General extrinsic and intrinsic forces pressing for change in schools are examined, and specific attention is paid to five problem areas that illustrate the complexity of issues facing those who wish to study or facilitate educational change. Extrinsic pressure arises from ongoing societal change in the face of a dichotomy between educational…

Educational research has been excessively atheoretical and has not produced an accumulating body of systematically observed empirical facts. Much of the best work has been reductionist, partly because it has been rooted in paradigms of the behavioral sciences and partly because of the fragmentation of the community of professional researchers.…

Ethnography has raised various issues for the educational research manager (the person responsible for directing a large-scale research and/or evaluation project). These include selection and management of ethnographers, negotiation of ethnographers' onsite roles, communication and coordination of ethnographers, and ethnographic data processing…

Since 1971 the South Carolina Department of Education has collected data on school dropouts. However, the system did not reconcile the number of students who drop out repeatedly, leave for the summer, re-enroll in the following school year, or move to other educational programs. The new data collection system accumulates more accurate data and…

It is concluded, on the basis of this study, that respondents who are poor and/or of racial or ethnic minority backgrounds require unconventional rules of survey procedure. (Author/AM)

It is possible to devise ingenious means for adapting basic methodological techniques to meet exigencies of the research situation while still meeting the requirements for the collection of valid data. (Author/AM)

This article outlines a data collection model designed by Riffel and associates. This model provides information which may assist district and school level personnel in facilitating the desegregation process. (Author/AM)

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…

Triangulation strategy results in evidence characterized by the following: (1) convergence; (2) inconsistency; and (3) contradiction. In order to render the data sensible, the researcher or evaluator must report data collection procedures, as well as the three levels of information from which explanations of social phenomena are constructed. (BJV)

This collection of four symposium papers explores research and data problems in big-city schools. The papers are "Data Accessibility: Policies and Organizational Strictures in Big-City Schools" by W.G. Monahan (ED 019 749), "Some Data Problems in Systems Research" by M.C. Alkin and W.L. Duff, Jr. (ED 021 324), "Towards Adequate Educational and…

A study was sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to: (1) document and analyze the information needs of various groups (e.g., the legislature, state agencies, and community colleges) with respect to the state's community colleges and to prepare a matrix of information needs and uses; (2) inventory the…

If feedback from educational research is not properly related or interpreted, it can often be more detrimental than beneficial. Five factors that should be kept in mind regarding feedback are: (1) varying interpretations of research findings depending on the user, (2) ethical-human aspects, (3) validity problems, (4) interaction effects, and (5)…

This literature review discusses the need for rehabilitation organizations to become culturally competent and for rehabilitation research to reach and be utilized by minority populations. Sections address the incidence of disability in minority populations, the socially constructed nature of race, culture, and disability, cultural power and the…

Based on the experience of developing and implementing a cooperative study of the economic impact of Oregon's community colleges, this guidebook describes the process of conducting the study in order to assist institutions planning to undertake similar investigations. In Part I, the purpose, focus, and scope of the Oregon study are reviewed, and…

Discusses student tracking system development in terms of purposes, audience, organizational issues, and data utilization. Considers benefits (e.g., facilitates reporting behavioral outcomes, and illuminates the complementary/conflicting nature of college services) and costs (e.g., direct costs for computer programing, postage, printing, etc., and…