This rejoinder keeps the original focus on statistical computing pertaining to the correlation of student achievement between mathematics and science from the Trend in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Albeit the availability of student performance data in TIMSS and the emphasis of the inter-subject connection in the Next Generation Science…

It is argued that time generalizability exists independent of population and situation generalizability, although the three may interact. Problems associated with sampling and randomization efficacy over time are discussed. (Author/GK)

Much of educational administration research suffers from lack of conformity between data analysis and research design, inattention to the test/retest stability of measurement instruments, and the use of statistics for nominal or interval data with ordinal data, random-sample statistics with nonrandom samples, and unnecessarily complex statistical…

This poem, with stanzas in limerick form, refers humorously to the many threats to validity posed by problems in research design, including problems of sample selection, data collection, and data analysis. (SLD)

Explains the characteristics and importance of random assignment in experimental research on education. Considers factors supporting causal inferences, the nature of "assignment units," differences between random sampling and random assignment, the characteristics of randomization tests, forms of random assignment, and effects of experimental…

The author argues that he properly used the National Longitudinal Survey sample in his analysis which concluded that private schooling is not superior to public schooling with regard to student's academic achievement, a conclusion contrary to that reached by Coleman and Hoffer in their analysis of the same sample. (RM)

Discusses the effects of sampling scheme selection on the admissibility of log-linear models for multinomial and product multinomial sampling schemes for prospective and retrospective sampling. Notes that in multinomial sampling, marginal frequencies are not fixed, whereas for product multinomial sampling, uni- or multidimensional frequencies are…

Provides an introduction to sampling, determination of sample size, and selection of the actual sample that would be useful for librarians conducting research and evaluation studies. Highlights include sampling method, sampling error, confidence level, and microcomputer software packages that help determine sample size. (Contains 26 references.)…

Research with older persons suffering from physical illness presents numerous challenges to gerontologists. Issues of conceptualization pertaining to the definition of illness, its location in the research paradigm, and the context in which illness occurs must be addressed prior to dealing with methodological problems. Access to physically ill…

This commentary on EC 603 695 argues that significance testing is a necessary but insufficient condition for positivistic research, that judgment-based assessment and single-subject research are not substitutes for significance testing, and that sampling fluctuation should be considered as one of numerous epistemological concerns in any…

This paper identifies methodological and practical problems in studies of child maltreatment, including developing classification schemes for multiple forms of maltreatment; distinguishing between chronic maltreatment and isolated incidents; choosing criteria for selecting comparison groups; determining whether comparison groups have experienced…

This paper argues that judgment-based assessment of data from multiply replicated single-subject or small-N studies should replace normative-based (p=less than 0.05) assessment of large-N research in the clinical sciences, and asserts that inferential statistics should be abandoned as a method of evaluating clinical research data. (Author/JDD)

Discusses challenges to conducting research on effectiveness of community service systems that are family-based and school-centered: underidentification of children with emotional or behavioral disorders, lack of concordance between diagnostic criteria used in school versus mental health systems, problems of comorbidity, analysis of data from…

Theories about, methods of studying, and definitions of family have undergone profound shifts over the last several decades, and change continues to characterize developmental research on family functioning. In the 1990s, researchers have recognized the need for more descriptive studies as well as more process-oriented work. Research is beginning…

A discussion of issues concerning the feasibility of conducting a Spanish version of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) is presented. The discussion is based on a 1992 seminar to address linguistic, political, and logistic concerns in such an undertaking. While the experience with the NALS guided discussion, the primary focus was on special…