We conducted a systematic literature review of 111 empirical studies published between 1969 and 2018. We found that research does not exponentially grow in comparison to research on higher education or leadership; empirical research emerging in the 1980s does not completely replace non-empirical inquiry. Studies from English-speaking authors…

Multilevel modeling (MLM), also referred to as hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) or mixed models, provides a powerful analytical framework through which to study colleges and universities and their impact on students. Due to the natural hierarchical structure of data obtained from students or faculty in colleges and universities, MLM offers many…

The sophisticated analytical techniques available to institutional researchers give them an array of procedures to estimate a causal effect using observational data. But as many quantitative researchers have discovered, access to a wider selection of statistical tools does not necessarily ensure construction of a better analytical model. Moreover,…

This article describes a mixed-methods approach to integrating the methodological tools of social network analysis and qualitative research to explore intersectionality as it pertains to faculty experiences in institutional contexts. These research strategies, employed at the individual and aggregate levels, can be useful tools as institutions aim…

This paper discusses demographic and study-related factors that contribute to completion of degrees in one university in New Zealand. Although much can be learned from nationwide and cross-institutional studies, it is important that each institution comes to an understanding of its own particular student population and the factors that impact on…

Drawing on the work of several prominent scholars, the author describes the evolution of quantitative critical inquiry and compares this perspective to traditional research paradigms. (Contains 1 table.)

As a nation reliant on scientific and technological innovation for the health of our economy and national security, it is imperative that both educators and education policy create learning pathways that will successfully support current and future undergraduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.…

This article suggests that the choice by institutional researchers to use qualitative or quantitative research is often dictated by time, money, resources, and staff and not necessarily with an understanding of the underlying philosophical assumptions structuring beliefs about methodology, knowledge, and reality. These underlying assumptions are…

Methods by which annual evaluation and review of departments at Michigan State has moved from a limited exercise to a valued administrative tool are described. A model is used that has as its basic unit the academic department and that is an operational system for departmental review and resource allocation in a complex university. (Editor/LBH)

This study explored how logit, probit, and more traditional linear regression techniques compare in predicting college student retention, using data provided by registrars from a national sample of colleges and universities. Results showed little practical difference among the techniques, despite theoretical advantages offered by the first two.…

Thirty-eight tables and some commentary summarize data in accordance with such factors as: type of room, days and/or hours used, student capacity, floor space, and comparisons with other institutions. (NI)

Addressed to institutional researchers, this report from California's Chabot College presents information on National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data sets. Included is a discussion on how these data sets can be used to create peer groups of U.S. colleges, and to produce statistics on major student variables for each of these groups.…

Graduation rates of the fall semester freshman classes that entered the Bloomington campus of Indiana University between 1980 and 1974 were studied. By examining the percentage of students completing a baccalaureate degree within four years of their matriculation, it was found that the graduation rate from the Bloomington campus significantly…

This paper describes the methodology used by The College of St. Rose (New York) to identify peer institutions (similar small private liberal arts colleges) as part of a comparative compensation survey. To identify peer institutions, researchers used a hybrid approach involving both objective identification of institutions and administrator…

Conclusions one would make from looking at average faculty salaries in a specific department were compared with those conclusions evolving from a regression analysis of the same salaries. The standard salary study does little more than report the average salary associated with each faculty rank within each department, while a regression study…