Filipino Americans are one of the largest immigrant groups in the United States and the second largest Asian American/Pacific Islander ethnic group. However, there is little research focusing on the unique experiences of this group, particularly in higher education. This paper presents a qualitative exploration of the experiences of Filipino…

Interim, discontinuous or "acting" management is an increasingly ubiquitous feature of universities. This paper asks: What are the implications of this for good academic governance? Should we understand this managerial dance as a symptom of the collapse of good managerial order or, by contrast, as a symptom of the robustness and…

Useful reference material and a list of professional associations are provided for the institutional researcher interested in qualitative research. (MSE)

This paper explores six phases of a research project designed specifically to engage high school students as co-researchers in a multisite qualitative study exploring perceptions of tobacco use among high school students in four schools. It describes how university researchers collaborated with the high school students and summarizes seven major…

Policy analysis in higher education is distinct from but is informed by and can contribute to both institutional research and institutional planning. Policy analysis extends beyond data analysis, using many qualitative research methods and a degree of intuition, and focuses on specific issues, not systems as does planning. (MSE)

Ethnographic interviews offer the academic decision maker an alternative lens with which to gather information, develop hypotheses, and implement plans. Specific procedures must be followed to use the technique properly, and other research methods should accompany the ethnographic interview for increased validity. (MSE)

This book is a guide is for school practitioners who want to know more about planning and conducting focus groups as an aid to decision-making. It emphasizes practical and cost-effective ways to ensure accurate results. After defining the focus group, chapter 1 offers ways focus groups can be used in schools and reasons for using them. Chapter 2…

This guide discusses the use of focus groups in marketing research for higher education. It describes the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, and examines when it is appropriate to use focus group research, when it is not, and why. The guide describes a step-by-step approach in how to plan, formulate, moderate, and report…

Qualitative case studies of graduate students, focusing on student socialization, are critical for understanding the student experience. Because of the departmental nature of graduate study, cross-departmental studies may be not be as revealing. The qualitative case study approach is particularly useful in examining minority student experiences.…

Internal institutional auditing can improve effectiveness and efficiency and protect an institution's assets. Many of the concepts and techniques used to analyze higher education institutions are qualitative in nature and suited to institutional research, including fiscal, operational, data-processing, investigative, management consulting,…

Development of a portfolio of achievement by each student, based on departmental definitions, can satisfy the assessment needs of the student and department faculty. The portfolio is a vehicle for monitoring student progress and initiating synthesis within a field of study. Portfolio building in the fine arts offers an example. (MSE)

There is no right way to forecast college enrollments; in many instances, it will be prudent to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Methods chosen must be relevant to questions addressed, policies and decisions at stake, and time and talent required. While it is tempting to start quickly, enrollment forecasting is an area in which…

Efforts to assess quality of academic life at Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) resulted in a plan to merge qualitative and quantitative measures and uncovered political, logistical, and fiscal issues in collection and use of the two kinds of data. Although qualitative databases are costly, they are also very useful in different ways. (Author/MSE)

Asserts that qualitative research methodology represents a fundamental reconceptualization about knowledge, validity, and education. Reviews the history and trends of educational research and argues that it is increasingly legitimate to use qualitative methods. (CFR)

Outlines the foundations of the qualitative and quantitative approaches to research and discusses the implications of these two completely different approaches in educational research. Points out they are not complementary as they are separate scientific paradigms.(MD)