Various methods for calculating and presenting results of information retrieval (IR) evaluation research are discussed, with illustrations from recent laboratory results. Highlights include measures for calculating recall and precision, user needs for high or low level of recall, and comparisons of Boolean and ranked output retrieval. (22…

Research over the past 15 years concerning parametric and nonparametric statistics and 10 recently developed nonparametric techniques for testing interactions in experimental design are reviewed. The new nonparametric techniques are robust, powerful, versatile, and easy to compute. A fabricated dataset is used to illustrate the technique. (TJH)

This 12-chapter book examines different phenomena as viewed by those trained in physics. These views (or vistas) are promulgated to demonstrate that the infinite variety of things seen in the material world can be reduced to a handful of general laws and to share with the public the richness of the scientist's world view. The phenomena examined…

Noting that a central tenet of the 1996 welfare reform law was that work was the best way to improve the lives of single parents and their children, this fact sheet summarizes research on the impact of parental work on children in families receiving welfare. The fact sheet delineates key research findings from experimental studies of the effects…

Assesses the educational state-of-the-art regarding physiological simulation. States the importance of conventional physiology laboratory exercises involving living material. (MA)

Discusses the advances made in understanding the brain structures responsible for language. Presents findings made using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomographic (PET) scans to study brain activity. These findings map the structures in the brain that manipulate concepts and those that turn concepts into words. (MCO)

Measurements of various parameters derived from different reaction time (RT) paradigms are found to be correlated with psychometric measurements of general mental ability. Such RT-derived measurements, when combined in a multiple regression equation, predict some 50 percent or more of the variance in intelligence. This relationship of intelligence…

Discusses the problem of serious dangers in current and backlist chemistry experiment books. Discarding of older books and careful evaluation of the dangers inherent in newer books are recommended. Safe alternatives are suggested, including some criteria for evaluating dangers, and a safer approach used by a current author. (EM)

Clarifies appropriateness of certain simulation approaches by distinguishing between different types of simulations--experimental, predictive, evaluative, and educational--on the basis of purpose, assumptions, procedures, and criteria for evaluating. The kinds of questions each type best responds to are discussed. (65 references) (MBR)

Discusses the use of direct demonstration of the connections among the science process skills and the content areas of science. (MKR)

Describes a review of research that addresses the effectiveness of simulations in promoting scientific discovery learning and the problems that learners may encounter when using discovery learning. (WRM)

This paper describes systems dynamics, reviews the literature of uses of systems concepts in distance education (DE), presents a preliminary model, and ends in a call to researchers to contribute to the building of a standard model of DE. (Contains 4 figures.)

In this article, research on nonhuman animals is reviewed to show that there is no discontinuity between humans and other animals. For both, high density is not necessarily harmful. Rather, the effect of high density depends on other factors in the situation. (Author)

Discusses approaches to the problem presented in understanding consciousness as a yet undiscovered process of interacting neuron activity. Presents the historical context of research in the area of human awareness and identifies research necessary to scientifically explain how the brain relates to the mind. (MCO)

Laboratory simulations combine the strengths of lab experiments and field studies while avoiding many of their liabilities. They permit the emotional involvement, the time needed for development of norms and interlocked systems of interaction, and the broad range of variables typical of field settings, yet allow for experimental controls and…