I am extremely honored and very pleased to have been named Section
Editor of the "Research Design and Methodology" section of School Psychology Quarterly. It is my sincere hope to continue the
excellent work and high standards of Timothy Keith who served as the inaugural
Editor of this section. In keeping with Tim's original vision, I believe that
school psychology researchers and practitioners can benefit greatly from an
understanding of new and/or advanced research methods. Given the inherent
difficulties of conducting applied research, it is critical that our field
stay abreast of analytic and design strategies that can enhance the complexity
and utility of our investigative endeavors. To this end, this section will
serve as an educative outlet that can broaden the scope and process of
research in school psychology.
Our overall goals for the "Research Design and Methodology"
section will continue to be to enhance the methodological sophistication of
school psychology researchers and to increase the diversity of research
approaches being used to answer important questions in our field. Thus, we
will continue to publish scholarly articles that introduce, explain, and
illustrate designs and methods that have promise for advancing research in
school psychology. Ideally, a wide range of research methods would be featured
including those from quantitative, qualitative, single-subject or small-N,
psychometric, and statistical orientations. Several excellent articles have
already been published in this section which serve as examples for potential
authors wishing to submit manuscripts for publication. Previous and future
articles include:
Goodwin, L.D., & Goodwin, W.L. (1999). Measurement myths and misconceptions. School
Psychology Quarterly, 14, 408-427.
Hintze,
J.M., Owen, S.V., Shapiro, E.S., & Daly, E.J. III. (2000).
Generalizability of oral reading fluency measures: Application of G theory to
curriculum-based measurement. School
Psychology Quarterly, 15, 52-68.
LaBlanc,
M., & Fitzgerald, S. (in press). Logistic regression for school
psychologists. School Psychology
Quarterly.
Levin,
J.R., & Wampold, B.E. (1999). Generalized single-case randomization tests:
Flexible analyses for a variety of situations. School Psychology Quarterly, 14, 59-93.
Stage,
S. A. (in press). Program evaluation using hierarchical linear modeling with
curriculum-based measurement reading probes. School Psychology Quarterly.
To accomplish the stated purpose of this section, manuscripts should
include the following components: (a) a pedagogical introduction to a specific
research method or combination of methods that specifically addresses a school
psychology audience, (b) where appropriate, an illustration of the research
method(s) using relevant data, (c) a discussion of the advantages and
limitations of the research method(s) for school psychology researchers, and
(d) a brief discussion of computer software (if applicable) that can be used
in conducting analyses attendant to the research method(s). Although authors
are encouraged, whenever possible, to illustrate the use of the methodology
being discussed by examining one or more specific data sets, the primary focus
of articles in this section is on the use and limitations of the methodology
for school psychology researchers. Thus, discussion of research designs and
methods should address potential uses across the field of school psychology
rather than focusing on one or more specific applications of the method(s)
being reviewed.
We encourage submissions to this section from school psychology
researchers who have begun using designs and methodologies that are unique or
that have been underutilized in our field. We also seek papers from colleagues
in related fields (e.g., special education, clinical child psychology,
educational psychology) who have an interest in publishing papers related to
research methodology. Authors are invited to submit manuscripts (six copies)
appropriate for this section to Terry Gutkin, Editor of School
Psychology Quarterly. A cover letter should be included that indicates an
interest in having the paper reviewed for the "Research Design and
Methodology" section. Those papers considered appropriate for this
section will be forwarded to me, and I will serve as the Action Editor for
these submissions.
For additional information about the "Research Design and
Methodology" section or to discuss possible papers for this section,
please contact either me (School Psychology Program, Lehigh University, 111
Research Drive, Bethlehem PA 18015; 610-758-3252; gjd3@lehigh.edu) or Terry
Gutkin (117 Bancroft Hall, Department of Educational Psychology, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345; 402-472-1154; tgutkin1@unl.edu).
Knowledge based on sound empirical methods is the cornerstone of the
scientist-practitioner model that is central to our field. This model cannot
meet the needs of the future unless the sophistication of our methodology and
scholarship continues to grow. Coping with increasingly complex applied
problems and questions certainly will require increasingly elegant bodies of
empirical research based on sound methodological principles. I look forward
enthusiastically to working with potential authors on manuscripts related to
research design and methodology that can move our field forward from a
methodological point of view.
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