The conceptual and technical problems that need to be considered when studying graduate student retention and degree progress are examined, and practical suggestions for the institutional researcher are offered. Terms are defined, retention measures are explained, and different types of analysis are outlined. Ideas are given for database…

Issues that are central to science when the object of inquiry is the human being need clarification and analysis. These issues can be formulated as a question, such as, "How can researchers in adult and continuing education conduct research that is empirical human science; that is, how can they study human beings as persons with values, will,…

This guide was written for graduate students and is intended to provide a grounding in research methods, particularly research in education, and to be a useful ongoing reference source. Each chapter was written by a professor, senior lecturer, or research specialist from a university in England. Part A, "The Concept of Research,"…

Science is many things to many people: a way of thinking and an activity of individuals in the laboratory; a highly structured institution that recruits, instructs, and regulates its members; and a sensitive, interactive, and integrated segment of modern culture and society. This book presents an introduction to these aspects of science from the…

Birnbaum's three-parameter logistic item response model was used to study guessing behavior of low ability examinees on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test, Verbal Measure. GRE scoring procedures had recently changed, from a scoring formula which corrected for guessing, to number-right scoring. The three-parameter theory was used…

A number of hypotheses were tested concerning elements of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) items that might affect the performance of blacks and whites differently. These elements were characteristics common to several items that otherwise measured different concepts. Seven general hypotheses were tested in the form of sixteen specific…

Japan's postwar research and development (R&D) efforts have passed through several phases to bring the nation to what may be called "relative parity" with the United States. This document examines the characteristics of Japanese and U.S. R&D efforts. Topics compared include: national science resource patterns; science and…