A series of studies evaluated methodological issues in the investigation of children's developing comprehension and production of the words "because" and "so." The familiarity of task materials and their relevance to 4-, 6-, and 8-year-old children's experience were the focus of the first study. For the second study, involving…

This publication reports the findings of research carried out in recognition of the need for an in-depth analysis of the U.S. jazz music audience in order to identify and assess ways to shape the future of jazz as part of the "Survey of Public Participation in The Arts" conducted in 1982. The research problem was to learn the size,…

The pros and cons of sexuality education are discussed in this report from Planned Parenthood. Research on the effectiveness of sexuality education has focused primarily on college students, having little relevance for teenage sexuality education. The Kirby report, two studies of the effects of sexuality education on teenagers' attitudes,…

Drawing from a bibliographic survey of statistical data on two-year colleges, this digest indicates what kinds of data are available, what data are not readily accessible, and the limitations that affect the available information on two-year college finances, curriculum, students, and personnel. The digest recognizes the availability of data on…

Obesity in children is a problem both insidious and acute. Childhood obesity has been indicated as a forerunner of adult obesity; it is also an immediate problem for the child. Given the lack of evidence for long term maintenance of any weight loss, this paper investigates the etiology of the disorder as a prelude to prevention. Upon review of the…

Several approaches to the study of play are examined and critiqued, including Matthews and Matthews' (1982) paradigm case approach and Sutton-Smith and Kelly-Byrne's (1984) view of play as a commonly-recognized-as-framed event in which the metacommunicative function always retains primacy. Consideration of the genesis of play in the child leads to…

The Hawthorne and placebo effects in educational experiments were examined over a 20-year period, as reported in the ERIC, Dissertation Abstracts International, and Psych Info data bases. The literature searches identified 325 studies in education employing the relevant control procedures, and each study was coded for the type of placebo…

This paper addresses the specific concerns of gaining entry into formal and complex organizational settings, specifically businesses, to conduct field research. Accounts of other researchers' experiences and the authors' own field data are analyzed and viewed within an open systems organizational framework. Through the use of metaphors relating to…

Previous research linking life events and psychological well being may have been biased by traditional retrospective designs. To eliminate retrospective bias, a prospective design was used in which events were measured before the criterion had occurred. Subjects were 209 male and 159 female participants in the Augmented Baltimore Longitudinal…

National Institute of Education (NIE) research priorities indicate the use of panel measures only during the time children are in Follow Through programs and further seem to indicate that only implementation variables should be measured. This paper raises questions about the desirability of the narrow focus implied by the NIE priorities, the…

This paper reviews research on the relative utility of self-efficacy expectancy, outcome expectancy, and outcome value in explaining and predicting therapeutic behavior change. It proposes that these three cognitive mediators are basic factors in psychological and behavioral problems and in psychotherapy process, that they are logically…

Although the mail survey has been widely criticized as a viable research methodology, it remains the most feasible approach for retrieving data from large, widely-dispersed populations. This paper suggests that there exists a readily accessible body of pragmatic recommendations which, if adhered to throughout the instrument design and data…

Researchers sometimes use stepwise methods to eliminate variables from analyses when the variables do not appreciably improve the ability to explain or predict inferences about the importance of various predictor variables. It is argued that stepwise methods are usually not appropriate for these purposes for three reasons. First, some researchers…

An explanation of the misuse of statistical significance testing and the true meaning of "significance" is offered. Literature about the criticism of current practices of researchers and publications is reviewed in the context of tests of significance. The problem under consideration occurs when researchers attempt to do more than just establish…

This brief paper considers the historical development of comparative education and consequent problems. It is argues that the origin of comparative education was found in the possibility of being both national and supranational in one's orientation to the study of education. This has led to confusion in what is being studied and the concepts used…