Darwin's weak influence on developmental psychology is traced. It is explained by (1) developmentalists' commitment to an ideology of meliorism; (2) conceptual issues relating to ontogeny and phylogeny; and (3) methodological problems. Suggests that developmentalists use evolutionary theory as a heuristic for structuring new research. (BC)

The history of library science in Poland and a number of Polish research projects are reviewed in this paper. It is concluded that a considerable amount of research has been done on the history of libraries in Poland, but that this research is fragmented and separated by its focus on theory or methodology. The methodology of scientific research in…

Examines family research and its cultural setting in 1937, then reports on changes and commonalities in research topics, research methods, and use of theory from 1937 through 1987. Offers general evaluations of current research and suggestions for changes that might increase productivity of family research. (Author)

The current state of social psychology is assessed in light of its historical and social context. The discipline is viewed as a social system, and it is argued that the properties of this system have influenced the research techniques, substantive content, and theories of contemporary social psychology. (Author/RD)

The authors trace and critique various thrusts operative in British educational sociology since its beginnings in the 1950s: structural functionalism, school-level analysis, the interactionalist "New Directions" approach, and the Neo-Marxist perspective. They also comment on the place of educational sociology in teacher training. (SJL)

Earlier generations of developmental psychologists, seeking to make their discipline a normative science, stressed experimental study of children, method over subject matter, and fundamental laws underlying behavior. By contrast, the generation of psychologists after 1970 is inclusive in its research methodology, concerned with the connection…