Considerations of validity that are central to all disciplines in the social sciences are discussed, and concepts that are an essential part of the intellectual equipment of the social sciences researcher are systematically analyzed. Fundamental methodological concepts underlying decisions made in the research process are highlighted to encourage…

A study examined the role of talk in the writing act. The study utilized participant observational techniques in an attempt to discover how talk was implicated in all stages of writing. Subjects were three fourth, fifth, and/or sixth grade informants, with one student emerging as the key informant in the study. Results indicated that talk appeared…

The interview process in qualitative research is discussed, based on the experiences of the two participants in a series of life-story interviews. The interviews were held during a pilot study for a doctoral project, and this account of the process is presented from the dual perspectives of the researcher-interviewer and of the interviewee,…

This evaluation of the LearnerNet Project at Utah State University focuses on teacher reactions to instruction using an expanded syllabus over an electronic system and the effects of such instructional methods on faculty members and their teaching. It is noted that interviewing and qualitative analysis were chosen as the research methods both…

Interviews conducted with 31 older, retired adults in Dortmund, West Germany, concerning their use of cable television and its effect on their everyday lives are the focal point of this qualitative study. Also discussed is a quantitative study of a larger sample of German citizens over age 14 in the same geographic area before cable television was…

This paper reports the development of a discrimination task to investigate the sensitivity of children aged 3-8 years to a range of timbral stimuli. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of other research exploring timbral perception and explains how the findings from these studies shaped the methodological approach of this study.…

Prevailing research influenced by cognitive psychology has dealt mainly with the cognitive aspects of the human-­computer interaction (HCI). The advent of computers in schools should prompt educational researchers to scrutinize the affective and social aspects of student-­computer interactions since they play an important role in learning. A…

Despite the strong interests among practitioners, there is a knowledge gap with regard to online communities of practice. This study examines knowledge sharing among critical-care and advanced-practice nurses, who are engaged in a longstanding online community of practice. Data were collected about members' online knowledge contribution as well as…

An approach to the development and evaluation of six short, school-focused inservice education and training (INSET) courses on special educational needs combined quantitative and qualitative techniques to evaluate the courses and provide feedback for course tutors to assist in course development. (Author/CB)

Reports concepts which 12th-grade physics students hold about motion before and after a lecture is given. Compares quantitative and qualitative research methodology and describes some responses to test items. Shows six questions, student responses, and typical incorrect explanations used by students. (YP)

Reports on a study in which clinical interviews were conducted with three elementary school children to determine the extent to which they held naive misconceptions about important biological topics, and to determine agewise trends in the development of biological knowledge. (TW)

Presents firsthand observations of a successful twenty-day reading program involving one student who was transformed from a passive, reluctant, indifferent learner to one who acquired ownership for his learning and empowerment over the reading process.

This article introduces H. F. Wolcott's 1982 taxonomy entitled "Styles of On-Site Research: A Guide for Students." It describes how the taxonomy may be used to improve the quality of on-site investigations in art education and includes an extensive bibliography on each of the approaches. (Author/JDH)

A mixed-method program evaluation, concurrently using both qualitative interview data and quantitative questionnaire data, was conducted. It illustrated significant design and analysis issues related to integrating quantitative and qualitative methods, specifically between-method and cross-paradigm triangulation. (Author/GDC)

This book discusses two major approaches to social science research: quantitative research, which involves converting observations to numbers and analyzing them statistically; and qualitative research, which looks at participants' opinions, behaviors, and experiences from their own points of view and in a more subjective way. In the book,…