These three papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by R. Wayne Pace at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "High Performance Work Systems" (Martha A. Gephart) assesses the state of theory and research on high performance work from a "systems" perspective and identifies challenges…

This review critiques the use of Lev Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) in quantitative research that focuses on the role communication plays in learning. A study that makes claims in terms of the ZPD should include a pretest, a problem-solving activity, and a posttest. Without these minimal elements, researchers are not…

Since the inaugural meeting of the Southeastern Association of Community College Research in 1975, the research conducted at community colleges, as well as the issues facing researchers, have remained fairly constant. Research has been consistently understaffed and the themes of research have tended to focus on relating student progress to…

This monograph maintains that qualitative methods in research are no longer alternatives, but accepted practice in many research institutions. Consequently, the purpose of this anthology is to continue the search into "the forms of things unknown" and to re-examine those that are known by offering examples of new waves in research, based…

If the arts are an essential means for cultural expression, then the study of arts participation is central to the understanding of U.S. culture and its evolution. This document aims to provide an understanding of arts participation at the national and local levels. To this end, the historical development of arts research is summarized and an…

This paper presents a critical review of literature concerning research with diagnosed populations who participated in outdoor learning experiences as part of psychiatric therapy. The paper proposes: (1) to clarify the definition of the psychotherapy related to adventure programs; (2) to develop specific training manuals that can be shared and…

A study examined 43 research projects conducted between FY89 and FY93 with funding under Section 353 of the Adult Education Act (AEA) grants and 4 additional research projects funded under other sections of the AEA. The project reports were collected by contacting each state literacy resource center, searching the ERIC system and a Division of…

This article tabulates doctoral research activity in social studies education as found in "Dissertation Abstracts" published between 1982 and 1991. In this computer-based search, 499 dissertations were identified using "Dissertation Abstracts OnDisc" which is available on CD-ROM. A variety of descriptors were used, one of the least helpful being…

The most effective activity for teaching communication research students the nature of the social science research process is to provide students with the opportunity to conduct an actual research study. Such an experience promotes and emphasizes active, rather than passive, learning; students finish the class with a strong understanding of the…

This Digest argues that management factors are central to youth program successes and failures and that these factor have been ignored in research on youth programs. Instead, the Digest notes that research and evaluation of programs have focused on the following: (1) whether the right audience is served; (2) whether to make incremental…

The nine-volume Survey Kit is designed to help readers prepare and conduct surveys and become better users of survey results. All the books in the series contain instructional objectives, exercises and answers, examples of surveys in use, illustrations of survey questions, guidelines for action, checklists of "dos and don'ts," and…

An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) is done to correct for chance differences that occur when subjects are assigned randomly to treatment groups. When properly used, this correction results in adjustment of the group means for pre-existing differences caused by sampling error and reduction of the size of the error variance of the analysis. The…

The application of mathematical programming techniques is extended to the construction of measurement instruments in generalizability theory. Key concepts in generalizability theory are explained and a description is given of: (1) the one-facet crossed design; (2) the two-facet crossed design; and (3) a two-facet nested design. The optimization of…

Magnitude of effect measures (MEMs), when adequately understood and correctly used, are important aids for researchers who do not want to rely solely on tests of statistical significance in substantive result interpretation. The MEM tells how much of the dependent variable can be controlled, predicted, or explained by the independent variables.…

By employing a concomitant variable, researchers can reduce the error, increase the precision, and maximize the power of an experimental design. Blocking and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) are most often used to harness the power of a concomitant variable. Whether to block or covary and how many blocks to be used if a block design is chosen…