The authors of research on transition from special education respond to Robin Jackson's review article criticizing their work; deny that their research was subject to external pressure by the Scottish Office Education Department, which funded the research; and respond to several of Jackson's points as misrepresenting or misinterpreting the…

Discusses the nature of academic research, limits on practical newspaper research, and promoting practical research among professors. Argues that the academic world should have room for all kinds of research and that industry should be more supportive of academic research efforts. (SR)

Notes that research on the use of networked information resources, like any kind of social science involving the study of human subjects, raises ethical questions. The tension between traditional research guidelines and new technologies is discussed; public/private distinctions and informed consent are addressed; and possible solutions are…

To assess and evaluate current practices in agricultural education research, papers in the "Journal of Agricultural Education" (n=9) and the "Proceedings of the National Agricultural Education Research Meeting" (n=13) were examined for studies that used factor analysis. Results indicate that many agricultural educators lack a…

Suggest practical procedure for estimating number of subjects that need to be screened to obtain sample of fixed size that meets multiple correlated criteria. Procedure described is based on fact that least-squares regression provides good quadratic fit for Monte Carlo estimates of multivariate probabilities when they are plotted as function of…

Many studies examining health service utilization by older adults involve secondary analyses of existing data sources and rely on behavioral model of health services utilization. Suggests that severe shortcomings in breadth and depth of available data, and numbers of intervals at which data have been recorded, limit understanding of health…

This poem, with stanzas in limerick form, refers humorously to the many threats to validity posed by problems in research design, including problems of sample selection, data collection, and data analysis. (SLD)

Analyzed response bias among 34 recipients of care in hospice. Found nonrespondents to have better bereavement prognoses and tended to care for patients who were younger, male, and in program for shorter time. Nonrespondents were in contact with staff less than were respondents. Data are consistent with earlier research showing significant…

The claim that knowledge alone accounts for variance of memory and development (MAD) is critiqued. Topics include the movement toward a knowledge-based view of MAD and problems with this approach; data suggesting that domain-independent strategies influence MAD; and evidence for a domain-independent tool of developmental import. (SLD)

Discusses the nature of ethnographic work, particularly in relation to the study of deafness. The kinds of information presented in ethnographies is explored, as are ethnography's limitations. Problems of and strategies for doing ethnographic research and writing ethnographies about deaf communities are explored. (20 references) (JL)

Discusses issues attendant to meta-analytic reviews of the research literature concerning factors influencing persuasive effectiveness. Discusses issues connected with (1) the literature search (such as identification of relevant studies); and (2) the analysis of the collected studies (including extraction of effect sizes from studies, analyses of…

Two biographies of Sir Cyril Burt argue the case of Britain's most famous psychologist, accused of academic fraud relating to his studies of IQ and heredity. The verdict is unclear, but lessons abound for social science researchers, students, universities, and investigators of research fraud. Contains 62 references. (SV)

Assessment of Bureau of Labor Statistics' projections found that those published in the early 1970s were based on extrapolating past rates of change and were remarkably accurate. Changed methodology in the 1980s has resulted in significant underprojections of the rapid growth in higher skilled professional and managerial jobs and overprojection of…

Describes in broad terms the state of research in agenda setting, defines the key problems, and suggests a variety of alternative perspectives that, if given the chance, will enrich the study of this topic domain. (SR)

The methodology of many studies that have identified specific genetic loci for disorders associated with mental retardation is criticized as failing to demonstrate an association between the behavior phenotype and the genetic marker. A more appropriate methodology using a multitrait-multimethod approach is suggested. (Author/JDD)