conducted an annual survey of its graduates for nearly a decade. In the past, the processing and tabulation of results were essentially manual operations. This paper describes a recently-developed computerized system which carries out most of the processing of this survey up through the tabulation of results. The…

Investigates the sociological backgrounds of German lawyers of the Holy Roman Empire through an analysis of the dissertations and disputations written during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Focuses on their university education, family circumstances, and careers. Creates an information data bank to carry out the project. Predicts further…

As part of an effort to reduce high school dropout rates in large city school districts, Phi Delta Kappa, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Council of Great City Schools, and a group of large city school districts undertook an effort to determine baseline statistics in high schools in large cities by using standardized…

This report supplies details of the design and data analysis of the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to allow the reader to judge the utility of the design, data quality, reasonableness of assumptions, appropriateness of data analyses, and generalizability of inferences made from the data. After an introduction by A. E.…