The linking of research and action, basic methods of social research, and the uses of research in distance teaching are examined, with examples drawn from the Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre and other distance teaching programs. Ways in which research can be useful and early stages of research design and planning are discussed. An explanation of…

The study of teachers as decision-makers is a recent paradigm in educational research. This decision-making approach considers the teacher as an active professional engaged in various decision-making activities prior to and during instruction. This paper describes a naturalistic research design employed in a recent dissertation that investigated…

This discussion traces the legislative, fiscal, and programmatic history of Project Follow Through and analyzes the many problems and controversies that have surrounded it. It is argued that problems have been largely a result of the attempt to combine research and development (R & D) and social action service programs. Lessons learned as a…

This School Research Newsletter presents the research program of the National Swedish Board of Education (NBE), as adopted by the NBE Board of Directors in June 1982. The successive decisions on decentralization taken in the educational sector since 1976 have led also to a decision to alter the thrust of the research and development work within at…

This paper describes the methodology used in a study assessing the health needs of the Asian population, specifically the Chinese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese populations, in Santa Clara County, California. The study by the Santa Clara County Health Department is part of a wide-ranging needs assessment project primarily intended to guide…

Because self-directed learning behaviors are inherently interwoven within a foundation of lifespan cognitive and contextual characteristics, researchers must examine the theory and application of self-directed learning not just as an externally-defined or self-perceived process but also as an internal process of continual development grounded in a…

This paper presents a global approach to the media comparison literature. Beginning with the pros and cons of media research, it discusses the results of both individual and meta-analysis research, compares the different methods researchers have used to determine media selection, and concludes with the most recent trends in media selection. It is…

This paper discusses the design, development, and results of a one-year pilot implementation of an emerging issues tracking system by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) for state-level educational policymakers and decision makers known as SEDL-SCAN. SEDL-SCAN offers policy-makers lead time on crises by flagging emerging…

The Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-297) require the U.S. Department of Education to conduct a national longitudinal study of Chapter 1 of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The department commissioned the selection of experts qualified to provide design suggestions and advice for the national…

Active research can be one area of enrichment in which counselors may gain personal growth, self-discipline, and personal development. The developer of the research project also gains in knowledge and practice in the specific areas of information retrieval systems. The counselor becomes aware of the methodology used in the preparation of a…

In response to a frequently articulated call for "ecological" validity from instructional communication investigations, this paper reports on methodological issues which evolved during the development and application of a coding scheme for content analyzing teacher compliance-gaining messages. Starting with a consideration of the…

An overview of research regarding mid-level administrators' careers is presented, and research topics and strategies for studying career opportunities are proposed. The review focuses on how mid-level administrators' careers are studied and the purposes of those studies. From research completed between 1969 and 1985, 30 studies about mid-level…

This document describes the methodology and results of a pilot study and outlines the hypotheses and procedures of a final study to identify and measure racist behaviors and attitudes in adults. The impact of a slide presentation on racial attitudes was also examined. The context of the pilot study was a workshop on race relations designed to…

The primary research problem confronting many experimental researchers is finding valid stimulus (instructional) and criterial (testing) materials that operationally fit their hypotheses. Five experimental studies have been completed, and two are in progress, using the Dwyer instructional materials to address the problem of finding valid…

The multilevel characteristics of test item data are considered as a method for examining the characteristics of standardized norm-referenced tests. A theoretical rationale for examining multilevel characteristics is presented. It can be used as an aid to understand why program and instructional effects on measures constructed from…