Provides details on the instrument development, sample design, data collection, and data analysis procedures of the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend and main assessments for the United States. (Author/SLD)

Presents a case study that tests a mathematical model for its ability to predict second language vocabulary gains achieved through reading. To overcome the problem of small word gains noted in earlier studies of incidental acquisition, an adult learner of Dutch read a lengthy text and was tested on hundreds of words. The participant's gains were…

Institutional researchers frequently use national datasets such as those provided by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The authors of this chapter explore the adjustments required when analyzing NCES data collected using complex sample designs. (Contains 8 tables.)

Because surveys now can be implemented with relative ease and little cost, many researchers are overlooking the basic principles of survey research. This chapter discusses sources of error that researchers should consider when conducting a survey, and gives readers basic suggestions for reducing error. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Academics are reported to be working longer hours and have less time for research because of increasing administrative and teaching demands. The traditional pattern of the academic enterprise appears to have changed. To explore whether this is indeed the case, the Experience Sampling Method [ESM], a research technique devised by Mihaly…

Historically, African Americans have resisted participation in clinical trials and other research projects because of distrust of the mostly white research establishment. Although there are legitimate reasons for refusing to join clinical trials, most notably the abuses of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, African Americans may be passing up…

The problem of dimensionality with respect to Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) specifically and, more generally, "g" or fluid intelligence, has been a long-standing issue. The present article reports two studies examining the dimensionality of both the original Set II of the APM (n = 506) and a short form (n = 644), using principal…

Schools offer a convenient setting for research on adolescents. However, obtaining active written parental consent is difficult. In a 6th-grade smoking study, students were recruited with two consent procedures: active consent (parents must provide written consent for their children to participate) and implied consent (children may participate…

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--Adolescent (MMPI-A) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (MMPI-2) True Response Inconsistency (TRIN) scales are measures of acquiescence and nonacquiescence included among the standard validity scales on these instruments. The goals of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of…

Contrary to societal stereotypes about adoption, this integrative review of published empirical research on adoptive families noted several positive and few negative out-comes with regard to satisfaction with the adoption, familial functioning, and parent-child communication. The critical analysis of 38 studies on adoptive families revealed a…

Multiple matrix sampling is a data collection technique that ensures accuracy and efficiency in group performance. It has been widely used in large-scale curriculum evaluation since the 1980s. However, the design does not always fully embrace the dynamics of local evaluation demands. The purpose of this study is to introduce a modified matrix…

Purpose: The authors describe the procedures used to explain an unexpected finding that adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) had a lower mean length of utterance (MLU) than typically developing (TD) children in interviews without picture support, but not in narratives supported by wordless picture books. They hypothesize that the picture support of…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to document the prevalence of sampling designs utilised in mixed-methods research and to examine the interpretive consistency between interpretations made in mixed-methods studies and the sampling design used. Classification of studies was based on a two-dimensional mixed-methods sampling model. This…

Periodically, Maryland's sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders are surveyed to determine the nature, extent, and trend of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use among adolescents. The "2007 Maryland Adolescent Survey (MAS)" presents the latest findings regarding ATOD use by Maryland's adolescents and compares State and local…

The Monitoring the Future study has provided the nation with a window into the important, but largely hidden, problem behaviors of illicit drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco use. It has provided a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive…