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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 431 279 EC 307 261 TITLE Research Exchange. Quarterly Newsletter of the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR). INSTITUTION Southwest Educational Development Lab., Austin, TX. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1998-00-00 NOTE 149p. CONTRACT H133D50016 AVAILABLE FROM Available in electronic format on the internet at Web site: http://www.ncddr.org/ PUB TYPE Collected Works - Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT Research Exchange; v1-3 1996-1998 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Accessibility (for Disabled); *Disabilities; Evaluation Methods; Federal Programs; Grants; *Information Dissemination; *Research and Development; Self Evaluation (Groups); *Theory Practice Relationship IDENTIFIERS *National Center for the Dissem of Disabil Research; National Institute on Disability Rehab Research ABSTRACT These twelve issues (3 years) of the newsletter of the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR) present articles summarizing outcomes of National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) research projects. Articles from Volume 1 include: "What Are the True Outcomes of Research"; "Self Assessment Fosters Dissemination"; "User-Friendly Materials Facilitate Communication"; "Technical Assistance and Training Available for Grantees"; "Strategies for Underserved Groups"; "Availability versus Accessibility"; "Alternate Formats and Accessibility"; "Do You Have a Dissemination Policy?"; "Choosing a Primary Format"; "NCDDR World Wide Web Site"; "Dissemination Patterns of NIDRR Grantees"; "Dissemination Indicators"; "Characteristics of Current NIDRR Grantees: Initial Findings"; "NIDRR Grantees Receive Recognition"; "Literature Review on Dissemination and Utilization of Research Results"; "Literature Can Advise Practice"; and "Guides to Improving Practice." Articles from Volume 2 include: "Accessible Information on the World Wide Web"; "The Internet"; "General Guidelines for Improving Accessibility of World Wide Web Pages"; "Accessibility Design Considerations and Examples"; "Annotated WWW Resource List"; "Dissemination Evaluation Strategies and Options"; "You Can Evaluate Your Dissemination Efforts"; "Dissemination Self-Inventory"; "Thinking about Your WWW Site: Can It be Evaluated?"; "Model Spinal Cord Injury System WWW Gateway"; "Gateways to NIDRR's Disability Research"; "Assessing the Communication Power of Your WWW Site"; NIDRR Grantees and Staff Receive Recognition"; "How Do Consumers Get Information They Can Use?"; and "Is Disability Research Useful?" Articles from Volume 3 include: "Common Characteristics of NIDRR Grantees' Websites"; "How Do You Measure Success?"; "Trends in Dissemination Patterns of NIDRR Grantees"; "How Do Stakeholders Find and Disseminate Information?"; "Surveying for Dissemination Characteristics"; "NIDRR Grantees and Staff Receive Recognition"; "Who Needs Web Site Accessibility?"; "Electronic Accessibility"; "Interactive Elements of the Internet"; "NIDRR Grantees Offer Listservs"; "Update on Strategies for Web Accessibility"; "New Review of +++++ ED431279 Has Multi-page SFR---Leve1.1 +++++ NIDRR Grantees' Web Sites"; "Annotated WWW Resource List"; "The Unemployment of Americans with Disabilities"; "Collaboration in NIDRR's Employment Research"; "The Employment Emphasis in NIDRR's Proposed Long-Range Plan"; "The Federal Initiative To Increase Employment of People with Disabilities"; "The New Employment-Focused RRTCs [Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers]"; and "The Dissemination and Utilization Process and Employment Research." (DB) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** The Research Exchange. Quarterly Newsletter of the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR). Volume 1, Numbers 1-4, Fall 1995-Summer 1996 Volume 21 Numbers 1-4, 1997 Volume 3, Numbers 1-4, 1998 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 National Center for the NCDDR Dissemination of Disability Research Dear NIDRR Grantee, The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) is pleased to announce the initiation of a new NIDRR grant effort, the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research. (NCDDR). This communication represents the inaugural issue of the NCDDR's quarterly newsletter, The Research Exchange, that you will be receiving as a NIDRR grantee. The intent of these quarterly communications with you is to promote creative thought and options in the dissemination of research results and other related project outcome information. The NCDDR staff will contact you concerning your desired accessible format for future newsletters. The NCDDR staff are excited about the new information and resources that the project will be able to provide to you and your NIDRR project staff. Sincerely, pt,fr) .