Errors in Evidence-Based Decision Making

Robert W. Janke has a PhD from the Combined Program in Education & Psychology at the University of Michigan. He is Professor of Education at Baldwin Wallace University and has 45 years of practical experience as a teacher, professor, researcher, and licensed psychologist. Bruce S. Cooper is Professor of Education Leadership, Administration and Policy at Fordham University. He received a PhD from the University of Chicago and has published over 35 books on policy, finance, leadership, and school improvement--- including a book for Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, and as a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education at the University of London. He also worked with Lord Kenneth Baker, then Secretary of State for Education and Science. He continues to study and write about school reforms, including truancy from schools.

Important book to read, as Bob Janke and Bruce Cooper warn us, that: “Individuals and groups purposively create misinformation through distortion or manipulation to influence the beliefs and behaviors of others.” Truth matters in everyone’s life, as this book shows.

• Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Identifying Errors Chapter 2 Dispositions and Ethics Chapter 3 Problem Development Chapter 4 Variables Chapter 5 Measurement Foundations Chapter 6 Data Collection Instruments Chapter 7 Sampling Methods Chapter 8 External and Internal Validity Threats to Evidence Chapter 9 Research Design Chapter 10 Data Analysis Chapter 11 Statistical Probability and Interpretation Chapter 12 Personal Biases in Interpretation Chapter 13 The Age of Misinformation Chapter 14 Religion and Science Epilogue--- How Will We Apply Research to Improve Our Lives?