This booklet provides some systematic guidelines for assisting educational planners to discriminate between high-quality educational research and research that should not be relied on for decision making. The guidelines focus on educational research studies that employ either experimental or survey-research methodologies. A checklist is presented…

This paper focuses on the role that job analysis plays under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The most obvious use of job analysis data is in defining the essential functions of each job. The job analysis technique used should: list the functions of the job, define which functions are essential rather than marginal, and offer proof of…

Intended to serve as a model for those wishing to assist librarians in conducting research, this guide describes the funding sources and computing, consulting, writing, and other resources available to University of Colorado Boulder librarians who want to engage in research. Sources of funding to support research are listed first, including the…

Designed to assist community college instructors in the difficult task of grading students, this seven-part guidebook provides philosophical, theoretical and practical advice. Section I covers common problems associated with grading, the need for grades, and the link between grades and subsequent performance. Section II, "Limitations of Grades,"…

A tracking system which monitors Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) mentally retarded students leaving the school system to make their transition to adult life, was developed to: (1) enhance the prospects for successful follow-up; (2) enable program planners to conduct systematic inquiries regarding the abilities, living arrangements, and work…

A variety of reading process models have been proposed and evaluated in reading research. Traditional approaches to model evaluation specify the workings of a system in a simplified fashion to enable organized, systematic study of the system's components. Following are several statistical methods of model evaluation: (1) empirical research on…

Conducted over the past 15 years by the College of Education at Wayne State University (WSU), the studies of several databases that are described in this paper were designed for the specific purpose of providing factual information related to the problems of education in the public schools and in higher education. As a matter of precept the study…

A model of student persistence that considers the role of student finances and student financial aid was investigated in 1980, with a focus on federal campus-based aid. Linear Structural Relations (LISREL), a more versatile technique than traditional path analysis, accounted for 42 percent of the variance in the persistence of 343 new freshmen…

Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods were used to compare perceptions of teacher participants and non-participants in a Title II science update inservice program. The purpose of this article is to compare participants' and selected non-participants' perceptions of their motivations to learn using two evaluation methods. Qualitative…

Thoughtful, well-planned and systematic reviews of both instructional and noninstructional programs provide community colleges with a way of determining whether programs are meeting stated objectives and what standards of performance should be maintained. Programs that need improvement or should be eliminated can be identified, and fiscal…

Financial indicators to describe and measure the condition of colleges and universities are discussed including: determining capital charges against current revenues, analyzing revenue structures, dissecting the expenditure structure, and restating current fund revenues and expenditures. (MLW)

A study analyzed characteristics of 392 University of Dayton (Ohio) students borrowing through the Perkins Loan Program to discover their relative impact on loan default behavior, and developed a model to help predict individual potential defaulters. Financial aid policy recommendations aimed at reducing default costs at the institution are…

A critical curriculum promoting mathematical literacy can be effective in involving more people of color in mathematics and science fields. A program that conveys the relevance of mathematics and statistical knowledge can be politically and socially empowering. Describes how ethnomathematics challenges the Eurocentric dichotomy between practical…

Presents an outdoor experiment to measure the speed of sound as a classroom experience to begin the teaching year. Measures the delay time from seeing and hearing crashing cymbals across a field to calculate the speed. Exposes students to experimental uncertainties and limits of uncertainty in measurement. (MDH)

Examines the role of numbers and statistical data in history research and history instruction. Contends that many historians and history teachers are unwilling or unable to use numeric data effectively. Argues that statistical analysis is essential for many historical themes and topics. (CFR)