Conducting research about camp programs begins with asking a question and determining the nature of the question--whether it requires a needs assessment, an evaluation process, original data, or a cost/benefit analysis. Discusses factors to consider in deciding whether to allow existing staff members to conduct a study, or to contract with an…

This report presents the key findings and recommendations of the Advisory Panel for the Head Start Evaluation Design Project. The principal audiences for the report are: (1) leadership and staff of the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) who have administrative responsibility for Head Start; and (2) local Head Start programs.…

A framework is presented for use by the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE) in advising the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Science Foundation on United States participation in international comparative studies of education. The framework may also be helpful in identifying areas of research…

This volume, the first of three on sponsored research administration, focuses on pre-award activities such as research development, proposal development, budget development, review and submission of proposals, negotiation and award, and compliance issues. Research administration, or sponsored project administration, is work that supports the…

Outlines recent job-stress research indicating the impact of psychosocial stressors on employees. Presents four suggestions to broaden the job-stress research while keeping the psychosocial emphasis. Recommends that research be integrated with stress-management programs and suggests specific research designs for the evaluation of such programs.…

Suggested research procedures for higher education practitioners with little research background, emphasizing college persistence and education studies, include seeking advice from qualified colleagues and statisticians, especially in the planning stages. Focal areas include scientific interest, practical significance, research design, previous…

One of a series of instructional booklets designed to introduce adult education program planners to the basic concepts integral to and alternative strategies for conducting needs assessments, this instructional booklet deals with determining what information to collect when conducting a needs assessment. Described first is the relationship of the…

Service utilization records, often used to determine American Indian psychiatric disorder patterns, can guide selectively focused research. A tentative psychiatric epidemiology research framework contains four major components: community collaboration, sampling techniques, instrument development, and implementation. Available from: White Cloud…

This handbook brings together information on the who, what, where, when, why, and how of adult basic education (ABE) research in Australia. Chapter 1 describes the ABE Research Project that developed this handbook. It summarizes the rationale and context for the project, describes its aims and content, provides details of the information gathering…

This seven-part report presents a recommended plan for state-wide evaluation of the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program in the California Community College System. Chapter I describes the procedures used by Educational Evaluation Associates in devising the plan, discusses the role played by evaluation study groups,…

Attitude and opinion research requires considerable planning, careful design of survey procedures and sampling techniques, and practical ways of collecting, analyzing, and reporting results. The following suggestions are based on the extensive public opinion research conducted by the University of Alabama. (1) Decide what specific problem is to be…

This handbook gives a broad overview of the practice of institutional research in higher education. The first of the handbook's four chapters describes how to define the context for institutional research by looking at where the institution is now, where it is going, and how it can arrive at its desired end. Chapter 2, which discusses how to…

This article suggests the following emergent and early literacy research priorities: new theoretical accounts of emergent and early literacy; incorporation of recently developed, innovative study designs; and considerations of the brain development in research design. Priorities are also listed for exploring predictor variables and for…

This document is intended to provide evaluation researchers with information about vocational education as a substantive area to be evaluated, existing methodologies for evaluating vocational education programs, and the theoretical basis for a proposed evaluation method termed critical inquiry. Addressed in the individual chapters of the monograph…

A framework is provided for asking research questions and implementing an applied urban research project. Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of the term "urban" and the field of urban research. Chapter 2 discusses how different levels of analysis can be used in doing urban research. Chapter 3 suggests the need for strategic thinking in the applied…