This technical report presents results of an analysis of unit response rates for the components of the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS). The study was motivated by the general need to evaluate and improve the quality of SASS data and to identify potential sources of nonsampling error associated with nonresponse in SASS. As background,…

Scholars are increasingly recognizing that adolescent development is best understood by acknowledging and examining adolescents' cultural, social, historical, and political contexts. The Euronet for Research on Adolescence in the Context of Social Change project, begun in 1991, is a collaborative effort among research teams from European countries…

This report is the methodology report for the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 follow-up in 1986. The fifth follow-up survey of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) took place during spring and summer of 1986. A mail questionnaire was sent to a subsample of 14,489 members of the…

Discusses a class project where students use content analysis techniques to examine societal trends of stereotyping in the media. Outlines the steps involved in this research methodology and indicates criteria that instructors could use for evaluation. Includes a table identifying tasks and research skills associated with each stage of the…

Describes a research project in which the students examine data showing the income disparity between men and women. The students decide on which sociological theories might explain this discrepancy and devise a study to test this hypothesis. Includes instructions for the assignment and guidelines for cooperative learning. (MJP)

High intercommunity variation in adolescent smoking precluded detection of effects of mass media campaigns on initiation of cigarette smoking in a study with a final sample of 1,637 adolescent subjects. Implications for studies using the individual as unit of analysis and the community as unit of randomization are discussed. (SLD)

Reports on a study of innovative city and county government programs in four western states. The study discovered widely divergent assessments of the same programs, dependent upon whether the survey instruments used qualitative or quantitative techniques. Discusses the possible reasons for this and the implications for future research. (MJP)

A 10-year study identified risk factors and measured prevalence of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and psychopathology in 523 urban American Indian adolescents and 276 urban Indian women. Describes study aims, research design, methods, sample characteristics, assessment instruments, substance use prevalence, and methodological issues related to…

In this article we describe the development and implementation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) multisite Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS), highlighting some of the challenges encountered, decisions made, and lessons learned. Four themes are discussed. First, the unique…

According to the authors, the comments offered by Robert Manning and Ray Kirshak in this issue of the "Journal of Student Financial Aid" (pp. 39-48) are designed to leave the reader with the impression that their paper "Usage of Credit Cards Received through College Student-Marketing Programs" ("Journal of Student Financial Aid," 2004) was nothing…

This study explored some practical issues for single-case researchers who rely on visual analysis of graphed data, but who also may consider supplemental use of promising statistical analysis techniques. The study sought to answer three major questions: (a) What is a typical range of effect sizes from these analytic techniques for data from…

The conditions, processes and consequences of technology implementation were explored in order to develop a holistic view of technology use in a typical elementary school (ages 6-11 years). This qualitative case study employed a symbolic interactionist conceptual framework, an interpretivist research paradigm and analytic induction strategies.…

Although numerous programs have been developed for Grade Kindergarten through 12 science education, evaluation has been difficult owing to the inherent problems conducting controlled experiments in the typical classroom. Using a rigorous experimental design, we developed and tested a novel program containing a series of pharmacology modules (e.g.,…

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) serves as an example of how three specific problems of representativeness in a longitudinal study may be approached and overcome. NELS:88 was designed to provide longitudinal data about the educational transitions experienced by students as they leave eighth grade and move through high…

Action research is an approach to professional development and improved student learning in which teachers systematically reflect on their work, seek feedback from colleagues, and make changes in their practice. Several benefits of action research have been cited: (1) teachers investigate their own practice in a new way, looking at what children…