-/Ah411111)41-____ John D. Westbrook, Ph.D. Director SOUTHWEST EDUCATIONAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY D EV E LO P M ENT LABORATORYSEDL NIDRRAND REHABILITATION RESEARCH 3 Alei THE RESEARCH EXCHANGE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ME DISSEMINATION OF DISABILITY RESEARCH VOLUME I, NUMBER 1 FALL, 1995 CONTENTS OVERVIEW OF NCDDR 3 A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR 4 SELF-ASSESSMENT FOSTERS UNDERSTANDING 5 USER-FRIENDLY MATERIALS FACILITATE COMMUNICATION 6 PANELS PLANNED FOR NOMINATION PROCESS 7 MEET THE STAFF 8 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING AVAILABLE 10 STRATEGIES FOR UNDERSERVED GROUPS 11 The Research Exchange, a newsletter to Material in these pages may be copied with promote the effective dissemination and credit to NCDDR. The contents of this utilization of disability research outcomes, newsletter were developed under a grant is published quarterly by the National (#H133D50016) from the National Institute Center for the Dissemination of Disability on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Research (NCDDR) which is operated by (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education. the Southwest Educational Development However, these contents do not necessarily Laboratory (SEDL). Neither SEDL nor the represent the policy of SEDL, NIDRR, or the NCDDR discriminate on the basis of age, Department of Education; do not assume sex, color, creed, religion, national origin, endorsement by the Federal Government. sexual orientation, marital or veteran For questions, comments, or to request status, or the presence of a disability. this newsletter in alternate formats, contact: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory 211 East Seventh Street, Suite 400 Austin, Texas 78701-3281 VOICE/TEXT TELEPHONE: 1-800-266-1832/512-476-6861 FAX: 512/476-2286 E-mAIL: [email protected] INTERNET URL: http://www.ncddr.org DIRECTOR EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR John Westbrook Mary Kay Sanders Lin Harris Joann Starks SOUTHWEST EDUCATIONAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY DEVELOPMENT LABORATORYSEDL I NIDRRAND REHABILITATION RESEARCH 0 Printedon recycled paper. NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF DISABILITY RESEARCH 7.° OVERVIEW OF NCDDR The NCDDR seeks to * plan and conduct a variety .-1 0 accomplish two major goals: of training events for (1) ensure the widespread NIDRR grantees in dissemination and utilization selected D & U areas (D & U) of research outcomes * develop and share resulting from NIDRR research periodic communications projects, and (2) increase the such as the NCDDR capacity of researchers to newsletter, The Research identify and use development Exchange, via user-preferred and dissemination strategies accessible formats and modes that meet the needs of their target audiences. * identify outcomes of NIDRR-funded projects To accomplish these goals that are in need of further the NCDDR will dissemination use a variety of The NCDDR's challenge is toand implement strategies that are make the grantee's researchactivities to designed to assist expand NIDRR grantees. outcomes as clear as possible. awareness A sample of these and use of NIDRR include: grantees' outcomes * conduct a survey-based * describe the influence of market analysis to culture on dissemination of describe major D & U information, and develop characteristics of various strategies to meet the target audiences information dissemination * develop user-friendly needs of identified racial written guides, pamphlets, or ethnic minority groups and other materials to This is an age of expanding facilitate understanding of information. The NCDDR's what is known about challenge is to make the effective information grantees' research outcomes as dissemination clear as possible.And, to * develop self-assessment couple that message with an instrumentation to foster effective dissemination strategy calculation of a grant's that targets all potential users of "dissemination quotient" the research. * 5 Alid NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF DISABILMY RESEARCH A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR WHAT ARE THE TRUE OUTCOMES OF RESEARCH? The NCDDR will assist but for the purposes of D & U NIDRR grantees in identifying may not be obvious. The research outcomes that can NCDDR's activities will be benefit their target audiences. performed in a manner that As has been clearly shown fromassumes research outcomes research (Fuhrman,1994;Leung,are not conference presentations, 1992), different perspectives journal articles, monographs, or about research exist between other common "product" researchers and potential formats. The NCDDR