Standardized patient case problems were administered to approximately 280 final year medical students. Results indicate that performance on a given component of clinical competence shows less consistency when measured on different cases than does performance on different components measured on the same case. (TJH)

Describes a scheme in the United Kingdom that coordinates geochemistry publications with a computerized geochemistry database. The database comprises not only data published in the journals but also the remainder of the pertinent data set. The discussion covers the database design; collection, storage and retrieval of data; and plans for future…

Evaluates the methodological adequacy of 37 studies of reading comprehension strategy instruction according to criteria of both internal and external validity. Finds many strengths, but identifies six important weaknesses. Suggests guidelines for planning future studies, and urges comprehension researchers to pay more attention to methodological…

Criticized in this response is research published previously in "The Journal of Environmental Education." Considered are the limitations of the project, experimental design, control of variables, and the use of the case study approach. Includes 35 references. (CW)

Examines the Chinese Exclusion Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which documented the influx of Chinese immigrants from 1882-1923, the time when Chinese immigration was first limited and ultimately stopped altogether. These files contain data on thousands of immigrants, documenting their experience, aspirations, and…

Illustrates how the combined use of qualitative and quantitative methods were necessary in obtaining a clearer understanding of the process of incest in American society. Argues that the exclusive use of one methodology would have obscured important information. (FMW)

Describes an empirical study that measured word-profile similarities between citing and cited publications in the chemical engineering field. Highlights include cognitive resemblance and bibliographic coupling; data collection techniques; analysis of word-profile similarity; bibliographic coupled publications; mapping of cognitive resemblance; and…

Examines sources of national data on child abuse, the number of cases reported, and recent trends. The author addresses the issues of substantiation rates and the various categories of abuse, then provides brief examinations of the characteristics of the victims of abuse and of child fatalities related to maltreatment. (GLR)

Investigates the organization and rhetoric of sales negotiations using a methodology that draws on discourse analysis and business studies of negotiation. Differences in the status-bound behavior of New Relationship Negotiations and the role enactment of the Old Relationship Negotiations are noted, and various strategies for saving professional…

Project questions are real-world problems with multiple solutions, no obvious solution sequence, requiring hands-on data collection, and investigation of topics within and outside mathematics. Discusses evaluation of solution processes, describes a detailed example involving the trajectory of a baseball, and suggests 19 other project questions.…

Techniques in using readership surveys to boost the effectiveness and acceptance of a college publication, particularly those intended for faculty and alumni, are outlined. Steps include planning the research, selecting survey participants, drafting a questionnaire, designing a survey package, monitoring response, and reviewing and presenting…

Reviews a survey of all Ministries of Education and a sampling of school districts taken to explore whether a French Immersion (FI) teacher shortage exists. Findings indicate a stabilization in the growth rate of immersion programs, a lack of teachers for specialty areas and of teachers specifically trained to teach in immersion. (12 references)…

Presents an activity in which students use cereal boxes to describe, classify, order, analyze, graph, tally, and make connections and to study pricing, measures of central tendency, consumerism, measurement, and probability. (MKR)

This paper describes an educational accountability system that provides needed accountability along with the data necessary for school improvement. The accountability system, which is being implemented in the Dallas (Texas) schools, is a three-tier system moving from the school level through district improvement plans to school improvement…

Guidelines for the implementation of qualitative methods in special education research are offered, addressing rigor, sample selection, data collection, and data management/analysis. Five possible pitfalls are identified, including the quantitative-qualitative methods debate, premature data collection, the tendency to use a linear procedural…