Past research on the effectiveness of laboratory training (the use of small group methods of experienced-based learning to produce personal change in attitudes and behaviors) has been deficient both in experimental design and in the concept of change. College students (N=128) participated in a study which used a series of 11 measurements to assess…

Histories of media research commonly assume that models of mass media effects have progressed from direct or hypodermic effect models to indirect or multi-step models. Recently, however, B. Reeves and E. Wartella have objected to this assumption. To evaluate their alternative hypotheses, 163 studies from over 88 sources, representing nearly a…

Although the ideas of Jean Piaget still dominate the field of science education, the range and severity of criticisms has increased progressively. In recent years, the emergence of a different theory of cognitive development has begun. This paper tentatively outlines a Lakatosian Research Programme for the alternative conceptions field. The…

Application of a common framework in studies of the development of social cognition can reduce conceptual and methodological ambiguities and enable clearer study of core issues. This paper describes the core issues and their attendant problems, outlines a model of information integration that addresses the issues, and describes some illustrative…

Mothers' behavioral intentions about using physical punishment were examined to reveal influences on their selection of responses to child misbehaviors. Participants were 55 middle-class, mostly college-educated mothers of 3-to-4-year-old children. A total of 31 children were girls. Mothers operated a computer program which presented, in a random…

This paper identifies typical sampling problems, including improper application of the Central Limit Theorem, that are associated with the probability-based sampling procedures currently used in clinical psychology research. It then presents two alternative research designs, the theory validation model and the extended case study model, which…

A meta-analysis was conducted on 44 educational studies that used either a (labelled) Hawthorne control group, a manipulation of Hawthorne effects, or a group designed to control for the Hawthorne effect. The sample included published journal articles, ERIC documents or unpublished papers, and dissertations. The studies were coded on 20 variables,…

A descriptive, cycle model of wife battering is comprised of three phases, i.e., tension-building, the explosion of an acute battering, and respite or reconciliation, with distinctions between minor batterings and the acute batterings that are uncontrollable and result in major destruction. To test the hypothesis that every battering episode…

Various methods have been suggested for the analysis of data collected in research settings where random assignment of subjects to groups has not occurred. For the purposes of this paper the set of allowable nonrandomized designs is made up of those research designs where data are collected for one or more groups of subjects at two or more time…

Traditional sex difference research ignores the impact of social forces on the research process. It characteristically interprets sex differences as female deficiencies, also emphasizing the view of sex differences as determined by personal characteristics rather than situational contexts. Since research is a social process with a potentially…

Levels of independent variable(s) are often mixed within each block of trials rather than each level being presented in a separate block in research of various types. Two experiments involving tasks of a visual nature were conducted to demonstrate that such mixing can easily obscure the effects of principal interest. A target circle was projected…

Intended for teachers of public relations courses, this document describes the teaching of information-seeking behavior in an upper-level public relations techniques course. The paper discusses objectives, course concepts, course procedures, resources used, and the role of the instructors. It then describes secondary research projects, including a…

The author examines the current state of research on teaching and argues that the technique of "grounded theory," a method for discovering theory from data, would be an effective means for improving theoretical bases of teaching. The meanings of "theory" and "theory building" are discussed, including what theory is,…

Discussion of different types of methodological approaches, and description of the research methods used to study an innovative secondary school in England, make clear why the case study was chosen as the method to employ. The methodological approaches considered included the positivist or scientific method, involving external observation and the…

The arguments for and against Thomas Kuhn's paradigmatic thesis are presented in this paper as a means of discussing the appropriateness of Kuhn's thesis to the emerging composition discipline. Section one of the paper introduces the topic, noting how the term paradigm is used in composition to define a system of widely shared values, beliefs, and…