THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO EXTEND, ELABORATE, AND IMPROVE THE SET-FUNCTION LANGUAGE (SFL). THE SFL IS A NEW SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE FOR FORMULATING RESEARCH QUESTIONS ON MEANINGFUL LEARNING, FRAMED IN TERMS OF THE MATHEMATICAL NOTIONS OF SETS AND FUNCTIONS. IN THE FIRST PAPER, THE SFL IS DESCRIBED. ITS RELATION TO THE STIMULUS RESPONSE…

These proceedings contain six conference papers with commentary and discussion: (1) Dell Hymes, "On Communicative Competence," (2) David McNeill, "How to Learn a First Language," (3) Wayne O'Neil, "A Theory of Linguistic Performance," (4) William Stewart, "Social Dialect," (5) Paul Cohen, "Some Methods in Sociolinguistic Research," and (6) S. Alan…

PRESENTED ARE INTERVIEW SCHEDULES TO BE USED IN A SURVEY OF AMERICAN HISTORY INSTRUCTION IN THE LOS ANGELES AND THE PHOENIX PUBLIC SCHOOLS SERVING A DISADVANTAGED AND MINORITY GROUP POPULATION. THERE ARE FORMS DEALING WITH CURRICULUM, COURSE CONTENT TEXTUAL MATERIALS, LIBRARY FACILITIES, AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS. OTHER INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FORMS…

Major objectives of a 1-trimester research training project were (1) to introduce outstanding undergraduates in the behavioral and social sciences to educational research and (2) to introduce outstanding undergraduates currently preparing for the teaching profession to the field of educational research as a possible future career. Approximately…

A 36-week pilot training program for 20 outstanding undergraduates in education and in the behavioral and social sciences was conducted in 1966. It was designed to assist students (1) to develop basic competencies in measurement techniques and statistical research designs appropriate to educational research, (2) to engage in individual study in…

The articles comprising this bulletin report the status of research methods in the English language arts and indicate promising directions for further effort. Ralph C. Staiger discusses the range of language arts research and points out the strengths and weaknesses of various research techniques. Theodore Clymer examines the essential…

The purpose of the study was twofold: first, to determine the reliability of a paired-associate (PA) task when used as a test of learning proficiency; and second, to assess the relationship between performance on the PA task and on IQ tests as a function of grade level (kindergarten, first, third) and socioeconomic status (high, low). The…

The most generally accepted approaches of quantitatively forecasting manpower requirements by industries and occupations are described and evaluated. The operational steps of each forecasting technique are spelled out fully and illustrations of their use are made for (1) the econometric method, (2) the productivity method, (3) the trend projection…

Studies of transfer of training may be used to determine whether simulator training improves pilot performance in an aircraft. Some approaches to determining simulator training effectiveness, such as surveys of pilot and instructor opinions, are not considered particularly reliable. Several other approaches have also been suggested. One factor…

This paper discusses a procedure for diagnosing adult educational needs, which the author developed and tested for her doctoral dissertation to study the work performance of attendant supervisors at a mental retardation facility. She describes the methodology used as ethnographic research, which entails an analytic description of a culture by…

The paper examines past and potential contributions of literature to sociology and evaluates the relationship between the two disciplines. Emphasis is on explaining how the novelist's observation as embodied in a work of fiction may be used to further the work of the social scientist. Section I identifies major uses of literature in sociological…

The paper discusses methodological and theoretical concerns of sociologists and art historians and proposes issues for an interdisciplinary social study of art which draw from both disciplines. The social nature of art is interpreted as including art's contribution to society and social change, its position as an expression of social realities,…

Several methodological issues related to second language acquisition research are considered, and a two-part study is discussed that addresses issues related to data collection, i.e., how and how frequent, and data analysis, i.e., the appropriateness of the statistical tools, the justification of inferences and the comparability of results based…

This document is intended as a resource guide for institutional researchers, based on the experience of the Johnson County Community College (Kansas) Institutional Research Office. It includes pragmatic suggestions concerning research design and research problems which are incorporated into discussions of research questions, reporting data,…

This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of two alternative methods for determining the status of graduates of Seminole Community College. The first method involved the identification of graduates, design and mailing of a questionnaire, and analysis of response data, as mandated by the state. The second method compared computer data…