The purpose of this study is to extend the work of Spybrook and Raudenbush (2009) and examine how the research designs and sample sizes changed from the planning phase to the implementation phase in the first wave of studies funded by IES. The authors examine the impact of the changes in terms of the changes in the precision of the study from the…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry research study was to explore how learning communities impact attitude changes of developmental college students. The qualitative research design enabled the researcher to determine attitudes, and changes in attitudes, via narratives shared by the participants about their personal experiences. The participants…

This study compared and contrasted two qualitative scholarly articles in relation to their research designs. Their designs were analyzed by the comparison of research references and research specific vocabulary to describe how various research methods were used. When researching and analyzing qualitative scholarly articles, it is imperative to…

An increasing number of students are selecting for-profit universities to pursue their education (Snyder, Tan & Hoffman, 2006). Despite this trend, little empirical research attention has focused on these institutions, and the literature that exists has been classified as rudimentary in nature (Tierney & Hentschke, 2007). The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the relationship between levels of implementation of professional learning communities and Collective Efficacy. More specifically, the study sought to determine the relationship between the levels of implementation of dimensions of professional learning communities (Learning, Collaboration…

This study examined the impact of principals' data-driven decision-making practices on student achievement using the theoretical frame of Dervin's sense-making theory. This study is a quantitative cross-sectional research design where principals' perceptions about data were quantitatively captured at a single point in time. The participants for…

Research suggests that mental health professionals have more problematic family backgrounds than those in other professions, but little is known about the role that early experience has on career choice. This is of particular importance for the education of psychologists, given the current emphasis on skills and research training and the call for…

Providing post-secondary education in correctional settings has emerged as one of the best ways to reduce recidivism, save taxpayer dollars, and promote post release employment and community reintegration. While a number of studies exist, this paper argues persistent challenges connected to research design, data collection, and the communication…

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based protocol, ModerateDrinking.com (MD; "www.moderatedrinking.com") combined with use of the online resources of Moderation Management (MM; "www.moderation.org") as opposed to the use of the online resources of MM alone. Method: We randomly assigned 80 problem drinkers to…

The promotion of regular physical activity for people with type 2 diabetes poses a challenge for public health authorities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a computer-tailoring print-based intervention to promote the adoption of regular physical activity among people with type 2 diabetes. An experimental design was…

An inductive grounded theory approach was used to investigate the role of teacher education on the career paths of 38 Noyce scholarship recipients ("scholars"), most of whom were teaching in high-need schools. The emergent research design was guided by the initial research question: "What are Noyce scholars' reasons for the decisions made on the…

Recent discussions about the conduct of community interventions suggest the importance of developing more comprehensive theorizing about their nature and effects. The present study is an effort to infer how community interventions are theorized by the way they are represented in the peer-reviewed scholarly literature. A coding of a random sample…

Scholars have argued that imprecise data graphics, specifically those displaying decorative dimensionality of data, may lead to inaccurate interpretations. Empirical tests of decorative dimensionality have produced mixed results. The literature also suggests that the effects of decorative dimensionality may depend on the cognitive demand of a…

This article presents an interview with David Rindskopf, a Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and Psychology at the City University of New York Graduate Center, where he has taught since 1979. His research and teaching are in the area of applied statistics, measurement, and research design. He is a fellow of the American Statistical…

Background: Teacher education is expected to support pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they respond to the challenges of becoming self-reliant learners, and position them within the context of a professional learning approach. In doing so, teacher educators need to exemplify lifelong characteristics of learning in our practice and attitudes,…