The methods and models for categorical data analysis cover considerable ground, ranging from regression-type models for binary and binomial data, count data, to ordered and unordered polytomous variables, as well as regression models that mix qualitative and continuous data. This article focuses on methods for binary or binomial data, which are…

In this article, the authors discuss the utility of combining quantitative and qualitative methods in conducting intersectional analyses. First, they discuss some of the paradigmatic underpinnings of qualitative and quantitative research, and how these methods can be used in intersectional analyses. They then consider how paradigmatic pragmatism…

In this article, the author discusses how researchers can use mixed-methods approaches and intersectional analyses to understand college access among first-generation Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). First, he discusses the utility of mixed-methods approaches and intersectionality research in studying college access. Then, he…

In this article, the author argues that current strategies to study and understand students' identities fall short of fully capturing their complexity. A multi-dimensional perspective and a mixed-methods approach can reveal nuance that is missed with current approaches. The author offers an illustration of how mixed-methods research can promote a…

The vast amount of research conducted on student persistence over the past thirty years is indicative of the continuing and evolving interest in retention of students. Framed through multiple perspectives, this retention research is driven by the fact that more students leave institutions without graduating, year after year. Much more than an…

Appropriate questions to ask about each entering class, about students in general, and about the college itself are presented as potential subjects of institutional research. A program suggested for the evaluation and analysis of student achievement at the junior college includes data to be gathered from students on entrance to the institution, at…

The American Council on Education's Office of Research has instituted a large-scale data bank for research in American higher education. This cross-sectional and longitudinal data bank is available to the general community of scholars and administrators interested in student characteristics, student development, comparative institutional effects,…

Extracts highlights about the process and products of needs assessment from 40 major research studies conducted over the past five years. Discusses who conducts needs assessments and why, where needs assessments are going wrong, what has been learned from these studies, and what needs assessments cannot do. (AYC)

A study of applicants to the University of Illinois, Chicago, pharmacy school investigated 21 students' subjective motivations for seeking a professional degree. Students were identified as low or high academic performance and as exhibiting clinical, family, science, undecided, traditional community, and altruistic orientations. Implications of…

A study used a multivariate approach to assessing college departmental excellence. Factor analysis identified three potentially useful factor clusters ("faculty research,""input," and "student") and seven indicators based on those clusters. Indicators combining faculty research and input and combining all three clusters were found to be the best…

A study compared three methods for measuring college student growth and development in the course of a college education: (1) gain scores; (2) residual scores; and (3) repeated measures. Analyses indicated that all three are seriously flawed, although repeated measures offer the greatest potential for adequately representing student change.…

College and university marketing departments should use the technique of positioning to increase enrollments. The triangular approach to positioning uses close scrutiny of the student profile, the benefits marketing courses offer, and the competition the department faces within and outside the business school. The technique can also be used by…

The importance of an effective, comprehensive marketing effort by higher education institutions is discussed in light of anticipated enrollment declines. A new professionalism in market research and techniques is called for and it is suggested that an effective marketing effort will provide primary and secondary benefits that can serve as guides…

Focusing on student retention and time to degree completion, this study illustrates how institutional researchers may benefit from the power of predictive analyses associated with data-mining tools. The following are appended: (1) Predictors; and (2) Variable Definitions. (Contains 5 figures.)

This manual, developed by Mercer County Community College (MCCC), prescribes a step-by-step, systematic approach for conducting student follow-up surveys. As data are required from both students who graduate from the institution and from students who are classified as non-returning, follow-up procedures are listed for each separately. Types of…