PAPERS OX PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION 393 



or considered most satisfactory, included original in- 

 vestigations, surveys of a school system, or causal in- 

 vestigations. The popularity of such studies appears to 

 be due to the ease with which they may be made; and 

 the unpopularity of a summary of the work of others is 

 due in part to the fact that such work is difficult and 

 when well done requires a higher degree of ability. One 

 of my correspondents made this illuminating statement, 

 "According to present-day standards anything with 

 tables and statistics seems to be most satisfactory. It is 

 questionable, however, whether they really mean very 

 much in most cases." 



The prevailing attitude is reflected also in the prefer- 

 ence for studies involving the use of a questionnaire, or 

 of standardized tests rather than for those based upon 

 data to be found in records or published sources.- In 

 far too many cases this preference is indicative of men- 

 tal laziness. It is easy to ask questions for other people 

 to answer. It is also easy to administer a standardized 

 test. Xo particular ability or acquaintance with the field 

 of education is required to do either of these things. 

 Frequently I have received a number of questionnaires 

 calling for information which was available in reason- 

 ably accessible published sources. These questionnaires 

 have come not merely from graduate students who might 

 have been unacquainted with the field, but in some cases 

 from men who were acknowledged leaders and who have 

 been identified with educational research for many years. 



I do not wish to be understood as condemning the ques- 

 tionnaire as an instrument of research. Its use is in- 

 evitable for certain types of studies and there will always 

 be occasions when a questionnaire will be appropriate, 

 but I am citing the misuse of it as evidence of an unde- 

 sirable attitude on the part of what I fear is a large 

 number of persons. They seem to be most interested 

 in doing something that will attract attention because 

 of some special feature or of its newness rather than in 

 making comprehensive and permanent contributions to 

 our knowledge of education. Until there is a changed 

 attitude with reference to the purpose and ideals of edu- 

 cation research, and I am convinced that the responsibil- 



