Two papers respond to an article by P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, and M. Hammersley (1988) critiquing papers by E. Jacob (1987, 1988) on qualitative research traditions. The use of T. Kuhn's concept of "paradigm" and the criticism that the British were not included in the Jacob's study are addressed. (TJH)

A meta-analysis of studies on preparation for medical procedures and pain examined the relative effects of sensory, procedural, and combined sensory-procedural preoperational information on coping outcomes. Results indicated that, in contrast to sensory information, procedural information provided no significant benefits over control group…

A meta-analysis of 28 studies was conducted to review the effectiveness of Beck's cognitive therapy for depression, and to compare cognitive therapy with other modes of therapy. Results documented a greater degree of change for cognitive therapy compared with a waiting list or no-treatment control, pharmacotherapy, behavior therapy, and other…

Empirical research concerning the selection of school administrators was reviewed. The methodology of the review, the methods by which principals are typically selected, and empirical research on the validity of selection techniques are described. Data from 138 studies with managerial and professional samples were analyzed. (TJH)

The utility of the fail-safe "N" statistic was evaluated by computing it for studies in three organizational research domains in which discrepant conclusions were reached by initial and subsequent meta-analyses. Calculation of the fail-safe "N" may have led to more cautious interpretations. Implications for meta-analyses are…

A review and meta-analysis were made of placebo control groups in educational experiments. In all, 125 studies were clustered into procedures that included (1) explicit manipulation of attentional elements; (2) explicit description of the placebo activity plus implied reference to attention; and (3) exclusive reference to the activity. (SLD)

The article reviewed 26 studies on mental retardation conducted in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s: 8 focused on etiological questions; 15, on psychoeducational issues; and 3, on vocational or social policy concerns. Findings tended to support trends found in the United States for individuals with mental retardation. (Author/DB)

This meta-analysis examined effects from 126 studies that used organizational development (OD) interventions to modify satisfaction and other attitudes. Multi-faceted interventions were found to be more effective in modifying satisfaction and attitudes than were OD interventions that used a single technique. Team building and lab training were the…

The article reviews the research on effects of cooperative learning on the academic achievement of students with handicaps. Findings of the 12 studies meeting the selection criteria were inconsistent. (Author/DB)

The article reviewed research on professionals', consumers', and others' judgments of the restrictiveness, social acceptability, and estimated frequency of use of procedures to decrease problem behaviors of disabled persons. Most respondents agreed that more restrictive procedures should be used as a last resort and that less restrictive…

Argues that generalizing to message populations by treating messages as a random variable is inappropriate for complex messages, and proposes meta-analytic techniques for investigating biases in message samples and other methodological factors that can limit generalizability of communication research. (MS)

Reviews studies of adult and child response to male and female infants based on preconceived sex stereotypes. Evaluates overall conclusions from studies. Indicates that knowledge of infant's gender is not a consistent determinant of adults' reactions but more strongly influences children's reactions. Considers implications for sex role…

This review brings together 21 studies on the long-term effects of school desegregation on the life chances of African American students. These studies draw on perpetuation theory, a macro-micro theory of racial segregation. They support the idea that interracial contact in school can help blacks overcome perpetual segregation. (SLD)

Finds a small, but statistically significant, association between exposure to U.S. entertainment programs and attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of foreign audiences. Finds also that, when taking study characteristics into consideration, only language of the questionnaire produced a significant difference in correlation size; and that the…

Presents a meta-analysis of literature which examined gender differences in students attitudes toward science, and correlations between attitudes toward science and science achievement. Results found that boys show a more positive attitude toward science than girls in all types of science and that a positive attitude results in higher achievement,…