This guide to planning and conducting research projects covers how to decide on a research problem, state a hypothesis, plan for the collection of data, write a proposal, analyze and interpret data, and write the research report. Overall, the book takes a practical, hands-on approach and offers checklists, suggestions, and guidelines for all the…

This paper considers the value of the self-study perspective and discusses quality factors in self-study research by educators. The context of the paper is the experience of the Self Study of Teacher Education Practices (SSTEP) special interest group. Reasons for increasing interest in self-study among teachers and teacher educators include its…

The third in a series of workshops on child care for low-income families (July 24, 1995) conceptualized directions for future research. The effect of child care on children's development was discussed in terms of: (1) child care as an intervention in the lives of low-income children; (2) the importance of capturing the dynamics of children's child…

This document consists of two guides that were developed to assist small rural communities in northern Alberta (Canada) in conducting surveys. A community survey can be used to develop long- and short-range plans, define and solve problems, establish priorities, confirm public opinion, develop community support and stimulate action, and reveal new…

The existing education indicators for performance and achievement fail to provide relevant information about what young adults at the end of education need in terms of skills, and in particular, whether they will be able to play a constructive role as citizens. Does education provide the basic knowledge and skills needed for living an individually…

A study investigated the usefulness of instructional materials on the writing of scientific articles by comparing the descriptions of abstracts offered in the textbook with a sample of abstracts drawn from four fields of medicine (clinical medicine, surgery, epidemiology, basic sciences). The comparison was confined to abstracts of results-focused…

The completion of a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation requires discipline, independent initiative, creative thinking, working with others, and the surmounting of self-doubt. This book attempts to facilitate the dissertation process for students. This book is organized around the themes of content and process. The first part of this book…

The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) is a partnership of the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Stanford University, The RAND Corporation, the University of Pittsburgh, the Educational Testing Service, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.…

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care is an ongoing, prospective, 3-year longitudinal study of over 1,300 full-term healthy infants and families from 10 sites across the United States. While the sample is not nationally representative, the subjects come from major regions of the country: the…

This study used a logistic probability model to investigate the effects of variables relating student characteristics and institutional factors on the decision to apply to a large land-grant research university. The study used the entire data set from American College Testing (ACT) program test-takers in the fall of 1995 and institutional data on…

A pentagonal model, based on the star model of function understanding of C. Janvier (1987), is presented as a framework for the design and interpretation of research in the area of learning the concept of mathematical function. The five vertices of the pentagon correspond to five common representations of mathematical function: (1) graph; (2)…

This report provides an outline of the Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP), describes curriculum development and delivery, and discusses the progress that has been made toward program goals. UTEP is a school district/university consortium for school-based professional preparation and development. Members of the consortium include: Indiana…

An approach to educational research that is receiving renewed attention is participatory action research (PAR), which emphasizes a bottom-up approach to research as well as useful outcomes. PAR is a philosophy, and not a methodology per se. It is a deliberate, goal-directed, structured, and applied means of obtaining information that looks to…

To gather data on the place of community colleges in the overall structure of American postsecondary education, a study was conducted of state-level administrators of community colleges regarding the practice of baccalaureate degree-granting institutions offering programs of upper-division collegiate credit at community colleges. Administrators…

A study of the impact of economic differentiation on institutional pricing and expenditure policies, higher education public policy, and governance in public colleges and universities is described. It is suggested that economic differentiation is a likely determinant of variation in institutional expenditure and pricing policies and higher…