The Mosaic approach has been used as a form of participatory research for over two decades. It has been popular with researchers in the early childhood education and disability sectors because it encourages the participants to utilise a large range of communication tools, rather than relying on verbal and written data. Promoters of the Mosaic…

Since the introduction of the first neoliberal budgets in the mid-1980s, Canadian social service workers have had ample reason to resist changes in their work lives. Drawing on literature as well as on themes emerging from an intentionally diverse subset of data collected as part of a multiyear study, this article explores the resistance…

Parental involvement comes in various forms and will differ as a child moves through primary and secondary school. Epstein's (2002) classic six-types model captures the potential scope of parental involvement: (1) basic obligations of parents as care-providers; (2) schools communicating with parents about school programs; (3) parent volunteering…

In the current study, the Distance Education Student Satisfaction Model, estimated as a structural equation model, is proposed to understand better what predicts student satisfaction from online learning environments. In the present study, the following variables are employed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, Bagozzi, &…

The second of three articles on abusive data collection and usage practices and their effect on personal privacy, discusses the evolution of data protection laws worldwide, and compares the scope, major provisions, and enforcement components of the laws. A chronology of key events in the regulation of computer databanks in included. (1 reference)…

Reports on a study designed to define the demographic and career characteristics and the values of lawmakers in the United States and Canada. Discusses how this information was used to predict policy decisions. (TW)

This informational packet provides guidelines to help schools make the most of their school grounds and contains the following: a handbook; a loose leaf activity pack; videotape; and poster. The handbook provides information on each stage of the school ground development/change process, offers the rationale for improving school grounds, and lists…

As part of the revised method for quality assurance in higher education in England, a Task Group was established to identify the categories of data, information, and judgments about quality and standards of teaching and learning that should be available within higher education institutions (HEIs), and those that should be published. The Task Group…

Libraries and information agencies depend heavily on statistics to describe their services, evaluate their activities, and measure their performance. In the data gathering on which statistical analysis depends, there are always assumptions and uncontrolled variables that interfere with the purity and objectivity of the data, and therefore…

This manual on occupational analysis, developed in Australia, is organized in three sections. The first section provides a framework for occupational analysis (OA) and a discussion of possible outputs from an OA from each of three phases: (1) determining the nature and scope of the occupational area; (2) developing a competencies list; and (3)…

This manual was designed for Catholic Relief Services staff who want to improve the health and nutrition component of maternal and child health programs. The methodology presented had already been used in two country programs in Africa, and the experiences in those program evaluations made this guide to participatory evaluation useful for other…

An overview is given of a study that examined the place of linguistics in undergraduate curricula in the United States and Canada, the nature and structure of the curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in linguistics, and the population served by the curriculum. The overview describes the project and its major activities (data collection and…

This guide provides practical advice, based on research expertise, for teachers looking for reliable research results without waste of time or effort. The six sections of the guide present and discuss the decisions and actions that have to be taken to get good results: (1) the pros and cons of collecting information by questionnaire; (2) sampling;…

This paper discusses the nature of research and identifies some of the questions which it is important to address at the planning stage and to return to throughout the life of any research study. In a discussion of the nature of research, it is noted that research findings must be potentially generalizable. The criteria for identifying research…

Diary studies in language teaching are first-person case studies in which the diarist-researcher investigates his/her own language learning or teaching through by recording personal observations. A diary study of a teacher of English for Academic Purposes II is described, including data collection, procedures, and problems. (10 references) (LB)