In this essay, the authors discuss what it might take to develop knowledge that can help education policymakers and schools attain their goals. In reading both the research and the current policy environment, the authors identify several fundamental reasons why it is so difficult to develop the knowledge needed to inform policies that might enable…

Organizes, describes, and evaluates management information systems research from 1981 to 1985 to provide an understanding of what constitutes management information systems research and to indicate areas for future research. (210 references) (Author/CLB)

This paper notes the proliferation of literature about the characteristics of Japanese education and culture. Generalizations ranging from reports of remarkable progress in subject disciplines to praise of Japanese technology, social and individual behavior, and systematic accomplishments have been cited. It is contended in this study that some of…

Several reference librarians respond to the Hernon and McClure study on the accuracy of library reference services. Highlights include problems with the methodology used (unobtrusive observation), and performance factors not addressed by the study. Comments by Hernon and McClure address these responses and ways to improve reference services are…

Described is an ongoing study of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, separated in infancy and reared apart. Discussed are the procedures and results of this study with interpretations of the results. The effects of parenting, education, and other interventions are considered. (CW)

The critical role of computers in scientific advancement is described in this panel report. With the growing range and complexity of problems that must be solved and with demands of new generations of computers and computer architecture, the importance of computational mathematics is increasing. Multidisciplinary teams are needed; these are found…

Reports results of unobtrusive testing of reference service (asking reference questions of library staff who are unaware of being evaluated) in government documents and central reference areas of 26 U.S. libraries. Accuracy of answers, interview and search process duration, referral, and use of catalog and technology are highlighted. (12…

In separate articles, two educators present their arguments for and against the proposition that empirically based practice, the integration of practice methods with research methods, should be taught in social work practice courses. Each also responds to the other's essay. (MSE)

This article examines the relationship between research and service provision to persons with severe mental retardation, notes frequent methodological deficiencies in current research, and proposes establishment of Australian research centers to coordinate research efforts and link research to service delivery. (DB)

Described is the role of technology in the Human Genome Project. A poster of the human genome as is known in 1990 is provided with a list of representative genes and a glossary of terms. (CW)

This chapter examines, from four perspectives, the ways in which educational research, development, and evaluation activities in the United States are organized, controlled, and supported, and considers whether research can be properly used to shape educational policy and practice. First, the size and historical development of the research and…

This summary report describes efforts to bridge developments in the use of technology in delivering higher education services with the traditional roles and responsibilities of state agencies, accrediting bodies, and institutions (Project ALLTEL). Designed to suggest policies and procedures to states and accrediting institutions charged with…

Presents a discussion of the documentation of and access to interviews for historical research purposes. Examines problems of documentation, transcription, permission, and storage. Presents questions of property, professional ethics, and witnesses. Argues for interview guidelines, training of researchers for interviewing, and taping of interviews.…

An outsider to the field of deaf education questions the seeming ambiguousness in terminology, lack of scientific research, continuing controversies, and lack of definitive answers. Questions concern such issues as the difference between "Deaf" and "deaf" and the feasibility of the American Sign Language/English-as-a-Second-Language proposal.…

This research project focuses on the implementation and testing of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system as an online searcher's tool for subject access, browsing, and display in an online catalog. The research project comprises 12 activities. The three interim reports in this document cover the first seven of these activities: (1) obtain…