In this article, Amanda Williford, Jason Downer, Kate Miller-Bains, Jenna Conway, and Lisa Howard tell us how a university research center, an early education advocacy group, and a state department of education joined forces in a research-practice partnership to develop and implement a more comprehensive assessment of young Virginia children's…

Proposes a model through which researcher/educators can identify critical issues which confront large numbers of persons in the society, find the facts from research relevant to the issues, integrate these findings, and, restate them in language appropriate to the persons affected. Presents innovative ways of disseminating this information.…

One problem faced by researchers is the selection of the most appropriate research method or methods, given the context of the research setting. This dilemma does not concern the choice of the best research method given the program objectives or research questions, nor the selection of the best state-of-the-art methods. The issue concerns the…

A cumulative review and analysis of 27 empirical investigations that assessed the preferences and choices of individuals with severe or profound mental retardation found that, since 1978, a technology has been evolving that can assess preference and choice via six types of participant responses across a variety of stimulus presentations. Research…

Perspectives concerning data collection in postsecondary education management and planning are considered. It is suggested that one of the dangers in data collection operations is collecting data without knowing why. It is argued that unless one knows in advance what is being measured and the purposes of measurement, data should not be collected.…

As more emphasis is placed upon institutional research that provides information relating to long-term strategic planning, as well as to short-term operational considerations, program evaluation techniques that merely analyze past or current budget and enrollment statistics will become increasingly inadequate. Such techniques are based on data…

Harcum Junior College (Pennsylvania) continuously engages in institutional self-study through its comprehensive Institutional Research (IR) program. The IR Office conducts both decision-oriented research, where the problem is defined by the decision-maker, and conclusion-oriented research, where the items studied are selected by the researcher.…

The paper discusses problems faced by policy makers in utilizing social science research in decision making on educational issues and problems. The term social science research is interpreted as including both educational evaluation and educational research. The history of social science research and critical issues associated with social science…

This paper reports on a study that explored the possibility of measuring distance education classes using the Media Sensor, a device designed to sample and record various electronic impulses generated during a distance education session. Research questions explored: (1) the ability of the Media Sensor to identify patterns in the audio and video…

This report provides a summarized version of a larger study conducted by the Office of Technology Assessment concerning the choices that Congress and the executive branch must make in supporting U.S. science and engineering. The summary first discusses the report's origins; trends in federal research funding; and a look at federally funded…

This report analyzes what the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) identifies as four pressing challenges for the Federal Research System in resource allocation and funding for research in the 1990s: (1) setting priorities in funding; (2) understanding trends in research expenditures; (3) preparing human resources for the future research work…

In order to improve its institutional research, Vancouver Community College (VCC) conducted a survey of faculty and administrative personnel to determine the data that were of greatest value in decision-making and planning and the areas in which existing data collection and analysis efforts needed improvement. The questionnaire asked respondents…

Anthropology research should be relevant to public policy formation. If anthropologists continue to produce research which reflects a "detached observer" perspective, their studies will not enjoy widespread credibility. The use of policy-relevant anthropology (applied anthropology) will depend in large part on the efforts of anthropologists toward…