The increased popularity of lesson study in the United States--an approach to professional development initiated in Japan more than a century ago--is due in large part to findings from the 1995 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) video study and the subsequent book, "The Teaching Gap" (Stigler and Hiebert 1999). "Lesson…

Video recordings are being used more and more in educational research; however, it is uncertain when they actually form the data and when they merely facilitate its collection. This and other issues related to the use of classroom video-recording as a data source for qualitative research are discussed in this paper. Research investigating the…

This Monthly Action Kit introduces some approaches to defining local substance abuse indicators and provides ideas on how to measure them. The kit also contains examples of what some communities are doing to measure their local progress. A few indicators worth considering are outlined with suggestions about what to measure, where to find the data,…

The District of Columbia Public Schools is planning a framework to create safe and secure school environments for learning, develop facilities that will support and enhance educational programs, and provide facilities that will meet the diverse needs of the local school community. This document is the blank survey instrument that is used to…

Complete paired comparisons data was obtained by use of multiple rank order (MRO) in the context of gathering rank order preferences of grade six students, their parents, and teachers for instructional objectives. Partially balanced incomplete block designs with two associate classes were used in the MRO instruments instead of the usual balanced…

This study, through personal interviews, collected data on small retailers for three purposes: (1) to provide informative insights into small-scale retailing in New York City, (2) to explore retailers' opinions as to why customers shop at their stroes, and (3) to ascertain the more common problems experienced by retailers. (Author/BP)

The Committee on Academic Science and Engineering (CASE), now defunct, established the CASE reporting system in 1965 to collect data on the Federal Government's obligations to universities, colleges, and other nonprofit organizations. The National Science Foundation, who has responsibility for the CASE system, uses the data for preparing annual…

A glossary of terms used in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is presented. IPEDS is a group of 10 surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education and is a major part of data collection for the federal Center for Education Statistics. In developing IPEDS, a set of common data elements…

Holdings of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) and fiscal year (FY) 1982 data acquisitions and software enhancements are discussed. NCHEMS holds many years of data from surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Science Foundation, the Bureau of the Census, and the Department…

Accurate information about lesbians has been difficult to obtain; much information that is available has been extrapolated from studies of homosexual men. A survey was conducted to reach the diverse cross-section of the lesbian population and to obtain accurate data with which to define the lesbian community. Questionnaires were distributed to…

This publication provides program planners and others with information and analytical tools for using demographic data in program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The report reviews the importance of demographic data and their relevance to programs and proper implementation of laws, discusses the collection of demographic information by…

The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is one of several structured, small group approaches that can be used in the evaluation process. It has most often been used in needs assessment, to generate categories of potential need and/or alternative solutions to perceived specific problems. The process is based on a set of rules and uses silent idea…

The activities and procedures for Education Service Center, Region 20, Evaluation Services' time accounting system are described. Each individual in the evaluation component at the end of the working day records his or her time spent on an activity. This is done through the use of the time accounting form which is completed and turned in weekly to…

Based on a study conducted in Michigan, this article summarizes many of the problems involved in data collection and coordination. A number of specific recommendations are presented to alleviate these problems. (Editor)

Presents a method for determining the number of days on which questions must be counted in order to achieve a given precision and confidence in reference statistics. (Author/PF)