[NLA] Practitioner-based research topics short

[AWilder106@aol.com]

Dear Nancy,

Here are a couple of thoughts about your questions.

1)  About your question on re NRS and its effects on student retention.

First you would ask, "Are there effects on student retention of using the 
NRS?"  The answer on the nla is "maybe," if I go by the posts.  You would 
have to clarify this first--yes or no. if Yes, then you would go along to ask 
the research question, which could be something like this:

What are the effects on student retention of using the NRS?  You would then 
have a subset of questions to focus the question.

The difficulty of this question is in getting base line data against which 
change could be measured.

This is a fast, inelegant answer to your own question, someone else on the 
list can refine it, I am positive.  Quantitative documentation would be 
necessary.

For you to get further information on this topic, and it is a dandy idea, 
email John Comings for one.  He would give you some answers, and perhaps also 
refer you to someone else.  Andy Hartman has just spoken up on the nla, and 
he could give you leads, also, Tom Sticht.  

Money comes in when you pay people to do research work.  Who funds the 
research?  The government, foundations, universities.  In Marsha Tait's case, 
her organization hired a consulting firm to get information she wanted.

Andrea


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