Elementary teachers can help students consider how much trash they create by analyzing lunchroom waste. Students research the problem, brainstorm lists of items thrown away, and monitor the cafeteria, counting items and collecting data. They enter information into a spreadsheet which the class examines to search for alternatives. (SM)

Discusses the dynamics and outcomes of an unplanned classroom activity that developed from the integration of the use of spreadsheets with the study of the characteristics of previously collected seashells, specifically their color, size, shape, texture, and any other obvious differences. (JJK)

Five major steps are involved in evaluating school reading programs: clarifying evaluators' role, data collection, data analysis, data reporting, and followup. This article explains these steps and presents a checklist for guiding the measurement of motivation, clarification, application, and satisfaction components. (MLH)

Describes a series of 16 longitudinal studies conducted by Utah State University on alternative early intervention programs for disabled children, focusing on the intensity of intervention, the age intervention begins, and parent involvement. Reviews factors that gave rise to the studies, research designs and procedures, and data interpretation.…

Describes three approaches to collecting data on student intent. Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) solicits goals data during registration. Johnson County Community College (Kansas) collects intent information on the admissions application and then updates each term. St. Louis Community College (Missouri) asks about goals at admissions and…

Applies chaos theory to complex social organization, beginning with a mathematical definition of chaos. Shows how a nonlinear equation might be used to describe organization. The conclusion section identifies three approaches to analyzing chaos in social organization: metaphorical analysis, mathematical modeling, and data collection. (36…

The efforts of a committee to involve stakeholders, faculty in a department of nursing, in a program evaluation for accreditation, are described. Experiences over a five-year period are described, with an emphasis on strategies that fostered success. Implications for other educational evaluations are reviewed. (SLD)

Ethnographic methods were integrated with survey procedures in an experimental daytime count of homeless persons in a major city. Ethnographic data proved valuable for choosing sites, designing questionnaires, developing new interview approaches, and interpreting test results. Recommends a wider use of ethnographic insights in developing surveys,…

This article confronts concerns in providing family intervention services to the growing population of non-White, non-Anglo families. Strategies are offered for gathering information about these families while respecting their nonmainstream culture, values, and beliefs. Alternative perspectives on child rearing, disability, medicine, intervention,…

A 1986 national survey of state agencies showed that level of foster care for handicapped children was lower than that shown by a 1981 national study of county agencies. Outlines limitations of collection of data from states and of comparison of two surveys. Discusses noteworthy increases in foster care that have occurred in some states since…

This article shows how the methods of survival analysis (also known as event history analysis) lend themselves to the study of the timing of educational events. Using examples from teacher attrition and student dropout research, survival methods are introduced for building statistical models of the risk of event occurrence over time. (Author/SLD)

Describes an activity to study the concepts of force and gravity. Students use trigonometry to measure the height of a water balloon shot into the air by a giant slingshot by two methods. A lesson plan provides materials needed, procedures, a chart to record data, and extensions for the activity. (MDH)

Describes steps in a process-improvement project for reserve book services at the University of Arizona Library: (1) plan--identify process boundaries and customer requirements, gather/analyze data, prioritize problems; (2) do--encourage divergent thinking, reach convergent thinking, find solutions; (3) check--pilot solutions, compare costs; and…

This introductory article to a special issue on parenting by persons with intellectual disabilities discusses the need for information sharing across nations, the facilitation of political self-activism by parents with intellectual disabilities, the need for suitable support for this population, and the epidemiological data needed to promote…

Despite numerous counselor training programs that espouse a scientist-practitioner orientation, rivalry, rather than collegiality, is often present between researchers and counselors. This article presents a teaching template intended to decrease this tension by highlighting similarities between the two professional specializations. Implications…