A theory of policy intervention in social problems is needed to enhance our understanding of the processes of change when investigated by social engineers. The development of such a theory could encourage the integration of basic and applied research. (Author/RLV)

Describes the development of a pilot uniform data set (UDS) intended to serve as the primary data collection mechanism for all grants and standard cooperative agreements funded by the U.S. Office of Minority Health. The UDS is the product of a formative research project with implications for other program evaluations. (SLD)

The appropriateness of the metaphor of the purity of data is questioned, using a perspective based on L. S. Vygotsky's idea of the zone of proximal development and its emphasis on a genetic method in which development is mediated by cultural tools and signs. (SLD)

This report compares three approaches to descriptive research, focusing on the kinds of descriptions developed and on the methods used to develop the descriptions. The main emphasis in all three approaches is on verbal data. In these approaches the importance of interpretation and its intuitive nature are emphasized. The three approaches, however,…

Evaluators, by the nature of their work, must be concerned with data management activities ranging from the collection and recording of data to the analyses, summation, and presentation of those data. Though word processing has been cited as the most frequently used microcomputer package by educational evaluators, spreadsheets are among the most…

This study was a preliminary step in gathering reliable data on suicides and suicide attempts in Padua, Italy. Data were collected from the first aid department of the Padua general hospital, 67 general practitioners in the city, staff of a night-time and holiday home-call medical service, the reanimation department of the Padua general hospital,…

In order to consider the study of human communication from an interpretive perspective, this paper addresses two questions: (1) What count as data? and (2) What do data count as? The paper's first section reviews the 1977 Symposium issue of the Western Journal of Speech Communication to identify what constitutes legitimate human communication…

The first half of this paper concentrates on the need for the institution of evaluation methods which stress the systematic use of both quantitative techniques and qualitative, direct observation methods. In this way, a more comprehensive picture of the events under consideration may be presented, and changes in student learning and behavior may…

From all indications, meditation is being used more and more by psychotherapists and counselors in their practices. Research has not to date produced empirical guidelines for the therapeutic use of meditation. This report compiles clinical and research data to provide a step toward a systematized approach to the utilization of meditation so as to…

SNAP/SHOT (System Network Analysis Program-Simulated Host Overview Technique) is a discrete simulation of a network and/or host model available through IBM at the Raleigh System Center. The simulator provides an analysis of a total IBM Communications System. Input data must be obtained from RMF, SMF, and the CICS Analyzer to determine the existing…

This paper discusses the ways in which photography was used for data generation in a 9-month qualitative study on a mixed-age elementary school classroom. Through a review of the research literature in anthropology, sociology, and education, and an analysis of the research data, the usefulness of photography for educational research with young…

Among the problems are disagreement on how much information should be collected and, because of the use of broad-band tests, the difficulty of deciding who is an applicant for particular job. (Author/IRT)

Scholars and practitioners in the field of international and comparative education often need information about recent educational events related to the topics they are currently investigating. In pursuing their research, those who are relatively new to the task may wonder which sources will most readily provide data, analyses, or interpretations…

It has been suggested since the early 80's that America's public schools are not meeting the needs of America's citizenry and that the schools are in need of repair. This paper describes a study conducted at Neville High School (Louisiana) in 1996-1997 and designed to examine the effects of facility renovation on faculty morale. Data collection…

The changing structure of Southern farming amid the pressures of the farm crisis produces an information gap that has forced policymakers to rely on trial and error in institutional design. Existing data systems monitoring the farm sector either use the county as the primary observation unit, or they survey different individual farmers each year.…