Describes an alternative approach to research in science education, in comparison to more typical research paradigms. Briefly describes five studies that illustrate the alternative approach and examines in detail an additional study that utilized the recommended research paradigm. (JG)

Techniques for using surveys and questionnaires in economic education research are described. For journal availability see SO 504 303. (DE)

Over half of all the introductory sociology books on the market today pay relatively little attention to quantitative sociological methods and research design. (Author/DE)

A theory of language acquistion is proposed in outline which derives from a view of language as primarily a code for the communication of meaning intentions. (Editor)

Piaget's class-inclusion task was revised class-inclusion tasks were administered to 64 kindergarten and 64 first-graders. Each of the revisions enhanced performance as compared with Piaget's standard procedures. These results are considered in terms of two possible interpretations. (Author/SDH)

A researcher tested the hypothesis that children become more interested in a toy the more they are exposed to it. (RK)

Describes some of the major methodologies in evaluation research and stresses the need for researchers to understand the basis of the multiplicity of approaches. (Author/SDH)

Social studies research has been criticized for sampling bias, inappropriate methodologies, incorrect or inappropriate use of statistics, weak or ill-defined treatments, and lack of replication and/or longitudinal follow-up. In an effort to ascertain whether past criticisms were true of current research as well, a review was conducted of 118…

A brief, practical overview of "design effects" (DEFFs) is presented for users of the results of sample surveys. The overview is intended to help such users to determine how and when to use DEFFs and to compute them correctly. DEFFs are needed only for inferential statistics, not for descriptive statistics. When the selections for…

Basic principles underlying statistical power are examined; and issues pertaining to effect size, sample size, error variance, and significance level are highlighted via the use of specific hypothetical examples. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and related methods remain popular, although other procedures sometimes have more statistical power against…

This research assesses the impact of the AB 803 Adoption/Expansion Program, a grant program that encourages schools to startup or expand their use of educational technology. The report summarizes how various grant programs have been prepared and how funds were applied at schools. The report also identifies factors that enhance or inhibit use of…

This document contains three papers concerned with prevention intervention research, a new area of depression research which has shown great promise for contributing new knowledge to the understanding of depression. The first paper, "Clinical Trials vs. Prevention Trials: Methodological Issues in Depression Research" (Ricardo F. Munoz), emphasizes…

The Hawthorne and placebo effects in educational experiments were examined over a 20-year period, as reported in the ERIC, Dissertation Abstracts International, and Psych Info data bases. The literature searches identified 325 studies in education employing the relevant control procedures, and each study was coded for the type of placebo…

By focusing on concepts of power, culture, and ideology in light of new socio-cultural and anthropological interpretations with regard to their use in international, intercultural, and cross-cultural communication research, an outline for the framework of a more hermeneutic-interpretive approach to the study of communication and socio-cultural…