Community colleges generally conduct little research. Further, there is no generally accepted national research agenda for community colleges, no consistently funded national agency charged with studying the institutions as unique entities, and few educational researchers directing their attention toward them. The research that is undertaken on community colleges is conducted primarily by university professors and students, state agencies mandated by legislation, the Department of Education, in addition to a few institutional researchers at colleges. The types of research conducted include treatments of the formation and development of the colleges from the viewpoint of history or sociology and large-scale data compilations providing overviews of trends. In addition, the more useful qualitative studies undertaken provide information on the peculiarities of college functioning through participant observation or interview techniques. The lack of a consistent funding base for the routine collection of data on institutional effectiveness and unfamiliarity with assessment are central barriers to community college research. Finally, whatever the source and forms it takes, research on community colleges suffers several limitations stemming from imprecision in the language of the social sciences and from the relationships between researchers and practitioners. (TGI)