A series of 17 generalizations describes the educational research enterprise in the United States under four headings: Organizational patterns, training programs, dissemination techniques, and the relationship of research to practice. Eight summary statements outline the primary implications of these generalizations and define educational research in the United States as loosely organized, university based, individually directed, theory oriented, committed to experimentalism, in a psychostatistical tradition, a part-time pursuit, and Federally funded. Related problems include low utilization of research by practitioners, inadequate mechanisms linking the worlds of the researcher and the practitioner, inadequate programs for training educational researchers, and a lack of tools and strategies for the adoption of educational improvements based upon research. Alternatives for a redevelopment of educational research include the development of new research structures to complement existing structures, the building of effective linking mechanisms between the research and practitioner communities, and the development of new training programs. (JK)