This resource has been written specifically for higher education practitioners who are interested in improving students' learning experiences through the process of researching their own practice. We use the term 'higher education practitioners' to describe all who work in universities and who have a stake in students' learning experiences.…

The purpose of the research paper was to investigate the effect of eclectic learning approach on the academic achievement and retention of students in English at elementary level. A sample of forty students of 8th grade randomly selected from Government Boys High School Khurram District Karak was used. It was an experimental study and that's why…

The number of life events reported by study participants is sensitive to the method of data collection and time intervals under consideration. Individual characteristics also influence reporting; respondents with poor mental health report more life events. Much current research on life events is cross-sectional. Data from a longitudinal study of…

Although the advantages of case study design are widely recognised, its original positivist underlying assumptions may mislead interpretive researchers aiming at theory building. The paper discusses the limitations of the case study design for theory building and explains how grounded theory systemic process adds to the case study design. The…

Seven approaches to averaging reliability coefficients are presented. Each approach starts with a unique definition of the concept of "average," and no approach is more correct than the others. Six of the approaches are applicable to internal consistency coefficients. The seventh approach is specific to alternate-forms coefficients. Although the…

Describes two new measures of consistency which refer to the extent to which more closely related scale types are found together in Holland's Self-Directed Search sort. One measure is based on the hexagonal model for use with three-point codes. The other is based on conditional probabilities for use with two-point codes. (Author/ABL)

Problems inherent in relying solely on statistical significance testing as a means of data interpretation are reviewed. The biggest problem with statistical significance testing is that researchers have used the results of this testing to ascribe importance or meaning to their studies where such meaning often does not exist. Often researchers…

Three goals must be met in order for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to improve the quality and utility of its data collection: (1) the choice of what to collect must be driven by the questions of interest to decisionmakers and the public; (2) procedures must insure validity and reliability of the data; and (3) the data must be…

Reviews the rationale for and implications of case study research in therapeutic recreation, examining: what can be learned from studying a single case; issues of validity and reliability; ethical conduct of research; and the practice of case study research (case protocol, case selection, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and…

Problems in current special education categorical research practices are discussed in terms of consistency and reliability, student heterogeneity, and lack of distinct categorical groups. Suggested changes include characteristic-oriented categorization, corresponding changes in dissemination of research findings, and greater specificity and…

This report summarizes current knowledge and research on the quality and reliability of death rates by race and Hispanic origin in official mortality statistics of the United States produced by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). It provides a quantitative assessment of bias in death rates by race and Hispanic origin and identifies…

Procedures used in Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) dissertations at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) were studied. Focus was on identifying: (1) characteristics of the research designs used; (2) sources of the instruments used to collect data; (3) reports of reliability estimates and evidence of validity of the instruments; and (4) types of…

In this article, we have examined how historical events shape the research process, even when research is carefully planned and rigorously executed. Through an examination of our experiences conducting international data collection during a three-year SSHRC funded period in which the War on Terrorism and the War in Iraq began, we suggest that…

Data from the Work History and Attitudes survey of the Social Change and Economic Life research initiative (SCELI) enquiry of 1986-1989 and the first wave of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) were analyzed to determine their continuity and comparability with regard to employee attitudes in general and job satisfaction and work centrality…