This note is concerned with the benefits that can result from the use of the maximal reliability and optimal linear combination concepts in educational and psychological research. Within the widely used framework of unidimensional multi-component measuring instruments, it is demonstrated that the linear combination of their components that…

Describes development of a morale questionnaire that discriminated significantly between a sample of schools of high and those of low staff morale both in Australia and in the U.S.A. (Author)

Criticizes an earlier essay that questioned the validity of contemporary educational research practices, especially those involving experimentation. Argues that research using experimentation is valid and can lead to new and generalizable knowledge. (FMW)

Project objectives included (1) establishing a body of knowledge concerning the role of the Hawthorne effect in experimental designs in educational research, (2) assessing the influence of the Hawthorne effect on educational experiments conducted under varying conditions of control, (3) identifying the major components comprising the effect, and…

The rationale for a constructivist approach to behavioral and social science research, and studies which have applied this methodology, are reviewed. The author suggests that ethnographic techniques of explaining behavior patterns may be as valuable as or more appropriate than traditional behavioral science methods. (GDC)

This book contains a collection of principles, methods, and strategies useful in the planning, design, and evaluation of studies in education and the behavioral sciences. It is not a technical, detailed study, but an overview, a summary of alternatives, an exhibit of models, and a listing of strengths and weaknesses, useful as a checking and…

Thirty-four papers on educational statistics which were presented at the 1971 AERA Conference are summarized. Six major interest areas are covered: (a) general information; (b) non-parametric methods; (c) errors of measurement and correlation techniques; (d) regression theory; (e) univariate and multivariate analysis; (f) factor analysis. (MS)