This paper is one of a group that describes the research methodology for an evaluation of individually guided education (IGE) in American elementary schools. Described here are the procedures used to select the sample of schools being studied in the first phase of the evaluation. This phase was a large sample study that used structural equations…

An examination of typical situations concerning the status of a variable is followed by a discussion of the measurement and empirical problems involved in measuring current status. Arguments for more consideration of variability, particularly individual variation, are presented. Among the problems discussed are (1) describing large samples through…

Some of the requirements and consequences of rigorous and valid educational evaluation research are explored in terms of problems in achieving two types of external validity, population and ecological. The former refers to the generalizability of inferences to subjects not included in a study, while the latter is concerned with the…

Bayesian statistical methodology and its possible uses in the behavioral sciences are discussed in relation to the solution of problems in both the use and teaching of fundamental statistical methods, including confidence intervals, significance tests, and sampling. The Bayesian model explains these statistical methods and offers a consistent…

Prediction of success in a special program often guides program participant selection and treatment. If the statistical analysis used to develop such predictions is based on the special selectivity built into the program, the predictions can be misleading and the validation tests uninformative. Federal district court pretrial release data is used…

The use of matched sampling in experimental and nonexperimental research ahs been frustrated by the problems of attrition and incomplete matching. The amount of attrition of sample size and incomplete matching are shown to be a function of various aspects of the research, including the level of measurement of the matching variables, the sampling…

Discusses a set of neuropsychodiagnostic rules proposed by Selz and Reitan. That study was found to be seriously limited on theoretical grounds and in terms of research methodology. Sampling problems were indicated, and issues of neurological integrity and learning disabilities were poorly conceptualized. (Author)

Addresses the lack of data on procedures used to recruit subjects in marital research by examining the effects of different sampling techniques. In Study One, couples recruited through newspaper advertisements were found to be at greater risk for marital discord. In Study Two, couples who responded to mailed solicitation were found to be less…

Three criticisms of overreliance on results from statistical significance tests are noted. It is suggested that: (1) statistical significance tests are often tautological; (2) some uses can involve comparisons that are not completely sensible; and (3) using statistical significance tests to evaluate both methodological assumptions (e.g., the…

This paper identifies typical sampling problems, including improper application of the Central Limit Theorem, that are associated with the probability-based sampling procedures currently used in clinical psychology research. It then presents two alternative research designs, the theory validation model and the extended case study model, which…

A meta-analysis was conducted on 44 educational studies that used either a (labelled) Hawthorne control group, a manipulation of Hawthorne effects, or a group designed to control for the Hawthorne effect. The sample included published journal articles, ERIC documents or unpublished papers, and dissertations. The studies were coded on 20 variables,…

There has recently been a tremendous increase in the quantity of research published in gerontology. While the increase in the quantity of research has been regarded positively by gerontologists, there has been little discussion or evaluation of the quality of the research. Two articles that appeared in 1975 were both very critical of…

In October of 1983, Austin Independent School District secondary students (n=1275) completed a Youth Needs Survey (YNS) representing a 16 percent return of the original sample. Because the countywide Social Policy Advisory Committee was using the YNS results for planning, it was decided to use a high school student questionnaire (Questions for…

Study of college faculty has been hampered by the variation in types of institutions, the difficulty of obtaining an accurate faculty sample, and poor response rates to large-scale surveys. This document examines various approaches to conducting large-scale faculty surveys, and describes a suggested procedure to mitigate methodological problems.…