Addresses how poverty information is packaged as the intersection of class, race, and gender and how this depiction has changed from the 1980s to the early 1990s using a sample of 45 introductory sociology textbooks. Discusses the implications of and strategies for overcoming the conventional topic-chapter format of textbooks. (CMK)

Examines the extent to which sociology texts accurately present U.S. affirmative action policy using a sample of introductory texts published from 1994 and 1997. Analyzes whether the material confronts or contributes to myths about affirmative action policy. Offers practical suggestions to strengthen the presentation of affirmative action within…

Based on coexistence frequency of pairs of words or phrases, coword analysis is used to discover linkages among subjects in a research field and thus to trace the development of science. This article reviews the development of coword analysis, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of this method, and discusses several research issues.…

Describes outcomes of a national investigation in the United Kingdom into linguistic characteristics of writing in GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) English examination. Argues that greater precision in describing writing will promote better teaching and learning. (NH)

Investigated the nature and representation of vocabulary instruction in the teachers' edition of social studies textbooks for grades four through eight. Found that although publishers realized the importance of vocabulary, they continued to include vocabulary activities that represent traditional rather than higher order ideas about how to support…

Investigates a mixed set of methods (group interviews, recollection of information needs and word association tests to collect data; content analysis and discourse analysis to analyze data) to evaluate whether these methods collected the data needed for work domain oriented thesaurus design. Findings showed the methods together provided domain…

Content analysis of 23 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Master Series tapes was used to determine how well feminist behaviors have been incorporated into ideal family therapy practice. Feminist behaviors were infrequent, being evident in fewer than 3% of time blocks in event sampling and 10 of 39 feminist behaviors of the…

Analyzes two sources of information supplied to members of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ): public relations materials mailed to SEJ members, and story tip sheets assembled by SEJ staffers. Finds the preponderance of materials promoting an environmental backlash agenda stem from just a few public relations sources; and the public…

Alignment has taken on increased importance given the current high-stakes nature of assessment. To make well-informed decisions about student learning on the basis of test results, assessment items need to be well aligned with standards. Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has developed a procedure for…

Psychology instructors and textbook authors rate operant conditioning as one of the most essential concepts for students to learn, yet textbook writers, as well as students, can fall prey to misconceptions. This study is a content analysis of the presentation of operant conditioning in introductory psychology textbooks and their companion Web…

We reviewed the body of published research in the journal "Teaching of Psychology" ("ToP") concerning diversity issues (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status). Between 1974 and 2002, approximately 7% of articles published in "ToP" substantively dealt with diversity issues, with gender issues…

In the previous article, the authors described the 300 million gallon coal waste spill in Martin County, Kentucky and the interviews that they had with thirty-two area residents in the aftermath of the release (Scott, McSpirit, Hardesty, and Welch 2004 --this issue). Many of these interviewees charged MCCC-Massey and federal, state, and local…

This article discusses the processes of interaction among learners in higher education using a model of content analysis to examine their social construction of knowledge through computer-mediated communications. We examined students' conference transcripts for evidence that their collaborative communicative acts generated constructions of new…

In this article, the authors describe an alignment and content analysis of the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment (WAA) for students with disabilities. The WAA is an assessment of the academic performance of students with significant disabilities and is an alternative to the traditional on-demand achievement test. Alternate assessments like the WAA…

This paper reports findings from a content analysis of the main messages about sexuality in media outlets consumed by young people. It examines how sexuality is represented and the level of sexual health information provided in some UK magazines and TV programmes targeted at young people. Our findings show that such outlets included a vast range…