This article reviews some of the less well-known hypothesis tests for variance, how they are employed, and how the results may be interpreted. Tests include testing for a single variance and the T-test for correlated variances. (CT)

Analyzes 16 studies of child-abuse treatment in terms of methods and findings, and suggests how future studies may be made more useful to practitioners. (Author/RH)

Examines the influence of statistical significance on reviewers' recommendations for the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript for publication. Discusses the concept of power and the importance of effect size in the evaluation of research findings. (WAS)

The use of theoretical models in impact assessment can heighten the power of experimental designs and compensate for some deficiencies of quasi-experimental designs. Theoretical models of implementation processes are examined, arguing that these processes are a major obstacle to fully effective programs. (Author/CM)

Measurement of change is essential for documenting the effects of social programs, for refining social-educational programs, and for guiding policy decisions about resource allocation. (CJ)

A survey of online searchers' perceptions of seven database vendors over 13 service-related characteristics resulted in DIALOG being ranked first for all attributes. A statistically significant relationship between overall preference and frequency of use was demonstrated, with reliability, variety, and flexibility the most highly ranked…

This Monte Carlo study was designed to investigate empirically the efficacy of three statistical strategies for estimating the relationships in extreme group designs in terms of estimation of correlation, power and mean square error for the correlation. Alf and Abrahams's "covariance information statistic" proved to be the best strategy.…

Discusses four design issues related to the development or selection of an appropriate measurement instrument for evaluation or research in nutrition education: data sources, response format, collection mode, and referent. (DC)

Reviews past studies on research in natural history museums and science centers, proposes a taxonomy of exhibits in museum settings, and focuses attention of factors which should be considered when studying/learning in these settings. Also presents potentially productive methods of conceptualizing research and suggests possible future lines of…

Issues of reliability and validity in ethnographic design are compared to their counterparts in experimental design. Threats to the credibility of ethnographic research are summarized and categorized. Strategies intended to enhance credibility (study design, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of findings) are incorporated throughout…

The investigator analyzed all research papers and classified them according to predetermined criteria. Findings indicate that 355 papers of nine different types of research were presented by 347 different individuals including faculty from 83 postsecondary institutions in the U.S. Over half, 55 percent, of the papers were based on descriptive…

Consulting editors (N=101) of the Journal of Counseling Psychology and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology evaluated three versions, differing only with regard to level of statistical significance, of a research manuscript. Statistically nonsignificant and approach significance versions were more likely to be recommended for…

Reviews the major articles on experiential learning published in business periodicals during the last several years and raises questions of their validity. Problems inherent in assessing learning experiences are addressed by a sequential research design, and a tentative theoretical model for assessing experiential learning is proposed. Twenty-four…

Post-hoc blocking and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) both employ a concomitant variable to increase statistical power relative to the completely randomized design. It is argued that the advantages attributed to the block design are not always valid and that there are circumstances when the ANCOVA would be preferred to post-hoc blocking.…

Formulas for estimating the population measure of effect strength are based on the assumption that sample sizes are proportional to the sizes of their respective treatment populations. Because this assumption is frequently violated, a general method of estimating effect strength for the one-factor, fixed-effects design is presented. (Author/BW)