Used the concept of fuzzy variable to develop new sex-type, prestige, and Holland interest scales from the Occupational Scales of the Strong Interest Inventory. Describes intercorrelations among three measures of Holland themes and measures of sex type and prestige. Comments on potential counseling and research uses for the new measures. (JPS)

The selection of subjects for research on learning disabilities is a function of contemporary notions about learning disabilities, the purpose of the study and level of knowledge about the topic, and practical constraints. Denigrations of the extant research database, along with unaffordable demands for subject selection and descriptions, threaten…

Reviews and evaluates the methods that generate knowledge about technical communication. Classifies them as quantitative or qualitative, describes each kind in some detail, and concludes with the warning that readers should carefully analyze a research study before generalizing it. (SR)

Explains the use of true experimental designs in technical communication research, lists the eight steps in the research process, and concludes with the hope that practitioners should now be able to read research studies critically and perhaps design empirical studies of their own after further reading. (SR)

A recent Delphi study on recreational boating safety priorities of 94 safety experts is used to illustrate the utility of applying the modified scree test to Delphi data. The scree test does not oversimplify decisions and can be applied to fairly complicated data. (SLD)

Notes that conventional statistical models are not suited for analysis of nonindependent observations produced by family systems. Demonstrates how structural equation modeling enables the study of family processes in a way that is consistent with a systems perspective. Uses analysis of perceived coerciveness in two-parent, two-child families to…

This article describes the strengths and weaknesses of different models of classification (primarily monothetic and polythetic) and then focuses on cluster analysis as a method of pursuing a polythetic model. Design features that need to be incorporated in a cluster analytic study are discussed in relation to theory formulation, internal validity,…

Ethnographic interviews help researchers avoid assumptions, collect descriptive data, and use language originating with respondents. The rich insights such interviews provide into attitudes, values, and behavior can be useful for survey design and measurement decisions. (SK)

Examines the assumptions, methods, and findings of computer-mediated communication (CMC) research and suggests that negative relational effects are confined to narrow situational boundary conditions. Suggests that communicators develop individuating impressions of others through accumulated CMC messages. (MG)

Examines the history of research on the teaching and learning of English as reflected in the 20-year history of the Promising Researcher Award. Focuses upon changes over time in the kinds of questions asked, topics addressed, conceptual frameworks employed, and methodologies used in the studies. Reveals a strong but shifting influence of…

The following four integrative data analysis strategies for mixed-method evaluation designs are derived from and illustrated by empirical practice: (1) data transformation; (2) typology development; (3) extreme case analysis; and (4) data consolidation and merging. Use of these methods to realize the full potential of mixed-method approaches is…

Substruction is the illustration of the infrastructure of a research study--the foundational elements, their relationships, and outcome. It helps researchers increase their knowledge of theoretical, empirical, and descriptive links between a study's conceptual and operational components. (SK)

Argues that a previous study of preservice teachers' beliefs about the nature of science (NOS) was interpretively and methodologically faulty. Contests the finding that teachers learned the NOS through implicit instruction, and questions the methodology leading to the assertion that teachers intended to include NOS instruction in their lessons.…

Answers a critique of a previous study of teachers' beliefs about the nature of science (NOS). Reasserts that teachers in the study learned the NOS through implicit instruction and contends that there was negligible researcher bias in the finding that teachers planned to include NOS instruction in their instruction. Defends the choice of…

Examination of 66 congruence studies, including benchmarking studies with improved methodology, showed that congruence is a sufficient though not a necessary condition for job satisfaction. A paradigmatic shift is needed with diverse research designs and methods, emphasizing experiment and drawing on person-environment psychology. (Contains 142…