Attitude and opinion research requires considerable planning, careful design of survey procedures and sampling techniques, and practical ways of collecting, analyzing, and reporting results. The following suggestions are based on the extensive public opinion research conducted by the University of Alabama. (1) Decide what specific problem is to be…

A. Craig Phillips, superintendent of public instruction of North Carolina, declares that a major priority of the National Institute of Education is to collaboratively develop with state education agencies an adequate system of dissemination, diffusion, and adoption of improved practices. The NIE Advisory Panel on Dissemination and Utilization and…

The primary scope of this publication is to contribute to the promotion of research in the general area of manpower and employment by surveying the supply of statistical data with a view to stimulating and facilitating their analytical use. Since the mass of relevant manpower data in this country is enormous, it was decided to approach the problem…

This study is concerned with the initial testing of a questionnaire designed to examine student discipline policies in terms of student perception of goals and objectives, scope, procedures, and sanctions. "Institutional Procedures in Colleges and Universities" (IPCU), the questionnaire, containing 45 items, was sent to students and deans at 5…

In addition to the development of the measurement instrument, this study also attempted to analyze the differences in scale scores within and across the three participating groups--teachers, principals, and parents--and among the participating schools; and to investigate the degree of relationship existing between the priorities assigned to the…

This paper relates educational and psychological statistics to certain "Research Statistical Tools" (RSTs) necessary to accomplish and understand general research in the behavioral sciences. Emphasis is placed on acquiring an effective understanding of the RSTs and to this end they are are ordered to a continuum scale in terms of individual…

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) provides access to the world's English-language literature relevant to educators; generates new information products; and utilizes developmental, research, and program findings in educational planning and operations. The components that comprise the ERIC System are Central ERIC, ERIC…

The Delphi technique is a questionnaire method for organizing and shaping opinion through feedback. Although Delphi was originally intended as a tool for scientific and technological forecasting, its more promising educational application appears to be as (1) a method for studying the process of thinking about the future, (2) a pedagogical or…

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the FEHR (formative evaluation and heuristic research) Practicum training model, a computerized simulation providing practical experience in decision-oriented educational research and evaluation. The report is organized into five chapters. Chapter one contains an introductory discussion of the needs and…

Describes a course in information research in which students use a package of representative information sources to identify seminal works in a given field of inquiry. The materials contained in the package and specific procedures followed by students are described, and some informal evaluation of the process is provided. (CLB)

Examines the elements required to ensure the operation and use of special collections within an austerity context in order to develop a rationale for their continued support. Strategies for support are discussed, including the establishment of a strong rationale, the development of external funding sources, and models for cooperative efforts.…

Recommends considering a database as discretionary information available to organizational members. Introduces a conceptual framework to propose that reduced contribution rates occur in the following situations: (1) greater contribution costs, (2) larger groups of participants, (3) lower values of information to participants, and (4) greater…

This report describes an instructional unit on government documents for college freshmen, implemented at the university library at Southest Missouri State University. Government documents in the federal depository library were the focus for the unit. In the introductory session to library use, the students often received only a cursory…

The thesis of this paper is that when a reform is initiated in the public schools, it is vitally important to understand the interplay between the culture of the specific reform model used and the school and classroom cultures. The paper reviews the literature covering many facets of school and classroom culture--including literature on school…

The Center for Education of the National Research Council (NRC) has undertaken a series of activities to address issues related to the quality of scientific education research. In 2002, the NRC released "Scientific Research in Education" (National Research Council, 2002), a report designed to articulate the nature of scientific education research…