The failure of school library research to reach a wider audience is not simply a matter of dissemination. Research should be conducted on all grade levels and not predominantly secondary schools; relevant to the sponsor; cumulative and built on issues of theory, methodology, and substance developed in earlier work; and interdisciplinary. (PEN)

Discusses the value of setting-specific research for action research in social psychology. Discusses the following concepts: (1) local variation; (2) seeing the general in the specific; (3) connectedness as the fundamental law of ecology; and (4) the value of field stations for community research. (JS)

Examines the fundamental issues of empirical research on academic disciplines, focusing on the field of education. Outlines the context and central aspects of empirical research with reference to academic disciplines. Seeks to enhance the position of empirical research on academic disciplines, within the self-reflection of educational science in…

Examines the role of research in assisting library managers to operate libraries more effectively. Strategies for research and for library managers to better create and use research are suggested; conceptual and practical issues that affect research utilization are discussed; and the need for improved efforts by both library managers and…

Some ways in which research on student financial aid can be conducted and used to further institutional goals and objectives are presented. Four topics for inclusion in an institution's research agenda are suggested: recruiting, measuring the aid program's effectiveness, expanding aid resources, and analyzing family financial capacity. (Author/MSE)

Evaluation as a field has moved beyond debating whether certain designs are good while others are bad to begin to appreciate that each of a group of designs may have its uses. The importance of good designs that reflect real-world complexities is increasingly being recognized. (SLD)

A study investigated the attitudes of 48 researchers who prepare annual reports for New Zealand's public colleges and universities during a period of substantial change in the reporting process. The analysts felt the reporting changes were driven externally by legislation and internally by institutional administrators and accountants. Responses to…

The six articles of this issue discuss the place of meta-analysis in the health professions and present two state-of-the-art meta-analyses using a variety of innovative methodologies, statistics, and secondary analytic procedures. A survey conducted for this issue and its sequel explores interventions to facilitate meta-analysis. (SLD)

A brief review of research on native language production precedes a critical discussion of recent second-language production research, focusing on native language research applications to second-language research, the relationship between second-language learning and production, and the various methodologies used to study such production. (190…

Traditional needs assessments strategies are inadequate today. Today's needs assessment involves determining problems, priorities, opportunities, and learning needs before making decisions about professional development. Four questions to guide discussions on needs assessment include whether it was planned collaboratively, whether multiple sources…

This article reviews research conducted by the author and colleagues over a 27-year period on enhancement of peer-related social skills in young children with behavioral disorders or autism. It argues that a logical positivist approach has yielded significant quality-of-life benefits to participants while effectively challenging many outdated…

The social sciences are awash with studies of varying quality. The process of getting published is supposed to sort the good from the bad and, through feedback and editing, make the good better. Ideally, that is how the system should and usually does work--but it does not always work that way. One problem with social science research is that the…

The moral rules that come into play when researchers engage in qualitative inquiry are explored. Qualitative researchers first need to consider the aims of the research and how it is conducive to the educational good. A primary methodological consideration is to obtain the informed consent of those who participate in the research. The social…

A generation ago, Fred N. Kerlinger proposed that there were a number of myths that pervaded educational research. An overview of three specific myths is presented, followed by a discussion of the degree to which these myths have been overcome or still exist in educational research. The first of these myths, the "methods" myth, is…

This paper reports on nine research projects conducted by 12 adult literacy practitioners with Literacy South in North Carolina in 1993. The focus of the project was to engage literacy practitioners in self-directed research that generated staff training and development. This report is a chronological account of the research projects with a…