Background: Rapid reviews involve a streamlined approach to knowledge synthesis. They are used to identify high-quality evidence for the purpose of informing decisions and initiatives, completed over relatively short timeframes, and have been found to reach conclusions that do not differ extensively from full systematic reviews. Although common in…

Social work students are typically reluctant to engage in research. The research partnership model takes a service-learning approach, allowing students to work with data from a community agency and resulting in a final paper with all the sections of an empirical journal article. Use of this model in teaching social work research enhances student…

Describes The Information Game, a computer game intended primarily for management information system research. The use of this game will aid researchers in answering questions about the ways decisionmakers gather information and how they use it. (JJD)

New research from the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement provides a tool that colleges and universities can use to describe the higher education market, find their places within it, and identify what they need to do in the future. The market analysis and segmentation tool is outlined, and a worksheet for institutional planning is…

Describes the activities of a selection committee made up of university faculty members which was charged with choosing a new computer for academic and research computing at Queens University in Ontario. Aspects of the committee's internal workings and dealings with vendors and the campus community are discussed. (Author/JL)

Presents a concentric research design model based on need for research which transcends individuals' historic or experiential bias concerning choice of study design, tools, and data reduction strategies. Describes the following "rings": theory/knowledge orientation; theory versus applied research; quantitative versus qualitative research…

This paper describes an election simulation developed at Rutgers University (New Jersey) using Multimedia Toolbook. Toolbook has features which enable an information flow to be presented which mimics the flow of a campaign, using both text and video. Subjects are presented with textual information that flows across the screen, representing the…

Modern research methodologies can help educators understand possible futures of society and can aid them in planning and decision making that provides for effective use of resources. Statistical models, computer forecasting, human logic, and research techniques from disciplines such as history, anthropology, and political science can help in…

An alternative sociology course is described that links student computer skills with available social survey data. The students, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have primarily technical and scientific interests, and the goal of the sociology courses offered is to promote awareness of the social world they will live and work in. Students are…

An issues-oriented framework for selecting data to support typical state-level planning analyses is presented. Attention is focused on questions concerning the planning issues, and the general data requirements required to support a given state's analytical questions and decision requirements. State-level planning issues in postsecondary education…

AFTHER, a computer simulation game for dealing with the complexities of higher education in a changing electronic world, is described. It is a tool for decision research and decision assistance. AFTHER enables the users to study higher education governance and its decision-making patterns in general, or to readily convert the simulation to an…

This project was conducted to refine and expand previous research indicating the need for an instrument counselors can use in working with area secondary schools and potential students to assess their progress in making career and training decisions. Instruments developed during this research process were pilot tested at two area schools and…

This final report of a project conducted to design, develop, and test a comprehensive management plan for vocational education in Missouri is divided into three sections. Section I describes the rationale and components of a model based on the general systems approach to planning. An analysis of the planning process introduces several planning…