This study explored competition and styles of research in the fields of education, political science, sociology, and psychology. The paper is based on a theory which considers science as a competitive activity. Basic, non-applied, experimental, and "high qualitative" research styles are considered more advantageous to competition because (1) they…

Path analysis, a technique related to multiple regression analysis is used for ascribing causal relationships among variables. Path analysis involves the construction of explicitly formulated causal models and makes the reasoning explicit in the form of path diagrams and structural equations. Regression analysis is then used to construct path…

This study, based on the analysis of extensive interview data using concepts and models drawn from cognitive studies of human behavior and from artificial intelligence studies of computer information processing, highlights several information-processing differences between strong and weak students. Data were collected from 300 students in grades 3…

This collection focuses on research topics in physical education and athletics and includes the following papers: Methodological Problems in the Assessment of Personality from the Psychoanalytic, Behavioral and Cognitive Positions; Some Factors Affecting the Performance of Women in Sports and Activity; Multivariate Considerations in Children's…

There is increasing conflict between the individual's right to privacy and the need for information about individuals by private and governmental institutions; these opposing forces need to be balanced. Two phenomena which have exacerbated this problem are the rapid advances in computer technology and the increasing demands of the individual on…

The subject of this report is an approach to teaching that has become known in recent years as "open education." An attempt is made to answer the questions, What is a research variable? and, Can openness be a variable in educational research? Part 1 serves the purpose of a position statement. Certain principles are declared to be the…

Anthropological methods of classroom observation were combined with the results of student responses to three questionnaires in a study of classroom learning environments. The questionnaires were: Learning Environment Inventory, Class Activities Questionnaire, and ALP (Authenticity, Legitimacy, Productivity) Ethos Instrument. Although the…

The effects of the Follow Through Program as determined by meta-analysis techniques were reviewed and summarized. The general conclusion that more direct instructional models had greater positive effects on measures of basic skills in mathematics and reading than less direct, developmental models was supported. However, the validity of the Follow…

Two kinds of research groups have evolved in higher education: one devoted to student learning and the other to teacher training. Both groups share a common interest in the development of student thinking and appear to be proceeding along parallel paths, which may be to their disadvantage. At the same time, some researchers in teacher training are…

This study examines the role of women in local political office in Connecticut. It also investigates the proposition that attitudes toward women officeholders are affected by the number of women serving together on the local municipal council. Fifty female and 50 male politicians from towns and cities in Connecticut were interviewed. Perceptions…

Questions are raised about the future of research and development evaluation. Without a set of overarching policy questions or theoretical questions, evaluation data are simply not cumulative and cannot be organized into any data base. Education has never been a data-based enterprise. The meaning of evaluation should be broadened to include the…

The Formative Evaluation and Heuristic Research (FEHR) Practicum, a computer-simulated educational research and evaluation experience, was assessed as a means of improving participants' knowledge and skill in traditional research. Trainee activities include the preparation of preliminary surveys, evaluation proposals, budgets, computer commands,…

Recent research into the "forty-nine" songs and singing of the Kiowa Indians in southwestern Oklahoma is described in this paper. The paper first outlines the value of a process oriented approach to communication analysis that accents three primary variables: indexicality (the inherent situational nature of communicative acts),…

This paper oriented for new researchers entering the field of CAI research discusses the research experience in this area, outlines some of the important computer requirements of CAI research, and proposes a conservative computer development strategy to meet those requirements. The development of PLATO and TICCIT are described as examples of the…

This telephone survey to determine the ethnic composition of the East Detroit school district was done by a team of teachers as part of a teacher workshop training program. As part of the same teacher workshop, another team of teachers wrote an historical sketch of East Detroit, describing its population growth, economic development, and…