This document contains summaries of six courses presented at the Second Annual Presessions of the American Educational Research Association: (1) Bayesian statistical analysis, (2) curriculum research and evaluation, (3) design and analysis of comparative experiments in education, (4) educational research management procedures, (5) multivariate…

Effective research on issues of rural development is increasingly important in a time when inequalities among people in rural areas is widening. Criteria of time-cost effectiveness, policy effectiveness for rural development, and contribution to sociology must be balanced by rural social scientists in their research design decisions. When five…

A strategy is proposed for dealing with educational research problems, using as an example a study based on data that had already been collected and using that data to discover how differences in school characteristics may result in differences in their students. The research method is based on concepts of analysis of covariance and is concerned…

A review of the research literature concerning the effects of cooperation and competition on small-group productivity suggests that results have been conflicting and inconclusive. From a methodological standpoint, the inconsistent finings result from the use of experimental tasks which create systematic bias in favor of either the cooperative or…

The effectiveness of a computer simulation model as an alternative means of teaching research methodology to students was investigated. Four sections of an introductory course on the subject were included in the study. Two were taught through the use of the simulation system, while the remaining sections were taught in the traditional lecture mode…

This conference paper discusses two factors which seem to be responsible for the lack of clear progress in research dealing with motivation and learning in the schools: first, an overemphasis on the presumed influence of motivation on learning, which has resulted in a neglect of the many other processes that are directly influenced by motivational…

This research plan is a direct response to the education Amendments of 1974 which instructs the National Institute of Education to design and conduct a compensatory education study. The research design, as outlined in this report, intends to examine programs and look for identifiable factors in funding, organization, and instructional methods…

A study is to be undertaken to determine the conditions under which integration can optimally operate to ensure quality of education as reflected in student achievement. Several southern school systems experiencing gradients of desegregation and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds will be selected. Classes included will be representative of a…

An evaluation of the learner-centered instruction (LCI) approach to training was conducted by comparing the LCI F-111A weapons control systems mechanic/technician course with the conventional Air Force course for the same Air Force specialty code (AFSC) on the following dimensions; job performance of course graduates, man-hour and dollar costs of…

Reported in this document is the development of nine instruments designed to measure social values thought to be "important in the interpersonal relationships" of adolescents and in their relationships with parents and teachers. The instruments sought to measure selected prescriptive values, "some of the social backgrounds for the acquisition of…

The 1966-67 Towson Undergraduate Research Training Program consisted of: (1) three 4-credit hour courses in the basic concepts of measurement, experimental design, and data analysis; (2) a 4-credit hour course in the research literature of education; (3) a 6-credit hour research practicum in the summer session; and (4) a colloquium series,…

The literature on the behavior effects of videotaped playback reveals that little theoretical formulation has been offered to explain the positive results which have been reported. Two theoretical models are considered in regard to these results. The first, a reinforcement model, suggests that some behaviors are reinforced positively and some…

International social indicators, focusing on assessment of the quality of life, measurement of social changes, and program evaluation, are the subject of this paper. Beginning with a look at various national reports which are currently being produced, it is felt that these documents and the data gathering activities upon which they are based form…

There are three general scientific methods for studying the communication process: mechanistic, organic, and systemic. After reviewing the characteristics and research implications of each method, it can be concluded that the systems paradigm is most appropriate to the logic of communication theory. The systems method is defined as a process of…

A three-phase project, funded under the Higher Education Act Title II-B, was initiated in 1971 to investigate and improve public library services to preschool children in North Carolina. The first goal of the project was to locate and describe existing services with a field survey covering 36 counties. Although the survey technique and…