While the rationalistic approach traditionally employed in research and development efforts in the social sciences may be the best method of inquiry to use in the physical sciences, social scientists, and, more particularly, vocational education researchers, would do better to adopt a naturalistic method of research. The naturalist approach to…

This document is a guide for use by the practical researcher concerned with conducting studies of transfer of learning from pretraining of pilots in ground-based environments to performance in aircraft. While the material addresses principally transfer of learning of pilots, many of the issues should be applicable to other contexts, to include…

This article assimilates and critically reviews 10 reports between 1960 and 1980 in which hypnosis was used with non-retarded children, aged 6 to 17, who had learning problems. Studies are reviewed in terms of the major deficit focused on by the researchers, i.e., reading deficits, self-concept and academic achievement, academic behavior problems,…

Research strategies used to study human aggression include laboratory study, experimental simulation, field experiment, field study, judgment task, sample survey, and less empirical strategies such as computer simulations and formal theory. The context of these strategies can be classified as either contrived, natural, or irrelevant. Major issues…

The overall purpose of the national Head Start evaluation is to assess the impact, on the children and parents being served, of: (1) the educational services component of Head Start, and (2) a new demonstration program within Head Start, Basic Educational Skills (BES). The evaluation deals with a total of 65 Head Start programs and their families.…

A simulation study to determine appropriate linking methods for adaptive testing items was designed. Three basic data sets for responses were created. These were randomly sampled, systematically sampled, and selected data sets. The evaluative criteria used were fidelity of parameter estimation, asymptotic ability estimates, root-mean-square error…

Surveys of dental student values are described that were designed to assess value ratings by four dental classes in 1976, annual value ratings of a freshman class as they progressed through their four year program, and the usefulness of the cross-sectional design versus the longitudinal design. Each of the two surveys, which were conducted by the…

This report describes the technical assistance rendered to the NIE-sponsored R&D Utilization Program (R&DU) by the contractor working with the NIE staff, the Center for the Study of Evaluation, and the seven R&DU projects, to develop cross-project instrumentation, develop mutually acceptable plans for data collection and analysis, and…

Intended for those who are concerned with evaluation but do not have an extensive background, this textbook helps students, scientists, evaluators, and administrators conduct and interpret evaluations. It deals with evaluations in all social action programs--health, education, and welfare. The focus is on basic procedures, rather than on theory,…

This paper outlines the objectives, perspectives, methodology, and educational significance of a research project being undertaken to analyze and evaluate black post secondary education. The major objective for undertaking this research is to determine whether, within selected social science disciplines, "client-centered" undergraduate teaching…

Three categories of dependent variables used in classroom research were defined: (1) academic--behavior related to a specific academic area, achievement, or test performance; (2) deportmental--behavior related to classroom conduct, such as paying attention to teacher, whispering, and following instructions; and (3) other--including thumbsucking,…

Multiple matrix sampling of three subscales of the California Psychological Inventory was used to investigate the effects of four variables on error estimates of the mean (EEM) and variance (EEV). The four variables were examinee population size (600, 450, 300, 150, 100, and 75); number of subtests, (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7), hence the number of…

Progress that has been made in second language research in the last two years and future directions in the research methodology of second language studies are discussed. In order to examine the continuation and expansion of current research, the research reported by Schumann (1976) is compared with current research as represented by the titles of…

This study employs a time-series analysis of naturalistic developmental functioning to describe characteristics of transition in social development. A special education classroom of eight preadolescents, ages 11 and 12, provided subjects for this study. Transitional patterns in social cognitive development were studied in children's…

Reliable institutional research is seen as serving as a valuable means of generating accurate, objective data useful in reaching sound management decisions in institutions of higher education. Institutional research is defined as the systematic, comprehensive self-study used by a college or university to improve the institution. Sound…