Discusses various brambles that ensnare educational researchers and their reports. Several identifiable problems include allowing methodology to drive research questions, stressing results over meaning and interpretation, disguising researchers' voice and identity, and paying too little attention to composition and style. Remedies are suggested.…

Research problems related to studies of school desegregation in urban areas are identified and discussed. A review of statistical models used in desegregation research indicates that deviation models are the most appropriate for investigating short-run effects of desegregation. (Author/DB)

Problems with the scope, validity, and accuracy of statistical data on Puerto Ricans have led to difficulties in research on that population. This situation has contributed to the restricted access of Puerto Ricans to government-sponsored programs and to public services, such as education, that are necessary for social equality. (Author/GC)

Some issues in defining dropouts and reporting information about them are explored, with reference to the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey of the National Center for Education Statistics. There has not been any uniform national count of how many students leave school, and no commonly accepted definition has been developed that allows a number to…

The problems caused by a lack of standardized definition of behavior disorders in children are discussed, including differences in identification procedures and widely varying prevalence figures. The significance of environmental intolerance and the instability of many behavior problems over time are described. (Author/MH)

The inconsistency in research investigations of the process of white flight is especially evident when social scientists become actors in the legal drama surrounding the desegregation of public schools. Social science "experts" for the contending litigants often present contradictory evidence. The resultant ambiguity allows judges and…

To make educational assessments and comparisons meaningful, dropout data must be collected according to the same definitions, by the same procedures, and over the same time periods. A 31-state pilot project represents an effort by the National Center for Education Statistics to standardize data collection about high school completion. (SLD)

Statistical issues associated with the supply and demand of science and mathematics teachers are reviewed in this conference report of the Committee on National Statistics. The conference was held to generate a plan for a study that would make recommendations to improve the information, sources, statistics, and models used in estimating and…