Five issues that emerge in institutional research when studying diversity on campus are identified: (1) the researcher is part of the change process; (2) in framing research questions, focus on the institution; (3) combining qualitative and quantitative methods can provide greater insight; (4) diversity touches all institutional elements and…

Describes the purposes and roles of institutional researchers: (1) describe the institution, (2) analyze alternatives, (3) present the best case, and (4) supply impartial evidence, noting three dualities internal vs external demands; academic vs administrative culture; and institutional vs professional role that are particularly relevant. Also…

Reports on a nationwide survey of 601 members of the Association for Institutional Research concerning perceived levels of institutional research (IR) knowledge and skills, how IR knowledge and skills are acquired, and perceptions of effectiveness. The survey was based on Terenzini's (1993) three tiers of organizational intelligence. (Author/DB)

Balancing privacy and disclosure interests will require restricting information requests and data systems, avoiding promises of confidentiality that cannot be kept, and informing administrators and researchers about their obligations regarding disclosure. (Editor)

The forces and pressures affecting offices of institutional research in today's higher education institutions are examined. It is suggested that the heterogeneity of these institutions will produce institutional research offices that differ in their organizational locations, roles, and responsibilities. (Author/SF)

The role of institutional research is examined as well as the essential qualities and tasks of the research personnel. The need to draw into the field able and analytical persons of integrity with strong backgrounds and experiences in various disciplines is cited. (Author/SF)

Institutional research that examines the influence of organizational and administrative factors on student learning may be critical in improving educational performance. The role that institutional researchers might play in reducing semantic confusion and enhancing understanding of how colleges and universities improve student learning is…

The authors argue for integrating Boyer's four domains through the pursuit of public scholarship.

The ways that institutional researchers can analyze the political nature of their institutions and better understand the role institutional research plays in that environment are suggested. The major strength of an institutional research office is information and the analysis of information. (Author/MLW)

A regional survey of 141 higher education institutional research offices investigated the following aspects of program administration: research and analysis staff size; educational preparation and experience; location in the organizational hierarchy; functions and tasks; and role in assessment. Four different types of offices are described.…

This chapter summarizes the most recent literature on the best practices of Web survey implementation and offers practical advice for researchers. (Contains 1 table.)

Advanced communication and computing technologies create new resources and new opportunities in expanded role relationships for institutional research. Approaches to impact analysis and the rates of future change are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Do institutional researchers need to get approval from their Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)? Are IRBs difficult to work with? This chapter explains the functioning of IRBs and offers suggestions for enhancing cooperation between IRBs and institutional researchers.

Because surveys now can be implemented with relative ease and little cost, many researchers are overlooking the basic principles of survey research. This chapter discusses sources of error that researchers should consider when conducting a survey, and gives readers basic suggestions for reducing error. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

A summary of articles on the relationship between faculty research and college teaching finds that faculty scholarship does not adversely affect teaching norms, teacher effectiveness, student cognitive development, or currency of course content. However, research activity affects two teaching dimensions detrimentally: rigor of course examinations…