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Introduction to the Topical Review Series

One of the most important functions of the Journal of Learning Disabilities has always been to present formal research findings on issues broadly related to learning disabilities. As is well known, the last several years have seen an explosion of research interest on many topics of interest to professionals who are concerned with understanding and helping learning disabled children. Although we are gratified that so many researchers are taking an interest in children with learning difficulties, if this research is to have a positive effect on what happens to these children in school, research findings must be broadly available and clearly communicated. At present, there are at least three different kinds of obstacles that hinder proper utilization of the increasingly large set of findings produced by contemporary researchers. First, research on learning disabilities is highly variable in quality. Thus it is often difficult for practitioners untrained in research methodology to have confidence in a given set of findings because of difficulty evaluating their meaningfulness. Second, much of the newer research on learning disabilities may be missed by individuals who are unaware of the broad range of journals and books that are now reporting the research. There is simply too much research being conducted for a few journals to contain even the major part of it. The final obstacle to the clear communication of new knowledge arises because of the increasingly technical nature of the research in some areas. As research becomes more sophisticated and more closely tied to well-developed and complex theoretical systems, it will become less accessible to most practitioners and, in fact, to other researchers working on different problems. All of these factors have led us to create a new column for the Journal—the Topical Review Series. This series will contain critical reviews of basic and applied research written by authors whose judgment about research findings can be considered authoritative. The topics for review will be selected by the editors of the Journal, and outstanding researchers will be asked to write them. Other researchers will be asked to read the reviews prior to publication to ensure the most accurate and complete coverage possible. The series has two purposes: (a) to distill for the nonresearch-oriented professional the basic findings of the best research in the field and (b) to provide an up-to-date summary and critique of research that may stimulate and guide future inquiry on important issues. These reviews will be written in nontechnical language to the greatest possible degree. It is hoped they will prove to be an accurate and trustworthy source of information about the most important recent advances in our knowledge concerning learning disabled children and adults.