Only a limited number of single-subject studies exist in the literacy field, despite the upsurge of such studies in a wide variety of disciplines. The phrase "single-subject" refers not so much to the number of subjects, but to the way the data are analyzed: each subject's responses are examined individually; they are not averaged with…

A test of statistical significance is a procedure for determining how likely a result is assuming a null hypothesis to be true with randomization and a sample of size n (the given size in the study). Randomization, which refers to random sampling and random assignment, is important because it ensures the independence of observations, but it does…

This exploratory study examined the college search processes of 25 non-traditional adult students at two central New York State community colleges. Using a modified time-line interview, a method developed in communication and information sciences, the researchers found that the college student's choice process was significantly different for the…

Traditional histories of American college composition instruction in the 19th and 20th centuries examine primarily the textbooks used in those courses, then draw conclusions based on the content of those textbooks about the activities and attitudes expressed in the classroom. The canon of composition historiography is lacking in several ways: the…

Since 1988 five evaluations of Federal demonstration programs in education have been implemented that had random-assignment designs to measure program impacts. The implementation of two of these evaluations, the evaluation of the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program and that of the Alternative Schools Random Assignment Program, are…

The quality of mental health research on Hispanic populations has not kept pace with the quantity, resulting in a poorly integrated body of scientific knowledge. A conceptual framework for clinical service research with Hispanic populations highlights specific goals and orientations, following a hypothetical five-step temporal sequence. Research…

The author argues that unless Kohlberg's theory of moral development can be demonstrated empirically, based on scientific evidence, his ensuing plan for a program of moral education amounts to no more than a systematic program of indoctrination. Kohlberg identifies the moral stage of a person by eliciting from a subject the reasons referred to in…

Instructional technologists have traditionally used the scientific or rationalistic paradigm to study the instructional potential of pictures. Naturalistic and rationalistic inquiry differ in their views of reality and truth, the relationship between the investigator and the subject, the goals of inquiry, and the role of values in inquiry.…

One of the important roles of the community psychologist is that of researcher. To determine how well that role is being fulfilled, and to what extent community psychology research conforms to accepted standards of social scientific endeavor, 621 articles published in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP) and the Journal of Community…

Parametric analysis of covariance was compared to analysis of covariance with data transformed using ranks. Using a computer simulation approach the two strategies were compared in terms of the proportion of Type I errors made and statistical power when the conditional distribution of errors were: (1) normal and homoscedastic, (2) normal and…

Recent research efforts have attempted to address the contradictory conclusions being drawn about the relative contribution of television and newspapers to citizen awareness of public affairs. The traditional view of newspapers' superiority has been challenged by those investigators who hold that the determinant factors rest with…

Building communication theory in terms of three-variable relationships is a promising route to developing better theory, because three-variable relationships stand midway between sometimes overly simplistic two-variable relationships, and the more complex path analysis. The analysis of three-variable relationships has been done in many previous…

The Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) project is an attempt to alter the instructional premises of a selected group of seven experimental classrooms in the United States by saturating them with computer technology. A recent proposal submitted to Apple Computer described STAR (Sensible Technology Assessment/Research), which includes both…

This study attempted to determine if there was a change in job attitude among employees of a state institution for the developmentally disabled after a move to new, superior facilities. An attitude scale was constructed and administered in December 1982, prior to the move. A second testing occurred two months later, after Experimental Group I had…

In order for education to evolve from a craft to a profession, a spirit of inquiry must be infused into the beliefs and activities of education faculty members and practicing teachers. For faculty members in professional schools, the responsibilities of teaching, research, and service should be integrated activities for which inquiry serves as the…