Asserts (1) that contrary to Waters, findings affirm the importance of viewing mother-infant attachment as a dynamic relationship, responsive to family conditions, and (2) that these findings are consistent with those of other researchers. (Author/RH)

Examined the effects of telephone contacts with employers on the rate of return of a mailed one-page questionnaire to identify job development opportunities for rehabilitation clients. Various telephone contacts were no more effective than a standard mail approach in terms of questionnaires returned and jobs listed. (Author/JAC)

From a statistical methodological standpoint, criticizes research by Hicks, Langham, and Takenaka, which found significant differences in behavioral and intelligence measures between children with different time periods of participation in the National Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. (GC)

Much of educational administration research suffers from lack of conformity between data analysis and research design, inattention to the test/retest stability of measurement instruments, and the use of statistics for nominal or interval data with ordinal data, random-sample statistics with nonrandom samples, and unnecessarily complex statistical…

An examination of the way in which Ss were selected in research from 1968 through 1978 on behaviorally disordered students points out imprecision in methodology. The author suggests using control groups and follow-up procedures and emphasizes the need to theorize less while collecting more data. (CL)

M.S. Horner has been criticized for defining "success" to her subjects in her research on fear-of-success. The present study, which provided an ambiguous verbal lead, showed low incidence of fear-of-success, because subjects themselves were allowed to define "success." (GC)

Reviews Emig's methodology, highlighting both the timeliness of her study, and the flaws in her generalizations about writing teachers' expertise. Cautions against depending upon her results and those of similar studies, as the final word on the writing process. (HTH)

Argues that recent emphasis in second-language research has been on the communication situation of the language learner and on the features of input and individual differences in learning style that affect how the interlanguage develops. Suggests that research is needed on the interaction of situational and personal variables. (MP)

Early work by Bartlett in memory theory is contrasted with the more firmly entrenched empirical-associationistic notions of his time. Contemporary lines of research are then discussed within the perspective of this ongoing controversy. A more purely constructive model with active processing during retention, recall, and comprehension is presented.…

Perspectives on the issues of the effectiveness and the role of laboratory work are provided through a review of the history, goals, and research findings regarding the laboratory as a medium of instruction in introductory science teaching. Suggestions for researchers working to clarify the role of the laboratory are made. (Author/PN)

An evaluation of open education was shown to produce misleading results due to probable regression phenomena. These questionable results are now spread throughout the literature of education, sociology, and psychology. Researchers are advised to review, not merely summarize, prior articles. (Author/PN)

Asserts the essence of affirmation is that investigators should be less concerned with discrediting bad readings of questionable interpreations and more concerned with making better ones. The strongest tools carried by social scientists when they address problems are their beliefs, not their doubts. (Author/RC)

Discusses the generalizability of educational research and uses the area of main idea comprehension to illustrate how a line of research can be overgeneralized and lead to unfounded conclusions and pedagogical implications. (FL)

Describes a study of reliability among coders of information for meta-analysis (a quantitative procedure for synthesizing data in primary research reports) of research on life satisfaction in American adults. Identifies sources and areas of disagreement among coders and discusses measures that can be used to enhance intercoder consistency.…

The normalized mean is developed and discussed as a descriptive measure of central location. The advantages of the normalized mean over the arithmetic mean, median, and trimmed mean are discussed. (Author)