Special education researchers have indicated the need for an increased use of mixed methods research to address many of the complex issues in the field. An important first step in designing mixed methods research is to develop quality research questions. The aim of this article is to provide fundamental information on the formation of mixed…

The major concern for any research model, whether disproportionate or not, is the research question and how well that question is reflected by the model. Three "exact solutions" for disproportional situations, the hierarchial, unadjusted main effects, and fitting constant methods, are discussed in terms of the research question that each…

The intention of this paper is to provide an overall reference on how a researcher can apply multiple linear regression in order to utilize the advantages that it has to offer. The advantages and some concerns expressed about the technique are examined. A number of practical ways by which researchers can deal with such concerns as…

Presents situations in which researchers can use the general linear model to uncover reasons for discrepant effect-size results of meta-analysis of similar studies. Situations include similarly labeled treatments or participants differing in important ways, treatment effectiveness varying by subject aptitude or situational variables, research…

This paper presents a model for qualitative and quantitative evaluation research that has been used in a preliminary way in evaluating a teacher education program. The model is based on three underlying constructs which are hierarchical in nature: (1) the assumption that the question of interest always must dictate the structure of the research…

Three statistical techniques--conjoint analysis, a multiple linear regression model, and a multiple linear regression model with a surrogate person variable--were used to estimate the relative importance of five university attributes for students in the process of selecting a college. The five attributes include: availability and variety of…

In response to a survey on attitudes and practices of teachers of first-year college composition, this study notes an anomaly related to resistance (apparent unwillingness or discomfort) on the part of respondents to limit themselves to the constraints of the objective survey items. This condition was considered to produce potential problems in…

The paper is a methodological inquiry into the interpretation of qualitative data. It explores a grounded-theory approach to the synthesis of data and examines, in particular, the construction of categories. It focuses on ways of organizing and attaching meaning to data, as research problems embedded in a cultural context are explored. A…

The nature and appropriate application of the technique of multivariate analysis are discussed. More specifically, the intent of the paper is to demystify and explain the use of multivariate analysis as well as provide guidelines for selection of the most effective statistics for use in specific situations. For the purpose of this paper, the term…

The first part of this study replicates an earlier study (D. Waechter, I. Newman, and L. Rosenkoetter, 1998) that used a procedure for authentic assessment of students in a master's level research class, a class that is often feared and avoided by students, by means of a study on humor, since that content would be somewhat incompatible with…

The methodology of interpretation of qualitative data was explored using a grounded theory approach to the synthesis of data, examining the construction of categories in particular. The focus is on ways of organizing data and attaching meaning, as research problems embedded in cultural context are explored. A qualitative research training task…