Showing 1 – 6 of 6 results.
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Content Analysis of Undergraduate Psychology Textbooks (ICPSR 36966)
Released/updated on: 2017-12-20
Psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate majors in American universities, despite the fact that the discipline still has many unsettled questions regarding fundamental philosophical and methodological issues. These issues may be associated with a lack of clarity regarding an accurate conception of science and the nature of the relationship between psychology and science with respect to these controversies. Kuhn (1967) has suggested that scientific paradigms are transmitted in textbooks.
To understand how the scientific status of psychology is depicted, 30 undergraduate textbooks were examined. Textbooks were examined on the following categories:
- What constitutes science is controversial
- Bad (Pseudo) science
- Second demarcation problem
- Deductive stance
- Inductive stance
- Verisimilitude/tentativeness of science
- Theory ladenness of facts
- The role of theory in hypothesis formation
- The role of competing theories (i.e. Laudan)
- Social constructionism (vs. natural kinds)
- Rhetorical views of science
- Science and biases (e.g., political influences)
- The role of ad hoc hypotheses
- Evolutionary epistemology
- Recognition of conceptual problems (i.e. is it important for science to address conceptual problems or only empirical ones?)
- Kuhnian paradigms
- Mature vs pre-paradigm sciences
- Strict method vs "anything goes" (i.e. Feyerabend).
Introductory, cognitive, social, and abnormal textbooks were examined.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education Teacher Professional Development Study (2007-2011) (ICPSR 34848)
Released/updated on: 2016-04-12
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2007-01-01--2011-12-31
The Professional Development Study (PDS) is a randomized controlled evaluation of two forms of professional development delivered to over 490 early childhood education teachers: (1) coursework on effective instructional interactions (as defined by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System [CLASS], an observational measure with established links to child outcomes) and (2) video-based consultation support through MyTeachingPartner (MTP). These professional development supports aim to improve teachers' implementation of language/literacy activities and interactions with children, as well as promote gains in children's social and academic development.
The questionnaires and measures used to gather the study data were initially compiled into 76 Raw-level files. The Raw-level data were in turn used by the research team at NCRECE to create 10 comprehensive Analysis-level files in order to avoid any inaccuracies that might result from incorrectly merging the Raw files. The Analysis-level files are organized by participant and phase of study. Whenever possible, Analysis files should be utilized instead of merging individual Raw files.
Additional information about this study can be found at the NCRECE web site.
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Partially restricted
Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information Environment, 2001 (ICPSR 20241)
Released/updated on: 2007-09-19
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2001-01-01--2001-12-31
With this survey, researchers sought to obtain information regarding changing patterns of information use for teaching, learning, and research, and the implications of these changes on academic and research libraries. In collaboration with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and Outsell, Inc., the Digital Library Foundation (DLF) initiated a research process to understand how library use is changing and to support future investigation and analysis. The primary goal of the questionnaire was to collect data on the relevance of existing and possible future services, as well as on student and faculty perceptions of the library's value in the context of the scholarly information environment. Other objectives included determining (1) what information resources are used to support research, teaching, and learning, and (2) how those sources and services are located, evaluated, and used by faculty and students at different kinds of institutions. Faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students were surveyed at public and private research universities and private liberal arts colleges in fall 2001. Respondents were asked questions regarding specific locations from which they access information, the accessibility of information equipment, and usage of hardcopy or electronic materials or reference resources. In addition, the survey asked respondents to identify preferred sources of information, including library resources, and the overall importance of the medium of sources. Finally, respondents were asked questions in regard to time devoted to information access and collection, as well as the effects of potential barriers on information accessibility. Specific questions were addressed to faculty, researchers, and students regarding the use of teaching-related resources, coursework-related materials, and course information availability.
Curated
National Household Education Survey, 1991: Revised Version (ICPSR 2762)
Released/updated on: 2000-07-27
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1991-01-01--1991-12-31
This data collection is a revised version of the NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD EDUCATION SURVEY, 1991 (ICPSR 9877). Like the original survey, this data collection consists of two main components: the Early Childhood Education Survey (children 3 to 8 years old) (Part 1, Preprimary Data, and Part 2, Primary Data) and the Adult Education Survey (persons 16 and older) (Part 3, Adult Data, and Part 4, Course Data). In the Early Childhood Education (ECE) component, 13,892 parents/guardians of 3- to 8-year-olds completed interviews about their children's early educational experiences. Included in this component were questions on participation in nonparental care/education, characteristics of programs and care arrangements, and early school experiences, including delayed kindergarten entry and retention in grade. In addition to questions about care/education arrangements and school, parents were asked about activities children engaged in with parents and other family members inside and outside the home. Information on family, household, and child characteristics was also collected. In the Adult Education (AE) component, 9,774 persons 16 years of age and older, identified as having participated in an adult education activity in the previous 12 months, were questioned about their activities. Information was collected on up to four courses and included the subject matter of the course, duration, sponsorship, purpose, and cost. A smaller sample of nonparticipants (n = 2,794) also completed interviews about barriers to participation. Information on the household and the adult's background and current employment was also elicited. In addition to the ECE and AE components, two merge files (Parts 5 and 6), containing the course code variables for each reported course, are supplied for use with the Adult and Course data files.
