Critiques the articles in this issue, discussing various methods of action research; intended and unintended outcomes; and the meanings of participation, collaboration, and involvement. (SK)

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC), with funding from the National Institute for Literacy, created a one-day workshop to assist practitioners and administrators in adult basic education, TANF (Transitional Assistance for Needy…

Knowledge use and production is complex and so also are attempts to judge its quality. Research synthesis is a set of formal processes to determine what is known from research in relation to different research questions and this process requires judgements of the quality and relevance of the research evidence considered. Such judgement can be…

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and…

Thomas Jefferson recognized the value of reason and scientific experimentation in the eighteenth century. This chapter extends the idea in contemporary ways to standards that may be used to judge the ethical propriety of randomized trials and the dependability of evidence on effects of social interventions.

This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of…

Recent work integrating Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) with Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) forms a basis for systematizing action research in higher education. This basis strengthens what are often otherwise its methodological weaknesses, namely, the disconnection between analysis and subsequent plans for action and the…

Action research involves researchers and practitioners in collaborative projects and provides a means of integrating evaluation into the reform process. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Focusing on the status, progress, instrumentation, and applications of studies on the nature of speech, this report contains the following research studies: "The Role of Psychophysics in Understanding Speech Perception" (B. H. Repp); "Specialized Perceiving Systems for Speech and Other Biologically Significant Sounds" (I. G. Mattingly; A. M.…

Quantitative analysis of scientific literature and especially citation networks have been used to illuminate many aspects of science and research. These studies, formally called statistical bibliography, are now described by the term bibliometrics. This paper provides a survey of bibliometrics including a set of necessary definitions, the scope…

Suggests that societal change occurs more rapidly than dependable developmental research findings emerge. The research establishment in developmental psychology is examined to determine aspects which affect the ability of the system to produce better results faster. (BRT)

Unnecessary polarization between research traditions (basic vs. applied, experimental vs. correlational, and laboratory vs. field research) has resulted in extreme, nonproductive conflict between experimental rigor and policy relevance. The analogue model (described) grounds experimental studies in social problems without losing the unique…

Asserts the need for good research is common for people involved with performance and instruction issues, and stresses interdependence of research and field workers. Discusses principles of objectivity, precision, and empiricism in good research. Examples illustrate how methods of practitioners are improved through application of these principles.…

This paper summarizes recent experience of large-scale, nationally representative longitudinal youth transition studies in the United States. Two study series are considered. First is the longitudinal youth cohorts of the U.S. Department of Labors Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Longitudinal Youth Study, with cohorts that started in 1979…

A brief description of four of the major expedients that are being employed by doctoral candidates in counselling as they try to deal with problems in their research are presented. The result is a scarcity of findings having little consequence for either theory or practice. (Author/CG)