One response to the large and rapidly growing number of legal cases with which nonlawyer researchers must deal is computerized legal data retrieval technology. LEXIS, an example of such technology, improves upon traditional research tools in two ways: it increases the speed with which researchers may discover relevant documents and, through its…

Though models of quality research in education have abounded in the past decade, educational technologists have consistently made the same mistakes in attempting to measure the effects of multimedia approaches to teaching: 1) using a treatment that is not a valid implmentation of theory; 2) inadequate observation; and 3) disguising weak findings…

Presents a social systems framework for mass communications research and traces the evolution of the model. (TO)

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,…

Perhaps due to misunderstandings of the nature of the research task in visual communication, findings of empirical research in that field have been highly inconsistent. Historically, there has been little serious systematic empirical investigation of visual communication. One difficulty is that it is not always possible to measure nonverbal…

Research has identified a number of effective means of maximizing returns to mailed questionnaires. The accompanying cover letter, the first contact with the potential respondents, may be the most important aspect of the survey. Studies indicate that the most effective cover letters incorporate personalization with an altruistic and/or egoistic…

The objective of this book is to assist faculty members and students in completing high-quality theses and dissertations without wasting time and effort. To highlight the various problems and issues in the research process, a question-and-answer format is used. Each chapter contains answers to commonly asked questions concerning the steps involved…

Reviews steps and procedures for planning, conducting, and presenting basic research. A sample problem is reviewed, step by step, in detail, and three useful research tools are offered. (SL)

This document contains the results of the Institutional Effectiveness Survey starting from the academic years 1998-1999 to 2002-2003 completed at Pensacola Junior College. The survey calls for reporting Institutional Research as one of the 53 primary functional areas of the College. The document states that the goal of institutional research is to…

Describes the method employed for scholarship that involves the analysis of original unpublished scripts. A professional-development grant provided an opportunity to travel to a university archive to read primary research materials unavailable through conventional means, and to develop a detailed analysis of selected works by Ray Bradbury,…

Teachers need to assess learner portfolios in the field of education. However, they need support in the process of designing and practicing what kind of portfolios are to be assessed. To solve the problem, a formal method of describing the relations between the lesson forms and portfolios that need to be collected and the relations between…

Emphasizing the role of evaluation in program development, this publication describes the Mississippi Choctaw Bilingual Education Program (BECOM), its philosophy, goals, objectives, and proposed evaluation plan. Major components of this K-3 program are identified as: (1) Instruction; (2) Curriculum and Materials Development; (3) Management; (4)…

This paper proposes that a study be done in the area of diffusion of innovations using a recently developed communication methodological tool, metric multidimensional scaling (MDS). An argument is made for using MDS to measure cultural concepts which are shared by members of a society. A definition of homophily-heterophily is presented as the…

Simulation is defined and its use, as related to three types of models, iconic, analogue, and symbolic, that may be utilized in educational research is discussed. A five-step procedure is outlined that can be followed in the process of symbolic model construction. Simulation methods, based on these three models, are examined, and illustrations of…