SOME RECENT IDEAS IN RESEARCH METHODOLOGY--FACET DESIGN AND THEORY OF DATA.

FACET DESIGN, AS ORIGINATED BY LOUIS GUTTMAN, IS A METHOD OF SYSTEMATICALLY ORDERING A PROBLEM FOR RESEARCH. FACET ANALYSIS ENABLES THE VALIDITY OF AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ORDERING PROCESS TO BE TESTED. THE LOGIC OF FACET DESIGN AND ANALYSIS IS BASED UPON SYSTEMATIC DELINEATION OF THE IMPORTANT VARIABLES PRIOR TO DATA COLLECTION AND THE EVALUATION OF THEIR EFFECT IN A SPECIFIC RESEARCH DOMAIN. THE AUTHOR CONSIDERS THE APPLICATION OF HIS DESCRIPTION OF FACET DESIGN AND ANALYSIS IN FOUR SPECIFIC RESEARCH CASES AND SHOWS, IN EACH CASE, HOW THE PROBLEM UNDER CONSIDERATION CAN BE SPECIFIED MORE PRECISELY, HOW RELEVANT HYPOTHESES EVOLVE FROM THE FACET DESIGN, AND HOW THE VALIDITY OF FACETS CAN BE COHERENTLY CHECKED. THE RESEARCH PROCESS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FIVE PHASES--(1) CHOOSING THE DOMAIN OF INVESTIGATION, (2) RECORDING OBSERVATIONS MADE WITHIN THE DOMAIN, (3) CONVERTING OBSERVATIONS INTO DATA, (4) CLASSIFYING THE DATA, AND (5) SEEKING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG VARIABLES. THE THEORY OF DATA CONCERNS PHASES 3 AND 4. A SCHEME PROPOSED BY COOMBS IS CITED WHICH ENCOMPASSES ALL OF THE FACETS ENCOUNTERED WHEN OBSERVATIONS ARE CONVERTED INTO DATA AND DATA INTO VARIABLES. COOMBS PRESENTS A "SEARCHINGNESS STRUCTURE" WHICH ENABLES A RESEARCHER TO LAY OUT AN ENTIRE GRID OF METHODS FOR COLLECTING DATA. HIS CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE FIELD CAN PROVIDE MEANS OF INVENTING NEW METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA AND OF CHOOSING APPROPRIATE WAYS TO ANALYZE THE GATHERED DATA. THIS DOCUMENT IS A REVISED VERSION OF A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCE ON NEW DIRECTIONS IN RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION (UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, MARCH 30, 1965). THE EARLIER PAPER IS INCLUDED AS ED 010 221. (GB)