Two basic data sources required for research studies have been secondary and primary. Secondary data collection helps the researcher to provide relevant background to the study and are, in most cases, available for retrieval from recorded sources. Primary data collection requires the researcher to venture into the field where the study is to take…

The study evaluates a semester-long workbook curriculum approach to teaching a college level introductory statistics course. The workbook curriculum required students to read content before and during class and then work in groups to complete problems and answer conceptual questions pertaining to the material they read. Instructors spent class…

The article illustrates a method to estimate changes in the statistical power of a study which are caused by changes in the reliability of the dependent variable. (Author)

An explanation of the misuse of statistical significance testing and the true meaning of "significance" is offered. Literature about the criticism of current practices of researchers and publications is reviewed in the context of tests of significance. The problem under consideration occurs when researchers attempt to do more than just establish…

The dangers of equating "statistical significance" with "real world" significance are summarized. When a finding is said to have "statistical significance," it means only that the same results would be likely to occur again if the study were repeated, not that the finding has any true personal or societal importance. (VW)

Resolves a hypothetical editorial dilemma of whether or not to reject a research manuscript on the grounds that the statistical test applied to the data may have been inappropriate. (HTH)

Describes a visual device, borrowed from matrix algebra, which helps students integrate theory, methods, and statistics in sociological research. Data are organized in a rectangular structure, with the columns of variable names representing theory, the rows representing observations whose quality is related to methodological concerns and the need…

In this paper, tables for the appropriate sample sizes are presented and discussed in the context that the determination of the effect size must precede the determination of the sample size. (Author/PN)

The solution to the lack of productivity of educational research is the recognition that applied research can be scientific and the reexamination of the implications of the scientific orientation for research strategies. (Author/EB)

Bayesian statistical methodology and its possible uses in the behavioral sciences are discussed in relation to the solution of problems in both the use and teaching of fundamental statistical methods, including confidence intervals, significance tests, and sampling. The Bayesian model explains these statistical methods and offers a consistent…

Indicates that the explanation of what it means to obtain a significant F-ratio in discriminant function analysis, presented by K. E. Anderson in an earlier volume of Science Education, is incorrect. (JR)

Two articles discuss the controversy about the relationship between reliability and the power of significance tests in response to the discussion of Donald W. Zimmerman, Richard H. Williams, and Bruno D. Zumbo. Lloyd G. Humphreys emphasizes the differences between what statisticians can do and constraints on researchers. Zimmerman, Williams, and…

The effects of conditions of informed consent and disclosure on the performance of 84 students doing a statistics laboratory assignment for an introductory graduate course in statistics at a state university in the southeast were studied. Four separate classes taught by three instructors were included. Subjects ranged in age from 22 to 47 years,…

There is a need for clarity regarding different research strategies in order to assess the relative contribution of each. Using the framework of the Facet Design Technique (FDT) for problem structuring, eight general research strategies are identified as they relate to measurement fidelity, representativeness of units, and treatment…