Describes the randomized field trials conducted by the California Youth Authority in the 1960s and 1970s and discusses why such rigorous tests were used and why they eventually came to be used less often. (SLD)

Discusses the contrast between the frequency of randomized clinical trials in the health sciences and the relative famine of such studies in criminology. Attributes this difference to the contexts in which research is done and the difference in the status of situational research in the two disciplines. (SLD)

Business educators can develop a sustainable research program if they grasp what constitutes well-designed research, recognize the sources of research ideas, know how to refine research ideas, understand how to make a research program integrated and cohesive, realize the importance of replication, and enhance their research productivity using a…

Gives an overview of three of the myths that F. N. Kerlinger (1959, 1960) identified as pervading educational research. Explores the myths of methods, practicality, and statistics, and analyzes the degree to which they have been overcome or still exist. (SLD)

The failure of many school psychology research articles to specify the sex of participants is a potentially serious problem. Without this information, one cannot ascertain to whom results should generalize or whether the sex of participants affects the variable under investigation. It is recommended that researchers routinely specify how many of…

The article proposes a sequential alternating treatments design requiring that two treatments be initially implemented in a random or counterbalanced fashion followed by a sequential change in one or both treatments across settings, subjects, or tasks. This design is appropriate when it is not feasible to obtain a traditional baseline condition.…

Introduces statistical methods for evaluating differences in patterns of time to response between two subject groups to determine better therapy. Uses data from hypothetical clinical trial to illustrate two elementary methods for analyzing survival data. Discusses generalization of methods to incorporate covariates. Concludes with general…

Presents working principles for collaborative classroom research, involving negotiating access to and exit from schools; restructuring meaning rather than judging practice; perceiving the research subject/teacher as "knower" and collaborator; maintaining openness of purpose, judgment, and interpretation; permitting multiple interpretations of…

Discusses ways in which the dialectic between differing approaches to studying, theorizing, and representing collaboration may illuminate issues related to the nature and scope of scholarly inquiry. Contains 15 references. (Author/SLD)

Looks at overall trends in reading research topics and what research designs and data-analysis methodologies were used by researchers who published in the annual National Reading Conference Yearbooks between 1975 and 1995. Finds that postsecondary reading instruction continued to be an area of research interest. (SR)

Examines the similarities and differences between social accounting and more traditional types of evaluation as well as identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each. Presents a framework of "comprehensive evaluation" that considers program theory, input costs, research design, and outputs. (SLD)

Describes ways of analyzing different kinds of designs using multilevel models, and considers practical issues such as the method used to allocate interventions, integrity of delivery, and cost, and how these interact with more technical issues of model specification. Two recent British intervention studies illustrate these practical issues. (SLD)

Reports on three experiments that tested the perceived quality of digital images, and discusses issues about conducting research into questions about technical quality in multimedia. Issues regarding conducting this type of research include contextualization versus decontextualization, selection of variables and their values, and presentation…

Illustrates the design and planning of Monte Carlo simulations, presenting nine steps in planning and performing a Monte Carlo analysis from developing a theoretically derived question of interest through summarizing the results. Uses a Monte Carlo simulation to illustrate many of the relevant points. (SLD)

Discusses the optimal level of randomization, the optimal allocation of units, and the budget for obtaining a certain power on a test of no treatment effect for populations with two or three levels of nesting and continuous outcomes. Focuses on the estimator of the regression coefficient associated with the treatment condition. (SLD)