Suggests that where institutions such as universities agree with gatekeepers that proposed sensitive and critical research would be inappropriate researchers must create autonomous positions from which to conduct their research. (Author/AM)

During a nationwide survey, various perplexing methodological problems were confronted; breakthroughs were made by synthesizing ethnographic and survey methods. Youthful minority men and women were recruited, trained, and given collegial responsibility for survey conceptualization, instrument development, coding and data interpretation. This…

Identifies four key conceptual problems in the uses and gratifications approach and notes issues that must be resolved in order for the formulation to be maximally productive.

The expectations and limitations of market research in higher education are reviewed, including its functions and roles, foci and types, constraints of current practice, promising developments, and needs. (MSE)

Presents a rationale for developing a social psychology of computing, and provides some historical background on research concerned with the impact of technology on behavior. Describes the articles in this issue, which are said to suggest, as a whole, that computer technology amplifies existing social conditions. (KH)

Randomized response measurement techniques have been proposed to overcome subject unwillingness to answer embarrassing or threatening questions truthfully. Many of the applications to date have dealt with health-related issues. This article demonstrates the application of the unrelated question randomized response design with one such question.…

Describes two teaching simulations which can be used to introduce students to problems encountered in field research. The first simulation deals with gaining access to a research setting, while the second concerns some ethical difficulties which may potentially confront a field researcher. A number of reasons for using simulations in preference to…

Shows how an introductory social science statistics course can improve the treatment of regression assumptions, the problem of outliers, and the important idea that some outliers have greater influence than others through the use of Anscombe's now classic 1973 example and Cook's (1977; 1979) extension of the idea of influence. (JDH)

Describes the nature and consequences of liberally or improperly applying the traditional reading research methodology and provides an argument for tempering judgments about the relative contributions that experimental studies make to the professional literature in reading. (SKC)

Introductory comments to a special issue of the journal survey the papers selected for publication and challenge the research community to respond to criticisms of research on higher education. (Author/LB)

Higher education is facing pressures that prohibit valuable and illuminating research, including virtually no growth in the enterprise, lack of societal enthusiasm, competition among institutions, and stresses between faculty and administrators. Until these pressures are eased, improvements in higher education research will be minimal. (Author/LB)

Notes that finding appropriate, statistically sound means of collecting data is important step in developing research. Presents goal attainment scaling and semantic differential as two flexible, reliable, and valid data-collection methodologies useful for practitioners. Provides procedural instructions and examples for constructing each…

The author presents results of a survey of a random national sample of faculty members in 16 schools of allied health that solicited anonymously reported perceived research barriers. Frequently reported needs that inhibited research were additional personnel, research philosophy, funds, inservice education, information, and space. (Author/CH)

Knowledge, rooted in experience, requires forms for its representation. Forms of representation limit what we seek. As a result, socialization in method is a process that shapes what we can know and value. At base it is a political undertaking. Examines the effects of the politics of method on educational research. (Author/BJV)

Discusses the practice of listening to children read aloud as a method of improving reading skills. Demonstrates that the phenomenon is not a simple, fixed treatment to be assessed on limited dependent variables. Concludes that in current evaluations there is insufficient analysis of the practice to do justice to possible effects and to help…