Current methods and instruments for assessing college student academic outcomes are identified and described, and possible outcome measures of NCRIPTAL's (National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning) are suggested. Section I defines college outcomes from several perspectives, including pressures for outcome…

Perspectives concerning a field-based inquiry approach to medical education are offered. This approach requires that inquiry tactics more closely match educational and clinical processes. Assumptions about naturalistic and quasi-experimental educational research are considered that indicate a common field-based approach to inquiry. Parallel…

This seminar paper presents an analysis of the many complex issues inherent in planning and implementing those educational interventions designed to accelerate human change so that it matches the pace of external change in traditional societies. After establishing the importance of sensitive periods when learning can be massive and intervention is…

Typically, research concerning media presentations of women has involved six types of analysis: (1) content analysis (what is said), (2) cultural and social analysis (why it is said), (3) control or gatekeeper analysis (by whom it is said), (4) audience analysis (to whom it is said), (5) media analysis (in which channel), and (6) effects analysis…

The curriculum for this 2-week workshop on educational research development and evaluation is designed to increase participants' skills in project development and proposal writing and increase their knowledge of research and evaluation methods. Geared toward adult professionals who are skilled and motivated, the curriculum helps participants to…

The future of instructional research, at least in the present economic climate, is indistinct. This report considers the option of combining within a single study the needs of policy makers and the commitment to academic research. The papers in this report, through illustration of research conducted within a policy framework, identify problems…

The program of systematic evaluation of variables associated with visual learning was initiated in 1965 to investigate the impact of variables linked to effective, efficient use of instructional visual materials. A prototype experimental package, containing a specific unit of cognitive content, learner achievement objectives, four individual…

This document reports the design, methodology, and results of a study that examined the usefulness of Brigham Young University's (BYU) library school research courses. A questionnaire requesting opinions about the courses and how the skills learned in these courses were used on the job and in professional activities was mailed to a random sample…

This report synthesizes findings of five conferences funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE) to plan new Follow Through research. In particular, conference discussions focused on the notion of systematic change; time-on-task as the most promising strategy for success; and encouragement of principal and teacher support for implementing…

This paper describes a survey conducted in 1982 by the Rosemount, Minnesota, school district as a model for other districts wishing to obtain reliable information about their communities at low cost. The paper outlines the following information: (1) the objectives of the survey; (2) the district's constraints and resources; (3) preliminary…

Following a discussion of various methods of evaluating the effectiveness of developmental programs, this paper presents a research design for the evaluation of a developmental math program. First, the paper examines the objectives and benefits of conducting formative and summative program evaluations. The paper then identifies the single group…

As part of the interdisciplinary Turko-Danish Fairytale Project concerning the nature of response to literature, this paper discusses the rationale, principles, and actual translation procedures behind nine fairytales considered for use in the study. Various sections of the report discuss (1) the texts to be chosen, including their authenticity,…

Described and critiqued are studies that attempt to describe how personality factors affect foreign policy decision making. Political behavior cannot be explained in terms of personality alone. Such an attempt is a psychological reductionism that ignores the chains of causation that run from underlying personality construct to social and political…

Use of time was investigated in program evaluations conducted by a school system's department of research and evaluation. All evaluation designs developed in the department's bureaus for the 1983-84 school year were examined, and key staff coordinating each evaluation bureau were interviewed. How time was scheduled in each design, and then how…

The fiscal and demographic realities of the 1980's require increased levels of cooperation between universities and community colleges. Motivated by their mutual self-interest, a large midwestern university, the University of Kansas (KU), and one of its feeder institutions, Johnson County Community College (JCCC), a large comprehensive community…