While other fields such as statistics and education have examined various issues with quantitative work, few studies in physics education research (PER) have done so. We conducted a two-phase study to identify and to understand the extent of these issues in quantitative PER. During phase 1, we conducted a focus group of three experts in this area,…

A number of studies have used mindfulness-based interventions to influence the behavior of people with intellectual disabilities, to improve their quality of life, and to reduce challenging behavior. The present review critically evaluates 18 studies and assesses the clinical and academic impact of their findings. Strengths identified included…

REL Southwest received a request to review the report "Avoidable Losses: High Stakes Accountability and the Dropout Crisis" to assess the soundness of the study methodology and the appropriateness of the conclusions drawn in the report. The review found that conclusions drawn in this study cannot be generalized and are significantly…

Responds to Donald Dean Morley's reply (same issue). Discusses his claims about the use of multiple-message designs, the analysis of multiple-message designs, and generalization on logical grounds. (MS)

Considers two ways of conducting the search for generalizations about messages: (1) single-message research designs used with meta-analytic summaries; and (2) multiple-message designs treating messages as a random factor in the statistical analysis. Contends that the treatment of messages as a random factor is statistically appropriate. (MS)

Replies to Sally Jackson, Daniel O'Keefe, and Scott Jacobs' article (same issue), maintaining that randomness requirements can not be relaxed for generalizing from message samples, since systematic samples are not truly random. (MS)

Examines the paradox of case studies' abilities to understand the complexity in particular contexts while not being generalizable. Argues that the pressure for quantification and multisite case study design in policy research has weakened the original utility of the case study method for understanding complex educational phenomena. (DSK)

Argues that generalizing to message populations by treating messages as a random variable is inappropriate for complex messages, and proposes meta-analytic techniques for investigating biases in message samples and other methodological factors that can limit generalizability of communication research. (MS)

Although it makes a great deal of sense to attempt to design reading research so as to be able to generalize beyond the particular reading passages used in an experiment, the suggestion that tests of statistical significance are a necessary part of making valid generalizations is nonsense. (HOD)

This review of research on the social integration of children with disabilities in mainstreaming programs addresses the problems of generalizing findings to other groups of children, use of simplistic measuring techniques, limited evidence supporting the use of multivariate statistical procedures, and interpretation of treatment effects.…

The current state of usage of regression models in analysis of variance (ANOVA) designs is empirically examined, and examples of several statistical errors made in usage are presented. The assumptions of the general linear model are that all predictors are known without error of measurement and are fixed with no replication or sample variation; in…