A number of potential threats to internal validity in true experiments are discussed. Programmatic research efforts proceeding from established correlational findings to experiments employing random assignment are described and used as referents in discussions of validity considerations. The collection of observational data is recommended for use…

Empirical information is presented on how researchers at Swedish institutes of education perceive, structure, and define educational and psychological problems. The collection, evaluation, and presentation of the results of the study were made on the basis of system theoretic assumptions in that the description and analysis of the initial phase of…

This paper argues for the inclusion of content analysis in communication research designs and for the utility of this methodology in the examination of communication events. The first half of the paper describes four types of communication content that can be analyzed: unintentional messages, such as the verbal imagery used; unconscious speech,…

Model identification of time-series data is essential to valid statistical tests of intervention effects. Model identification is, at best, inexact in the social and behavioral sciences where one is often confronted with small numbers of observations. These problems are discussed, and the results of independent identifications of 130 social and…

This study investigated the relationships obtained among verbal imitation, comprehension, and production when a stimulus sentence exceeded the child's short term memory. A total of 32 children, aged 3 to 5 years, took tests of comprehension, nonverbal imitation, verbal imitation, and production of structures expressing sequence ("before", "after",…

The author discusses a need for planning research in reading, since present research seems fragmented, the federal government has not functioned especially well in the area of planning for funding or coordination with professional organizations, and there is a need to attract scientists in a variety of disciplines to work in educational research.…

The Student Flow Project of the Hawaii community colleges in an ongoing longitudinal study designed to study how students progress through the community college system. It complements enrollment data by providing information on noncontinuing students. This update proposes a framework for data gathering and analysis of the fall 1975 entering group…

The present paper contributes to research methodology as practiced in the field by providing practitioners with a concise statement of the problems in analyzing unbalanced designs, and by clarifying the conditions under which the analysis alternatives are most appropriate. The purposes of the present paper are: (1) to examine the analysis…

This report presents the findings of a research study, conducted by the College of the Mainland (COM) as a subcontractor for Project FOLLOW-UP, designed to test the accuracy of random sampling and to measure non-response bias in mail surveys. In 1975, a computer-generated random sample of 500 students was drawn from a population of 1,256 students…

Presented is the preliminary report of the Interagency Collaborative Group on Hyperkinesis (ICGH) with functions which include exchanging information, coordinating expertise, evaluating existing data from ongoing research and reviewing proposed research for the purpose of making recommendations concerning hyperkinesis and dietary factors. The…

The Entry Survey is a 22-item, individually administered test assessing kindergarten children's language skills. Sixteen of the items address the semantic development of the following pairs of polar opposites: before-after, large-small, tall-short, and thick-thin. The remaining six items address letter identification ("c,""m,"…

This report describes the methods and instruments used by the New York City Infant Day Care Study to measure: (1) the functional status of infant day care families over time and (2) the relationship of those families to existing infant day care programs and to their communities. Background information on the development and theoretical basis of…

A clearer understanding of the capacity of research and researchers in the mass communication field is needed. In the past, when statistical researchers have found they cannot meet criteria, they have devised a new set of test characteristics. For example, when validity cannot be measured, researchers measure reliability, despite the fact that…

Two theorems concerning F in analysis of covariance with two groups (experimental and control) and one covariable (pretest score) are presented. The first shows explicitly that F is a direct function of the ratio of the variance about the regression line for the total sample to the variance about the within-group regression line. The second…

Like all good social research methods, the interview demands careful planning and intelligent administration. The study director formulates the goals of the study, which serve as the basis for the interview schedule or instrument. The interview schedule decided upon may be standardized or unstandardized. Questions may be closed-ended or…