Suggests an R&D process which has demonstrated its utility as a means of allowing researchers to communicate more effectively with both users and administrators (or funders). (Author/DAG)

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)

Argues that the meetings of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Conference on College Composition and Communication should focus on improving the literacy skills of students rather than promulgating superficial results of poorly conducted research. (RS)

Of 460 two-year colleges responding to a national survey in 1973-74, 63 percent reported some kind of institutional research, but only 15 percent reported that their colleges routinely based important decisions on the results of this research. The most popular areas of research were students, student services, and institutional operations. Other…

Provided are explanations of how research works, different approaches to research (naturalistic observation, correctional analysis, the experiment method, the theoretic and compendium approaches), and some of the problems inherent in research methodology in an attempt to encourage practitioners in the field of blindness to use and engage in…

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…

Higher education research, still in its adolescence, suffers from (1) seldom addressing major issues, and (2) research methods that are too narrow. The scientific method is not appropriate for studying individuals or social institutions; higher education researchers need to develop a multi-faceted research strategy sensitive to its many ties with…

A practicing white investigator reports on his experiences in conducting research in black communities; the adequacy of traditional academic training for the conduct of research in black communities is questioned. (Author/JM)

Describes three major categories of polarities in research attitudes and practices: (1) attitudes about research and who should conduct it, (2) impressions of what research is, and (3) conceptions about research methods and findings. Calls for moderating the polarizations for a more balanced view and more productive business communication…

Relativism is an inevitable consequence of our interpretive mode of being in the world. This is so for both our daily lives and our professional lives. What does not overly concern us at the former level should likewise not concern us at the latter level. (Author/BJV)

Today's white researchers are perhaps counterproductive in black communities not because they are white, but because they are poorly trained: equally if not more important are the values which the researcher acquires as a result of his professional training. (Author/JM)

Evaluation Research Society members (n=160) assessed the attributes of research that produce credibility. The study focused on the acceptability of no-difference findings. Randomization, statistical power, number of measures reported, and equivalent groups were tested to determine their influence on acceptability of both no-difference and…

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)

Extracts highlights about the process and products of needs assessment from 40 major research studies conducted over the past five years. Discusses who conducts needs assessments and why, where needs assessments are going wrong, what has been learned from these studies, and what needs assessments cannot do. (AYC)