Argues that, when teachers begin to answer their own questions through research, and as they encourage their students to do the same, both groups benefit. Outlines issues involved, such as reading, experimental designs, sharing ideas with colleagues, qualitative research, action research, quantitative research, collaborating, and the research…

Discussion of gifted education at the beginning of the 21st century focuses on trends and possibilities in teacher training (awareness training, leadership and model teaching, flexible programming), research approaches (identifying gaps in the knowledge base, broader emphases, and alternative research methodologies), and evaluation and…

Presents an authentic semi-guided student research project. Studies the impact of a regional invasion of non-indigenous worm species on decomposition in forest soils. Describes the experimental design, data analysis, and interpretation of the data. (Contains 16 references.) (YDS)

The experiences of a group of evaluators evaluating a multisite integrated human service delivery system illustrate many design and measurement considerations in the preimplementation and implementation phases of evaluation. The reemergence of human service integration approaches will make such evaluation issues increasingly common. (SLD)

The evaluation of the preschool program conducted by the High/Scope Educational Research foundation is an example of a program evaluation that employed a randomized design and also examined long-term outcomes. The study, which employed a 22-year follow-up study, is important for its findings and its methodology. (SLD)

This article addresses issues in successful classroom research, especially single-subject research, including selecting the research topic, choosing a research design, maintaining a sufficient number of participants, management and logistical problems, creating classroom conditions favorable to research, and scheduling time for research. (DB)

Presents a series of arguments that emphasize the importance of comparatively evaluating psychotherapies with appropriate pharmacotherapy and pill placebo. The lack of a pill-placebo arm has rendered moot those studies that compared pharmacotherapy directly with psychotherapy because of the lack of an internal sample defining calibration with…

Provides step-by-step guidance on planning and implementing effective, site-based intensive family preservation program research and evaluations. Discusses research processes and describes appropriate research designs and methodologies. Considers issues in collaborating with university researchers and other stakeholders in the process. (JPB)

This article critiques the research methodology used by Mudford, Hogg, and Roberts (1999) that resulted in a failure to achieve inter-observer agreement on adults with mental retardation when using an experimental, 13-category behavior state code. Arguments are provided on why their videotape study does not meet requirements of acceptable…

This commentary on the previous article on an interpretive research approach discusses the journey of a researcher from radical behaviorism, to interpretive social science, to an emerging viewpoint in which art more than science is used as a way of seeing issues related to disability, education, and change. (Contains 10 references.) (CR)

This article describes several features important in the success of using a behavioral model when treating individuals with autism and presents remaining issues to be addressed for improving treatment effectiveness. It urges future research to include strict empirical designs that allow for sound inferences regarding the parameters of treatment…

This introduction to a series of articles on the scaffolding metaphor in learning disabilities research introduces each article and raises two main concerns: the lack of careful delineation of how scaffolding becomes operational in research studies and constraints in the use of scaffolding arising from communication problems. (DB)

Discusses the history of evaluation research, focusing on current emphasis on "evidence-based policy." Highlights five issues emerging as relevant: evaluation can be done in many ways, serious doubts exist about the usefulness of the term "evaluation," evaluation is held back by paradigm wars, views of evaluation are…

Using questioning strategies to involve students in actually doing and analyzing experimental design can offer useful insights to instructors and students alike. Describes an interactive exploration of Alka Seltzer. (CCM)

Based on field studies in five East Asian societies, the paper has three research agendas of portraying mass tutorial schools. The first is to depict those similarities and differences between functioning, infrastructure and popularity of East Asian tutorial schools by means of a 3-layered cultural model and six descriptive indicators. The second…