This article examines the importance of subject matter instructional expertise in the design of research studies on computer-based instruction. It considers the implications of shifts in instructional focus from associationism toward cognitivism and points out how difficult it is for most researchers to be experts in both computer-based instructional design and subject matter content instruction. The article suggests that researchers need to work closely with subject matter instructional experts and need to document in their presentations and research articles that they recognized and addressed the importance of subject matter instructional expertise.
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