Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a promising yet underutilized tool in the international development field. SNA entails collecting and analyzing data to characterize and visualize social networks, where nodes represent network members and edges connecting nodes represent relationships or exchanges among them. SNA can help both researchers and…

This document is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focused on the question: "How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement on social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?" In answering this question, the authors have sought to understand "what matters most" for improving social mobility outcomes.…

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF; 2006), science and engineering jobs constitute a growing sector of the United States economy. The number of science and engineering degrees has lagged behind this occupational growth. In describing Wisconsin's technology profile, Winters, Strang, and Klus (2000) report that the state is nationally…

Among the functions of a college of education are engaging in basic research in education and helping the college and individual faculty members provide research for the clientele that the college serves. A formal structure for these tasks is required by large universities. At Mississippi State University (MSU), the Bureau of Research and…

Needs sensing is any type of systematic assessment of needs ranging from formal data collection through surveys to a more informal use of expert opinion through advisory groups. It is especially difficult to use systematically collected, data-based needs in research and development (R & D) organizations because they typically: (1) have the…

The Austin Independent School District's Research and Evaluation Office presents practical information concerning observational research. This paper focuses on five topics: (1) what makes a good observer (setting the ground rules, training observers in details, and practice, i.e., involving the observers in planning and providing rigorous…

This paper outlines an approach to devising master social indicators which reflect conditions in a major area of human concern. There are five principal sections: Section I is an introduction; Section II sketches a heuristic model for categorizing indicator concepts, and suggests how a hierarchically organized scheme of indicators can be…

A survey covered categories of budget, organization, staff resources, activities, and reporting techniques and policies; the survey revealed Research and Evaluation (R and E) offices received federal or state funding. Therefore, most retain financial independence from programs evaluated. The best placement of R and E offices in the school…

This evaluation of the information dissemination program of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) uses a inclusive approach to gather, analyze, and report information to help decision makers. Results of three questionnaires, reviews and analyses of CRESST products, and Internet records were used to…

A survey to elicit data on R&D expenditures of state government agencies for fiscal years 1972 and 1973 is covered in this document. In 1973 total R&D expenditures by all sectors of the economy were $30,427 million. The R&D expenditures of State government agencies amounted to 0.9 percent of this total. Expenditures of state government agencies to…

Describes the activities of Florida's Career Education Center, including the design and production of competency-based curriculum materials for use in vocational education, technical assistance, consulting services, information services, in-service training, and the development of a system that focuses on the availability and development of…

The central research question addressed at the National Center for Teacher Education is, "What do teacher education programs contribute to teachers' learning?" This article describes how this question is explored, conceptualization of key terms in the question, data collection strategies, and contributions and limitations of the Center's…

The use of numeric data has historical significance in the research of many academic disciplines, but today it is burgeoning. Responses from academic business librarians to a 33-item questionnaire are the basis for this study that investigates the interactions between academic business libraries and other local units supplying numeric data…

A FINAL REPORT WAS MADE OF THE ACTIVITIES PURSUED IN PHASE 1 OF A 10-YEAR PROJECT DEALING WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN TRANSFER OF TRAINING. PHASE I CONSISTED OF A SURVEY OF THE EXISTENT DATA AND CONCEPTS OF TRANSFER OF TRAINING IN AN ATTEMPT (1) TO SUMMARIZE, INTEGRATE, CONSOLIDATE, AND INTERPRET RESEARCH FINDINGS…