School effectiveness indices based on regressing achievement test scores onto earlier scores and a socioeconomic status measure were obtained for South Carolina students in grades one to four. Results were unstable across grades, and grade-to-grade correlations were more significant for mathematics achievement than for reading. (Author/GDC)

A description is presented of the mathematics curricula in four different school types in the Netherlands, based on empirical data from the Second International Mathematics Study. It was shown that there were big differences within and between school types. (LMO)

Describes the increasing concern regarding ethical matters in psychotherapy research. Whereas institutional review procedures are required to protect human subjects, there has been inaction regarding ethics for other issues: psychotherapeutic treatment, particularly the use of no-treatment control groups and the termination of patients at the end…

A questionnaire developed and mailed to administrators of all accredited U.S., Canadian, and Puerto Rican medical schools, asked for information on courses offered in epidemiology, statistics, evaluation of medical literature, and research design. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of such courses. (Author/MLW)

The SUPER Project is a collaborative research effort which has been in place for two years. This article presents case studies of this project and offers suggestions for extending it. Schools that have become the partners of research institutions are being encouraged to make research one of their institutionalized functions. (VM)

Speculates about the outcomes of person-environment research and suggests how more successful research might be planned. Focuses on congruence effects and the value of meta-analysis. Suggests careful use of theory; attention to both environmental and personal assessment; identification of potent personal, environmental, and theoretical variables;…

Argues that there are significant ways in which neither Piaget nor his successors in developmental psychology have adequately described the child's mind and how it changes. Proposes alternative guidelines for research that aims more directly at identifying essential constituent features of the child's mental reality. (PCB)

Examines the inability of the propaganda paradigm to maintain its position as the standard framework for rhetorical inquiry in the sociointellectual atmosphere that surrounded World War II and the Cold War. Discusses the epistemological and ideological roots of the shift from propaganda to statistical/experimental communication research. (JD)

The present study points out problems in the model, indices of familiality, and design used by Benbow, Zonderman, and Stanley in a study of precocious children and their parents. (Author/LMO)

Intended to provide the novice media researcher with an introduction, review, and current thinking on media-related research, this article traces the historical emphases and development of such research, discusses its positive and negative aspects, and presents recommendations by practitioners and researchers, as well as directions for future…

Assesses the value of the Government Printing Office's 1983 "Biennial Survey" as a tool to support depository library planning and decision making. The survey data are evaluated in terms of reliability, validity, and utility, and recommendations are offered for improving the design, administration, and analysis of the survey. (CLB)

This paper presents a model for the study of self-instructive learning. The model is based on the assumption that individual differences in self-instructive abilities affect student learning. Application of the model in a classroom situation is discussed. (JAZ)

The problem of choosing the most efficient design (longitudinal, mixed longitudinal, or cross-sectional) to estimate polynomial parameters for time-structured data in educational and psychological research is considered. The comparison of efficiencies shows that the assumed degree of the polynomial is crucial for selecting the most efficient…

A number of quality assurance educational evaluation methods are illustrated. Evaluation data obtained from the Providence, Rhode Island, school district are used. The methods are: (1) from auditing, internal control; (2) from accounting, double bookkeeping; and (3) from industrial quality control, acceptance sampling and cumulative percentage…

Argues for seat belt installation on school buses and forced retirement of vehicles manufactured prior to 1977, when federal safety standards were upgraded to include compartmentalization features. Discredits a Transport Canada study for improper design and methodology used. Advises communities to examine research, consult experts, and visit…