In recent years, researchers in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have become increasingly interested in the implications of sociolinguistic research for L2 learning. Among the many questions that arise are whether the development of sociolinguistic competence should be an instructional goal as early as the beginning level, and what…

Perceptions of faculty development practices and structures were compared between 13 high performing schools identified in the DEEP study (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, 2005) to clarify the relationship between faculty development variables and effective teaching. A phenomenological design was employed to triangulate quantitative and qualitative data…

Purpose: The main purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of cochlear implant experience on prelinguistic vocal development in young deaf children. Procedure: A prospective longitudinal research design was used to document the sequence and time course of vocal development in 7 children who were implanted between 10 and 36 months…

To address methodological challenges in research on psychosocial interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a model was developed for systematically validating and disseminating interventions in a sequence of steps. First, initial efficacy studies are conducted to establish interventions as promising. Next, promising interventions are…

This article gives an example of how student-conducted experiments can enhance a course in the design of experiments. We focus on a project whose aim is to find a good mixture of water, soap and glycerin for making soap bubbles. This project is relatively straightforward to implement and understand. At its most basic level the project introduces…

Many children with autism have severe difficulty in "reporting" on events at schools to mothers at home despite their ability to tact some objects and actions in discrete trial setting. Many studies have attempted to establish tact as labeling in children with autism. Few studies, however, have attempted to establish tact as a functional…

The study examined the relationship between the beliefs of senior staff Qatari national employees regarding training benefits as measured by the benefits of employee training, and employees' organizational commitment as measured by the three-component model of organizational commitment. This relationship was assessed through a quantitative…

Second-generation early intervention research typically involves the specification of multivariate relations between interventions, outcomes, and other variables. Moderation and mediation involve variables or sets of variables that influence relations between interventions and outcomes. Following the framework of Baron and Kenny's (1986) seminal…

This article provides instructors with guidelines for teaching simple experimental design for the comparison of two treatment groups. Two designs with specific examples are discussed along with common misconceptions that undergraduate students typically bring to the experiment design process. Features of experiment design that maximize power and…

The purpose of this paper is to point out the importance of sampling considerations and to illustrate the kinds of effect which can be caused by difficulties in sampling by examining three different reports of research. (Author/RK)

Randomization should be employed whenever possible but the use of carefully controlled nonrandomized data to estimate causal effects is a reasonable and necessary procedure in many cases. (Author/BJG)

The introductory discussion focuses on the change in the current scientific climate regarding the role of heredity in the etiology of behavioral disorders. The author and his colleagues embarked on a series of studies, using naturally occurring adoptions as their subject source, to tease apart hereditary and environmental factors thought to be…

Demonstrates the falsity of the notion that sequential strategies permit the separation of age, cohort, and time-of-measurement contributions to developmental change. (JMB)

The importance of a sound philosophical basis for empirical research in education is promoted. The need for a satisfactorily articulated nucleus of key concepts in education is emphasized, and criteria for satisfactory conceptualization are suggested. (TJH)

Identifies six categories of design and methodological errors contained in the 39 empirical studies of neurolinguistic programming (NLP) documented through April 1984. Representative reports reflecting each category are discussed. Suggestions are offered for improving the quality of research on NLP. (Author/MCF)