In 2014, at Rollins College, a liberal arts college in central Florida, the history department completely revised its curriculum. Like their peers across the history discipline, Rollins history faculty saw a disconnect between its traditional curriculum--with a stress on lecture and memorization--and the actual process of doing history. Colleges…

"Methodologist" is more than a title. It is a professional identity. In this project, we three doctoral students in different stages of our training in educational research, measurement, and evaluation examine our liminality and the process of becoming methodologists through the discussion of methodological expertise, quality in…

The majority of research related to community and state colleges is conducted by external individuals, primarily university faculty. This approach reinforces the hierarchical structure within higher education and lends to potential bias and exclusion of characteristics unique to such colleges. The purpose of this study was to utilize a democratic…

The purpose of this exploratory, mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between nontraditional undergraduate students' curiosity and their experiences researching a topic. The author collected and analyzed survey data and annotated bibliography rubric scores from 59 students at a private, liberal arts university and conducted…

There is no consensus among researchers on charter school effectiveness in the USA, in part because of discrepancies in the research methods employed across various studies. Causal impact estimates from experimental studies demonstrate large positive impacts, but concerns about the generalizability of these results have prompted the development of…

We explore the conditions under which short, comparative interrupted time-series (CITS) designs represent valid alternatives to randomized experiments in educational evaluations. To do so, we conduct three within-study comparisons, each of which uses a unique data set to test the validity of the CITS design by comparing its causal estimates to…

Background: The complexity of the childhood obesity epidemic requires the application of community-based participatory research (CBPR) in a manner that can transcend multiple communities of stakeholders, including youth, the broader community, and the community of health care providers. Aim: To (a) describe participatory processes for engaging…

A research paper by Card and Giuliano took advantage of a natural experiment in a large school district to explore the impact that universal screening policies had on the identification of historically underrepresented minorities in gifted and talented programs. The authors concluded that the universal screening system was more effective than the…

Recent research has shown mixed-mode surveys are advantageous for organizations to use in collecting data. Previous research explored web/mail mode effects for four-contact waves. This study explores the effect of web/mail mixed-mode systems over a series of contacts on the customer satisfaction data from the Florida Cooperative Extension Service…

This case study used qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate challenges of learning and teaching research methods by examining graduate students' use of collaborative technology (i.e., digital tools that enable collaboration and information seeking such as software and social media) and students' computer self-efficacy. We conducted…

Momentary time sampling, partial-interval recording, and event coding are observational coding methods commonly used to examine the social and challenging behaviors of children at risk for or with developmental delays or disabilities. Yet there is limited research comparing the accuracy of and relationship between these three coding methods. By…

This dataset contains participant data related to the use of badging (achievement) feedback in pedagogical design. Two sections each of web-based graphic design and web design undergraduate courses were offered at the University of Central Florida. A badging system for achievements was included in one section of each. Performance, engagement and…

Increasing criticism of practicing educational leaders has led to additional critiques of the university programs in which they are prepared. In response, many states have mandated statewide university preparation program redesign. The articles in this special issue describe five unique cases of principal preparation program redesign--including…

In order to enhance Extension evaluation efforts it is important to understand current practices. The study reported here researched the evaluation behaviors of county-based Extension professionals. Extension professionals from eight states (n = 1,173) responded to a survey regarding their evaluation data collection, analysis, and reporting…

This article describes the use of Photography and Oral History research methods as part of a collaborative research project on homelessness in Miami. Issues involving the use of documentary photography and oral history as a means of creating greater social awareness in the general public are explored, as well as broader issues of Social Justice.…