Qualitative and quantitative research approaches are generally considered to be mutually exclusive. It is possible, however, that a synthesis can be achieved at the level of interpretation and explanation of findings. This paper is divided into four sections to provide: (1) an understanding of explanation and the explanation problem in research;…

Evaluators, by the nature of their work, must be concerned with data management activities ranging from the collection and recording of data to the analyses, summation, and presentation of those data. Though word processing has been cited as the most frequently used microcomputer package by educational evaluators, spreadsheets are among the most…

Narrative data yield rich detail, insight, and information, but the personal and situational characteristics of coders (called value inertia and cognitive limitation biases) can affect data reduction. The effects of coder exposure to expected project outcomes and the level of coder research methodology sophistication were investigated. Coders,…

Content analysis of critical events methodology is demonstrated in an evaluation of the Educational Telecommunications for Alaska (ETA) Project. This methodology was used to collect and interpret the data derived from the ETA staff personnel representing five components of the project. The data were analyzed using content analysis procedures. The…

The results concerning conceptions of statistical relations, presented in this report are based on interviews with fourteen nurses and fourteen technicians. The interviews were about a medical and a technical case of a causal relation. The starting point was a statement about the existence of the relation and the subjects were asked what evidence…

The probability of experiment-wise error is explored. Overall, the experiment-wise error rate is directly related to the test-wise error rate--the alpha level set by researchers to curtail the existence of a Type I error. A Type I error occurs when a true null hypothesis is rejected in a given study or experiment. The experiment-wise error rate is…

In order to consider the study of human communication from an interpretive perspective, this paper addresses two questions: (1) What count as data? and (2) What do data count as? The paper's first section reviews the 1977 Symposium issue of the Western Journal of Speech Communication to identify what constitutes legitimate human communication…

Intended for practitioners in early childhood special education, the document offers guidelines for conducting a program evaluation. Information is organized around seven questions: what is the purpose of the evaluation? what information is needed, and from what sources can it be obtained? when and under what conditions will information be…

Describes how Developmental Sentence Scoring, an instrument or procedure for estimating a child's native language development, can be used to measure second language acquisition. (PMP)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a self-concept enhancement program on 4-year olds who attend nursery school. (Author)

The present investigation is the first of a series intended to study the process of vocational development among Indian boys and girls while they are in school. (Author)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the needs of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students in the sixth grade, ninth grade, and twelfth grade in selected public schools in Mississippi. (Auth)

The aim of this article is to give some basic information on the IEA survey in science, reading comprehension and literature so that the scene is set for the reader to understand the terminology and procedures reported in the articles which follow. (Author)

The "Break-A-Way" technique is described in a successful case history as a way to help the employee interpret computer-produced statistics and to create in him a sense of confidence. (SC)

An expansion is made of P. E. Meehl's observations on nuisance variables and the ex post facto research design. Implications these observations have for educational research design are discussed. Meehle (1970) considered that suggested resolutions of problems in "not truly experimental" (NTE) research (i.e., matching, partial…