Learning disability researchers often misconstrue their object of study, unexplained underachievement, by interpreting it neurologically and ignoring the classroom environment and the social forces shaping it. It is important to recognize that academic performance is shaped by larger extra-educational and political forces in society. (Author/KC)

In answer to criticism of the dissimilarity index in measuring the amount of segregation (occupational and racial) in communities, the author has developed an index which reflects differences between cities possessing concentrated ghettos and those with multiple residential clusters. The proximity measure incorporates spatial qualities directly…

Several problems in reporting and presentation of Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) data that might affect data comparability are outlined and recommendations of a HEGIS study group are presented. Suggestions range from increased institutional involvement and increased feedback to institutions, to improvements in data storage and…

Tests the hypothesis that listener's proximity in the standard referential communication situation might prevent subjects from realizing that only verbal information is useful in this situation by comparing the standard situation to one in which messages are conveyed over citizen's band radio. Twenty-four first-grade students served as speakers in…

School research should be more social in nature, i.e., contextualized, interactive/dynamic, and sensitive to participant conceptions. To explore the possibilities and limitations of the social study of social studies, a conception of social research is delineated, using recent social studies classroom research as illustration. Research utilization…

An evaluation of a school-based drug education program was employed to examine the effect of administration of a preteaching questionnaire on responses. Found pretesting increased the amounts of alcohol reported consumed and reports of drunkenness and marijuana use. (Author)

Presents feminist criticisms of selected aspects of research methods in psychology. Reviews data relevant to sex bias in topic selection, subject selection and single-sex designs, operationalization of variables, testing for sex differences, and interpretation of results. Suggestions for achieving more "sex fair" research methods are discussed.…

Investigates the psychometric adequacy of Steers and Braunstein's (1976) Manifest Needs Questionnaire. Research results indicate that the instrument possesses adequate stability but lacks adequate internal consistency. Factor analytic procedures fail to replicate the a priori factor structure. Results are compared with Steers and Braunstein's…

Interviewed 42 White, female youths regarding possible sexual assault experiences. Half reported at least one sexual molestation. Most of the youths were measurably affected by their assault experiences. Few reported reactions, suggesting severe socioemotional/behavioral disturbances commonly reported in the child sexual assault literature.…

Naturalistic research should produce reports which afford participants access to the process of interpretation. Naturalistic researchers should anticipate the need for negotiation relationships. However, the consequence of giving participants access to the process of interpretation is that it generates conflict. (JN)

Surveys 33 developmental studies using 12 different locus of control scales in the effort to learn how perceived internal control changes with age. A few studies show developmental declines in perceived control, about half show consistent developmental increases, and about half show mixed results or no significant developmental differences.…

Argues the literature on gender bias in therapy is a study in discrepancy. Suggests conflicting conclusions result from differing perspectives, and that researchers should continue to examine their assumptions and techniques. (Author)

Although educational productivity research has been much debated in school finance litigation, it has proven largely irrelevant to resolution by the courts of broad equity issues raised by the allocation of educational resources among school districts. Relevant court cases and arguments, current legal trends, and possible future directions are…

Used discriminant analysis in an attempt to differentiate nonviolent and violent families as a function of variables said to be significant predictors of family violence in a decade review by Gelles. Results indicate that the predictor variables fail to account consistently for differences among the groups. (Author)

The effects of father absence on educational achievement and intellectual development of 6- to 11-year-old children were investigated by employing a nationally representative sample of 5,493 father-present and 616 father-absent children from the Health Examination Survey of the National Center for Health Statistics. (Author/RH)