A study was conducted to understand better a common problem in job development efforts in rehabilitation--the poor returns of mailed-out surveys and, therefore, identification of few job leads for further cultivation. Two experimental job development investigations were used, one with large firms and one with small firms, to examine the effect of…

Governing bodies that are quasi-rational, representative, and democratic are accountable to those they govern in much the same way that social scientists are accountable to the academic community. Since they both appeal to rationality as the basis of their actions, governments and scientists must use epistemologically adequate procedures to…

Educational research is not having the impact on teaching practice that it could and should be having. In the past fifteen years, a four-tier pattern has emerged, with each tier more complex and revealing than the one before. Earlier researchers focused on description and differentiation in their studies, building a body of knowledge that could be…

Interactive Research and Development on Teaching (IR&DT) was initially proposed as an alternative to linear educational research and development strategies that often resulted in irrelevant, uninterpretable, time consuming research that did not actively involve teachers. This paper reports on the insights gained from implementing the IR&DT…

Decision-oriented inquiries emanate from a specific need for information and are conducted under a number of constraints. Conclusion-oriented research originates with the researcher and can be pursued in ways decided on by the researcher. Two examples of decision-oriented evaluation studies conducted by school districts and the relationships…

This book assembles, excerpts, and comments on a variety of publications dealing with the problems and prospects for educational research and development (R&D). It is intended to help readers identify the problems and issues in educational R&D and to formulate some possible alternatuves for the future. Chapter 1 deals with the definitions of…

Prevailing criticism of communication research in and out of university speech departments is justified and means that the quality of research must be improved. The last three years of speech communication research has not been noteworthy, dramatic, or significant. An initial remedial step might be the development of good, relevant, and sound…

Research is a method of systematically looking at what we are doing--or should be doing-- and determining how we can do it better. Consideration must be given to the how, the who, and the what of conducting research. The best guide for deciding how to carry on research is the underlying principle that the broadest involvement possible in the…

These three issues of the "Research Exchange" focus on how better to conduct disability research and disseminate research results. The first issue examines the topic of human subject/human research participant protection, with a focus on research funded through the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). It…

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…

Professors of methodology and curriculum in teacher education are the most effective conduit to bring research findings to the practitioner. More involvement of methods teachers in research funded by the National Institute of Education, particularly in reading research, would have a greater effect on classroom research. (PP)

Presents excerpts from a symposium in Charlottesville (VA) at which researchers, policymakers, and journalists discussed educational issues and the relationship of research to reform. Discusses issues concerning communication problems between groups and why it is important to keep talking with each other. Explores ways of improving the…

Examines implications of IEA international educational research for educational policies in three areas: overall quality of the national educational system, including success in achieving social and economic objectives; structure of the formal system and its influence on student achievement; and influence of school resources and instructional…

There is little research-based analysis of education's past or prospective contribution to the constitutional reconstruction of Scottish participatory democracy. Describes the constitutional changes occurring in Scotland and the relationship between educational research and policy. Analyzes positive and negative elements of educational research…

This chapter examines the current uses of alumni studies in the United Kingdom and outlines their challenges and limitations to informing policy and curriculum reform.