A dialog between two fictional teachers provides some basic examples of how research that uses approved methodology may provide results that are significant statistically but not significant practically. (PGD)

The second half of a dialogue between two fictional teachers examines the significance of statistical significance in research and considers the factors affecting the extent to which research results provide important or useful information. (PGD)

The Research in Dance Education (RDE) project grew out of a long-term national need to know what researchers in dance and allied fields have studied over 80 years, what they learned, and how existing research impacted teaching and learning. The project set out to answer the following questions: (1) What research exists in dance education?; (2)…

In spite of the increased use of the Internet for data collection, there is little published research about the process of data collection online. That is, discipline specific studies publish the results of their web-based surveys in discipline-specific journals, but little information is available on the process of Internet-based data collection.…

Action research, explored in this book, is a seven-step process for improving teaching and learning in classrooms at all levels. Through practical examples, research tools, and easy-to-follow implementation strategies, this book guides readers through the action research process. The chapters are: (1) "What Is Action Research?"; (2) "How Is Action…

Describes a history unit in which secondary students use the mysteriously carved Champlain's Rock (near Renfreu, Ontario) as a starting point for inquiry into the evidence of the French exploration of Eastern Canada. Students learn about hypothesis formation and testing, frames of reference, bias and prejudice, and they write two essays. (AM)

This paper reviews and discusses some critical issues related to the use of questionnaire surveys in educational planning. Ten brief sections discuss survey objectives, coverage, questionnaire design, administration, validity, nonresponse, cost considerations, coding, statistical analysis, and interpretation. Five illustrative questionnaire…

Videotape replay has the potential to enhance the learning and performance of motor skills provided seven critical factors guiding its effective use are adhered to by teachers and coaches. (JD)

This paper is an introduction to behavioral genetics for researchers and practitioners in language development and disorders. It identifies essential concepts and applies behavioral genetic research to the language sciences. It suggests that more complex questions may be successfully addressed through behavioral genetic paradigms. Research needs…

Policy analysis is a two-stage process of (1) diagnosing the problem and (2) unraveling the parts in it played by the policy issue, environment, factors affecting implementation, and proposed alternatives. In higher education, this requires a thorough understanding of the unique higher education environment. (MSE)

Presents a demonstration for teaching psychology students to be wary of pseudoscientific treatment methods. Offers instructions for presenting the demonstration. Shows how a patently ridiculous treatment can be shown effective, in the same way that a fad treatment can sometimes appear valuable. Concludes that students learned from and enjoy the…

The Ethical Analysis Protocol is a set of questions on treatment of participants, research practices, and sociopolitical dimensions of research that can be used to elicit information about ethical assumptions, constraints, and implications of institutional research studies. They provide a framework for ethical analysis of an institutional research…

The intellectual tension between the virtues of basic versus applied research that characterized an earlier era of psychology is being replaced by an appreciation of creative applications of all research essential to improving the quality of human life. Psychologists are positioned to "give psychology away" to all those who can benefit from our…

Recent years have witnessed the rapid rise of a new educational research orthodoxy in the UK and the USA. Central to that orthodoxy are the assumptions that method can ensure objectivity in research, and that more objective 'safe' research to inform practice is needed. But educational research is a field made up of overlapping communities of…