The popularity of the sample survey in educational research makes it necessary for consumers to tell a good study from a poor one. Several sources were identified that gave advice on how to evaluate a sample design. The sources are either limited or too extensive to use in a practical sense. The purpose of this paper is to recommend six important…

In 1955, R. Levine introduced two linear equating procedures for the common-item non-equivalent populations design. His procedures make the same assumptions about true scores; they differ in terms of the nature of the equating function used. In this paper, two parameterizations of a classical congeneric model are introduced to model the variables…

This study presents several analyses of doctoral dissertation research completed by students in instructional design and technology (ID&T) programs from 1977 through 1988: (1) the number of dissertations completed during each of the 12 years; (2) the 46 U.S. institutions at which the research was done and the number of doctoral degrees in ID&T…

This guide is designed to assist sutdents in preparing a masters thesis or a doctoral dissertation. Part 1 describes the process of preparing a "mini" dissertation proposal, intended to familiarize the student with the dissertation process early in their doctoral program. Part 2 presents examples of dissertation prosposals for: (1) a laboratory…

Research results should not be taken at face value; some research is not well designed, and readers must be able to assess whether the research carried out actually supports the results or may be explained otherwise. Research reports are usually divided into introduction or literature review, methods, results, and discussion and conclusions. Basic…

The effects of various discourse variables on the psycholinguistic processing of sentences within paragraphs by 36 competent adult readers were investigated. Eye movement measures were used as the dependent variables reflecting psycholinguistic processing. When all of the constraints within which the study had to be performed were examined, it…

Although the theory and research of Lawrence Kohlberg have been the dominant approach in the study of moral reasoning and moral development, his procedures have been criticized in three areas: (1) reliability and validity; (2) applicability to daily experience; and (3) inadequate sampling. To examine the characteristics of moral problems…

In applied and experimental research, it has been demonstrated that the extreme groups procedure is more powerful than the standard correlational approach for some values of the correlation and extreme group size. Methods are provided for using the covariance information that is usually discarded in the classical extreme groups approach.…

To examine the ability of the correction factor epsilon to counteract statistical bias in univariate analysis, an analysis of variance (adjusted by epsilon) and a multivariate analysis of variance were performed on the same data. The results indicated that univariate analysis is a fully protected design when used with epsilon. (JMB)

A distinction is drawn between public policy issues which are specific to time and place, and the kind of moral dilemma used by Kohlberg which is more general and universal. It is hypothesized that the same type of reasoning will be revealed by both. (Editor)

By keeping records of their own behavior, clients can provide useful data for research by practitioners as well as participate in an effective form of treatment. The author proposes guidelines for assuring the accuracy of clients' reports. (Author)

The main energy of this investigation focused on the viability of different forms of assessing the quality of compositions written by ten- to eleven-year-old children. (Author/RK)

Calls attention to several errors in a recent application of canonical correlation analysis. The reanalysis contradicts Cropley's conclusion that "creativity tests can be said to possess reasonable and encouraging long-range predictive validity." (Author/SDH)

This study not only reflects on previous research in the area of counseling effectiveness, but introduces a unique approach to research in this area. (Editor)

Many problems confront researchers who are developing appropriate methods to determine the effects of sexual abuse. Particularly serious problems arise when the victims are children who were abused while attending a day care center. Several methods for studying child sexual abuse have been recommended. This paper discusses problems researchers…