Clear, coherent and trusted, this book is the perfect guide to the main social research methods in use today. The much anticipated Third Edition of Clive Seale's bestselling title further expands its coverage to provide an authoritative introduction to all of the social research methods used to analyze qualitative and quantitative data. Written by…

While the potentials of virtual worlds to support experiential learning in medical education are well documented, assessment of student learning within these environments is relatively scarce and often incongruent. In this article, a conceptual framework is proposed for formatively assessing dispositional behaviours in scenario-based learning…

This article describes how the author applied principles of universal design to hybrid course materials to increase student understanding and, ultimately, success. Pulling the three principles of universal design--consistency, color, and icon representation--into the author's Blackboard course allowed her to change the types of reading skills…

The aim of this study was to define the role of the assistant in a classroom environment where students are taught using video conference-based synchronous distance education. Qualitative research approach was adopted and, among purposeful sampling methods, criterion sampling method was preferred in the scope of the study. The study was carried…

The study examined doctoral students. perceptions of the doctoral support and services offered by Mississippi State University (MSU). The research design used was descriptive, non-experimental design. Validity of the online survey instrument was established by a panel of experts. Internal consistency and reliability was determined using factor…

This study aims to explore the effects of a cooperative technique Jigsaw II (experimental group, n=42) and instructional teacher-centered teaching method (control group, n=38) on Turkish language teacher education department students' attitudes to written expression course (a course in which writing skills were taught), their academic achievement,…

Background: The quality of health education teachers is, in large part, dependent on the education they receive from their teacher preparation program. Purpose: This study assessed institutions of higher education (IHE) teaching practices in school health teacher preparation programs regarding the amount of time spent and content taught related to…

The Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) assesses mental health and social service provider attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practices. Scores on the EBPAS derive from 4 subscales (i.e., Appeal, Requirements, Openness, and Divergence) as well as the total scale, and preliminary studies have linked EBPAS scores to clinic structure…

Purpose: This study was designed to improve the measurement of financial exploitation (FE) by testing psychometric properties of the older adult financial exploitation measure (OAFEM), a client self-report instrument. Design and Methods: Rasch item response theory and traditional validation approaches were used. Questionnaires were administered by…

The construct of student engagement is increasingly prevalent in the field of education, serving as the foundation of dropout prevention and high school reform initiatives. The purpose of this study was to further examine 1 measure of student engagement, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), designed to measure 2 subtypes of student engagement:…

Everyday leisure activities in adulthood and old age have been investigated with respect to constructs such as successful aging, an engaged lifestyle, and prevention of age-related cognitive decline. They also relate to mental health and have clinical value, as they can inform diagnosis and interventions. In the present study, the authors enhanced…

This article reports the findings of a survey administering the personal well-being index (PWI) in six Chinese cities (N = 3,390) to ascertain the personal well-being of China's urban population. The specific aims of the study were: (a) ascertain whether Chinese urban residents are satisfied with their lives; (b) validate the PWI using an urban…

The views of prominant qualitative methodologists on the appropriateness of validity and reliability estimation for the measurement strategies employed in qualitative evaluations are summarized. A case is made for the relevance of validity and reliability estimation. Definitions of validity and reliability for qualitative measurement are presented…

Argues that interrater reliability, traditionally used in phenomenographic research, is unreliable for establishing the reliability of research results; it does not take into account the researcher's procedures for achieving fidelity to the individuals' conceptions investigated, and use of interrater reliability based on objectivist epistemology…

As states and communities invest in initiatives to improve the quality of early care and education, the measurement of quality is becoming more widespread and the importance of measuring quality well is gaining increasing attention. Within the broad context of interest in improving quality, this report seeks to differentiate among a number of…