Articles in this special issue suggest improvements in longitudinal program evaluation to meet the challenges of evaluation of human services programs. Contributions describe innovations in design, methods, data analysis, utilization, and interpretation of the findings of longitudinal studies. (SLD)

Discusses the issues addressed in following articles of this issue of the journal, focusing on policy community, which educational research had too often ignored when making educational decisions. Insights from educational research are used to suggest what policy processes and reform initiatives should do rather than simple criticizing what policy…

Updates a 1983 analysis of 58 knowledge gap studies, adding 39 studies and pointing out innovative ways to improve research in the area. Notes serious consequences of the persistence of knowledge inequalities, with gaps in public affairs and health knowledge having a severe impact on groups most negatively affected by the rapid and accelerating…

Describes and discusses the collaborative research relationship of three college faculty members, identifying factors that contributed to the team's success and looking at what the literature on collaborative teams offers to such an endeavor. Issues discussed include the quality and quantity of communication among members, group dynamics, and…

Outlines the seven stages of the Research Activity Timeline (RAT) data collection/analysis technique which structures the research interview around a discussion of participants' current specific work projects. Illustrates the use of RAT through results of the Information Access Project, which examined the use of information technology-assisted…

Describes a research project on mainstream versus segregated education for special needs students, exploring whether research with children necessarily raises unique questions about ethics and methods. Claims that main complications arise not from children's inabilities but from the position ascribed them in society, and gives reasons for…

Uses an exploratory study, "Children, Parents and Risk," to examine some ethical and methodological issues specific to child-focused research. Focuses on gatekeepers who control access to parents and children, and on the interview process, asserting that the research process itself constitutes an important source of data on models of…

Uses a qualitative study on children's perceptions of their emotional needs and well-being to illustrate methodological issues associated with actively engaging child subjects in research. Describes benefits of combining focus group discussions and individual interviews, and gives examples of a range of techniques that proved helpful. (EV)

Explores the nature of human inquiry groups and how such groups decide on a research agenda. Outlines the stages involved in the process and considers the value of human inquiry as a qualitative methodology for counseling research. Compares the roles of the human inquiry researcher and the counselor. (RJM)

Presents a rationale for using social roles as the basis for improving the community college. Presents implications for the community college in the areas of curriculum development and faculty and student services, as well as implications for the community college as an institution. (Contains 20 references.) (AUTH/NB)

Delineates three levels of participation for classroom employees in educational research and presents issues that must be considered at each level. Specific roles examined include: (1) subjects in research studies; (2) facilitators for others conducting studies; and (3) researchers. (SD)

This article reviews elements of a well-designed treatment study and evaluates the state of knowledge about comprehensive treatment programs for children with autism. Several suggestions are made for improving future studies, including more rigorous designs, searching for active ingredients of treatment programs, and measuring change. (Contains…

Describes a situation resulting from a research study on the use of Web-based manipulatives differed from the intuition of teachers. Discusses the reactions of the teachers who participated in the study and offers suggestions on what to do when research results differ from intuition. (KHR)

This article introduces seven elementary physical education specialists who are the subjects of a year-long study on effective teachers. It also justifies the use of the term "effective" when talking about them. Objective and reputational data are presented to justify the decision to include the teachers in the sample. (IAH)

Discusses ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) designs with nested factors as an option for addressing unit of analysis issues when conducting group research. These principles can be extended to more complex designs involving multiple treatment factors where groups are either nested or crossed with these factors. (Author/TE)