This paper presents phenomenology as an alternative approach in conducting educational research. The aim of phenomenological research is the exploration of the fundamental consciousness of the person or people being studied so that their perceptions can be identified and interpreted. Today's phenomenology comes from the work of a group of European…

Provides an introduction to the theme of this issue, the limits of educational research methodology. Advocates a combination of research methodologies and identifies three approaches to educational research. Includes sections on the nature of research and common research problems. (JDH)

Tells how to conduct a meta-analysis study, and refers readers to information about refinements of the techniques. A simple meta-analysis is presented. Describes three fundamental stages to conducting a meta-analysis: (1) literature review; (2) calculation of effect sizes; and (3) analysis of data. (Author/NB)

Trend analysis is explained in nontechnical language with examples given for both parametric and nonparametric situations. Similarities and differences between parametric and nonparametric trend analyses are conveniently charted. Practical research applications for Directors of Testing and Directors of Institutional Research are stressed. A linear…

Notes that Career Services Center at University of California-San Diego has conducted career surveys of graduating classes since 1982 and has learned how to conduct survey and use survey data. Discusses how to get started in conducting a graduate survey. Explains how to design survey instrument, draft questions, test survey, distribute survey,…

This review of case studies of five academic libraries in institutions that have ceased operation notes background, time factors, disposition of library collections, and nature of bankruptcy. Guidelines for closing (stabilizing and documenting collection, estimating worth of collection, obligations to government) are presented. Eight sources are…

Describes focus group application in student affairs assessment and offers suggestions on conducting groups and using results. Concludes that focus groups can overcome limitations of quantitative designs, such as limited scope of response or profiles of "average" persons who do not really exist; be used to help design or supplement quantitative…

Notes the drawbacks of the artificial separation of content and method in most undergraduate, sociology department, course offerings. Reports on the development and operation of a local research center as a means of melding content and method. (JDH)

Describes how the lost letter technique, a research ploy involving leaving stamped, addressed letters in public locations and seeing if people will mail them, may be used to introduce students to experimental method in sociological research. Students manipulated letter location, size, and address in order to judge different effects such variations…

This document presents the student guide for a course designed to introduce students to oceanographic research techniques. The course combines lecture-demonstration, field trips, and independent study, and is graded based upon a final exam and a student research paper. (SL)

Writing an interview paper provides students with a contextual framework for research inquiry because it helps them to identify and develop their own conceptual and investigative skills through dialogue with another person. Before the actual interview, it is important to choose a subject to interview and to organize the background material, to set…

Notes that one-semester field methods courses in sociology often lack adequate time for students to learn appropriate techniques and still collect and report their data. Describes how undergraduate students bypass this problem by using multiple observations of a single event to quickly form a corpus of ethnographic data. (JDH)

Describes how sociology students in undergraduate research methods are involved in conducting an annual poll for the university. The emphasis is upon interviewing as a general data-gathering method. Includes information about how useful research problems are determined and the process used to design and implement the poll. (JDH)

A practical guide for designing and carrying out qualitative case study in education is provided. How-to advice for managing all phases of case study research is included. The focus is on case studies that draw from what is commonly known as the qualitative research paradigm rather than a quantitative, positivistic, experimental orientation. Three…

This syllabus describes a course in the philosophy and methodology of history, focusing students' work on creating strategies for data handling rather than on data collection, storage, or manipulation. The first section of the syllabus is divided into eleven parts related to the methods and purposes of historical inquiry: general orientation to…