Curated
National Household Education Survey, 1996 (ICPSR 2149)
Released/updated on: 1998-06-12
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1996-01-01--1996-12-31
The National Household Education Survey (NHES) series reports information on the condition of education in the United States by collecting data at the household level rather than using a traditional school-based data collection system. The surveys attempt to address many current issues in education, such as preprimary education, school safety and discipline, adult education, and activities related to citizenship. This survey included two topical survey components: Parent/Family Involvement in Education (PFI) and Adult and Youth Civic Involvement (CI). The PFI component, which elicited information from parents and children aged 3 years through grade 12, focused on four areas: types and frequency of family involvement in children's schools, communication with teachers or other school personnel, children's homework and behavior, and learning activities with children outside of school. Other information collected for this component pertained to student experiences at school, children's personal and demographic characteristics, household characteristics, and children's health and disability status. The PFI information is provided in Part 1, Parent and Family Involvement in Education and Civic Involvement -- Parent Data. The CI component of the survey gathered information on civic participation, sources of information about government issues, and knowledge and attitudes about government. Items were administered to youths in grades 6 through 12 (Part 2, Youth Civic Involvement Data) and their parents, as well as to a representative sample of United States adults (Part 3, Adult Civic Involvement Data). The CI component also addressed opportunities for youth to develop personal responsibility and skills that would facilitate their taking an active role in civic life. CI questions were also asked of the parents surveyed in the PFI component, and these data also can be found in Part 1. In addition to the two major topical components, a screener component of the survey collected demographic and educational information on all members in every household contacted, regardless of whether anyone in the household was selected for an extended interview. (The term "extended interview" refers to the interviews completed in the topical components of the study, i.e., the Parent PFI/CI, the Youth CI, or the Adult CI interviews.) Items on the use of public libraries by the household were also administered in the screener portion for households without Parent PFI/CI extended interviews and in the first Parent PFI/CI interview in households in which one or more children were sampled. These data are presented in Part 4, Household and Library Data.
Curated
National Household Education Survey, 1993 (ICPSR 6877)
Released/updated on: 1997-05-30
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1993-01-01--1993-12-31
The National Household Education Survey (NHES) series reports information on the condition of education in the United States by collecting data at the household level rather than using a traditional, school-based data collection system. The surveys attempt to address many current issues in education, such as preprimary education, school safety and discipline, adult education, and activities related to citizenship. This data collection has two major components. The School Safety and Discipline (SS&D) component (Part 1) gathered general perceptions of the school learning environment from students in grades 6 through 12 and parents/guardians of students in grades 3 through 12. Respondents were asked about academic challenge, classroom and school discipline, and student norms for hard work and good behavior. They also evaluated the safety of their schools regardless of whether they or their children had been personally victimized. This component incorporated a broad concept of victimization, including measures of "secondary victimization," such as knowledge of and witness to occurrences. These measures were included because these experiences can adversely affect the learning environment, even if the student has not been victimized directly. Parent and youth perceptions of school discipline policy were assessed. Exposure to alcohol and other drugs at school was gauged, as was parent and youth knowledge of alcohol/drug education programs. Perceptions of both parents and youths regarding peer norms for substance use, the availability of alcohol and other drugs at school, and the presence of students under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at school were also collected. Additional items covered parental expectations for academic achievement and for tobacco and alcohol use, parental efforts to educate and protect children regarding safety and substance use, parental involvement in the child's school, and the safety of the school relative to the child's neighborhood. The School Readiness (SR) component (Part 2) covers experiences in early childhood programs, the child's accomplishments and difficulties in several developmental domains, school adjustment and related problems, delayed kindergarten entry, early primary school experiences including repeating grades, the child's general health and nutritional status, home activities, and family characteristics such as stability and economic risk factors. This component of the survey, which encompasses a variety of characteristics important to school readiness, emphasizes the "whole child" approach. Altogether, 10,888 parents/guardians of children aged 3 through 7 or in second grade or below were interviewed. Interviews were conducted with 4,423 parents of preschool children, 2,126 parents of kindergartners, 4,277 parents of primary school children, and 62 parents of home-schooled children.