This paper suggests ways of structuring the content of feedback experimentally to test hypotheses of interest. Use of the feedback process in this manner suggests a variety of research and intervention tactics, many of them unexplored and some of them implying ethically questionable conduct. Consideration of this question also helps illuminate the…

To be effective, information on early childhood education should (1) be directed towards the appropriate audience, (2) be written so that it is understandable to that audience, and (3) provide data to help the user make meaningful judgements. The wide range of educational and occupational levels of people working in the field of early childhood…

The growing complexity of society has resulted in increased attention to the problem of knowledge production and utilization. This review of the scholarship pertaining to this subject traces the topic in its most general sense. Three fields of interest have received attention from researchers: 1) the relation of research to practice; 2) the nature…

An evaluator-manager interaction model is developed for predicting the impact of evaluation and research findings. Instruments are developed for measuring the variables of interpersonal involvement, impact of evaluation, and managerial style in the relationship between evaluator and manager. The hypothesis advanced suggests that evaluators can…

Feedback is discussed in relation to measuring the change process, a three-step procedure of dialogue, decision-making, and action-taking. Measurement problems resulting from feedback are presented. (AG)

Various actual experiences are illustrated which relate to the problem of making feedback useful, and certain methods and techniques are offered as possible ways of handling the communication problem. (CK)

An information feedback model and an ideology of evaluation are posed and contrasted with experiences in evaluation research. Impact on policy is the criterion for success of an evaluation and political constraints block this impact. Some ways social researchers might conceptualize and construct an appropriate base of power are considered.…

SPIRES WAS PLANNED AS A FIVE-YEAR EFFORT TO DEVELOP AND STUDY AN EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION NEEDS OF PHYSICISTS AT STANFORD. THERE ARE TWO COMPONENTS TO THE SPIRES PROJECT. ONE IS TO STUDY THE INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF A USER POPULATION OF ABOUT 100 HIGH- ENERGY PHYSICISTS. DETAILS…

If feedback from educational research is not properly related or interpreted, it can often be more detrimental than beneficial. Five factors that should be kept in mind regarding feedback are: (1) varying interpretations of research findings depending on the user, (2) ethical-human aspects, (3) validity problems, (4) interaction effects, and (5)…

The basic goal of the "linkage agent" or research utilization agent is to facilitate the use of educational research and development to improve educational practice. This task may be conceptualized by a "system" or a "process" model. Successful work in the field of research utilization must encompass elements of both models. In this context, the…