Intended to stimulate and foster better communication, cooperation, and understanding between the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Research Coordinating Units (RCU) personnel, this report documents the compatibility between NIE's objectives and the current activities of the RCU's. In both general and specific terms, the activities of NIE…

An attempt is made in this paper to characterize, and identify some of the basic issues in library research which require resolution. DeProspo's primary purpose is to suggest some of the reasons which lead to the conclusion that much of the research effort in librarianship, the objective of which has been to influence library policy, has been…

This survey of consumers of research was conducted in support of the question, "Is there a need for a journal of library research?" As a supporting document it may provide the background against which individuals or groups may, for their own purpose, begin to formulate an answer to the question. Thus the scope of the study is to collect and…

This paper suggests ways of structuring the content of feedback experimentally to test hypotheses of interest. Use of the feedback process in this manner suggests a variety of research and intervention tactics, many of them unexplored and some of them implying ethically questionable conduct. Consideration of this question also helps illuminate the…

In planning the first doctoral program in education at the new University of South Florida, the guiding purpose was to create a significant innovation recognizing among other things that 1) urban schools are society's most difficult education problem, for which effective research offers hope for solutions, 2) the college is involved in urban…

This report is one of a series of papers on policy alternatives commissioned by the California Legislature's Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education. Most of the papers are directed toward synthesis and analysis of existing information and perspectives on the role of research in California. Topics cover the categories of research…

The evaluator as purveyor of truth may be seen as one more lobbyist competing for politicians' attention. This article explains how evaluators can present their results forcefully in the political arena. Available from: Evaluation, 501 South Park Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415. (CP)

This article discusses the ethical issues involved in research on human "in vitro" fertilization, laboratory experimentation with human embryos, and the intrauterine transfer of such embryos for the purpose of assisting human reproduction. (Author/MC)

The author sees as requiring attention: (1) the design of the health education delivery system; (2) the building of sound research programs and research utilization processes; and (3) the establishment of a shared philosophical and ethical basis for health education policies. (MJB)

It is concluded, on the basis of this study, that respondents who are poor and/or of racial or ethnic minority backgrounds require unconventional rules of survey procedure. (Author/AM)

Field research in the gay world is shaped by two factors: the secrecy of many gay groups, and the stigmatization both of gays and of researchers who study them. Some relevant strategies and tactics of field research are discussed. (Author/AM)

It is possible to devise ingenious means for adapting basic methodological techniques to meet exigencies of the research situation while still meeting the requirements for the collection of valid data. (Author/AM)

Evaluators often assume that outcome studies assessing agency effectiveness should provide the most relevant data for decision makers who must form judgments about treatment in order to make policy, program, and clinical decisions. Yet evaluators have found that decision makers often fail to use results of evaluation studies. (Author/CTM)

Early clinical trials (observational or randomized) hasten the prompt evaluation of new operations. Early clinical surveillance facilitates the design and implementation of randomized clinical trials when they are necessary. Long-term surveillance of operations allows continuing evaluation when their use becomes widespread. (BB)

Various educational practices resulting from research recommendations and the associated problems are described. The author suggests that educational research can create a more reliable foundation for policy decisions concerning the introduction of reforms, by evaluating their resulting effectiveness. Investigators should suggest more pertinent…