The completion of a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation requires discipline, independent initiative, creative thinking, working with others, and the surmounting of self-doubt. This book attempts to facilitate the dissertation process for students. This book is organized around the themes of content and process. The first part of this book…

This study builds on an earlier one in which the role of institutional researchers in providing computer information systems (CIS) data to administrators was investigated. To examine the relationship between college culture and the role of institutional researchers as either providers of information or interpreters of data, a study was conducted…

The conditions under which the effectiveness of a university grants operation is potentially maximized are described. The following topics are addressed: the attitudes to be adopted by university administrators in grants operations, the functions of the institutional grants office, and the qualities needed in a campus coordinator of research. The…

This report is the third of a series covering the status of psychological research and activity in foreign schools and laboratories. It covers discussions with prominent psychologists in Latin America and provides information about representative work in process. Information on the following countries is reported: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador,…

One of a series of nine reports of Project ACTIVE (Attaining Competence for Teaching in Vocational Education), this report focuses on the criteria for assessing mastery of the professional competencies (skills) important to vocational educators involved in research and evaluation. An overview of competency-based vocational teacher education (CBTE)…

While rapid shifts in the composition of student populations and increased governmental demands for accountability have underscored the importance of institutional research (IR) in community college management, most adminstrative literature still conceptualizes IR as a cybernetic, neutral, data collection function initiated in response to the…

This paper reports on the current status of institutional research (IR) in community colleges. Studies indicate increased IR involvement in the last ten years, with the most recent research suggesting that 39% of the community colleges have IR programs; yet the typical institutional researcher still exists at the lowest level of staff…

Research and professional training programs on deafness sponsored by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare are introduced and detailed in chart form. The programs are listed according to the Department agencies responsible, including the following divisions of the Social and Rehabilitation Service: the Rehabilitation Services…

This book contains presentations made at a series of 3-day workshops held in Kentucky to prepare vocational educators to write proposals, progress reports, and final reports for research and development efforts. Workshop presentation included "Need for Research and Development in Vocational-Technical Education," by Robert Warmbrod,…

This history of the Agriculture Development Council (ADC) consists of eight chapters and four appendices. Chapter 1 traces the early years of the ADC, from its inception in 1953 to 1957, the year of the retirement of the council's first director, J. Lossing Buck. The chapter covers the role of John D. Rockefeller, III, the incorporation of the…

Institutional researchers play a key role in an environment where data warehouses are used to store and retrieve vast amounts of data. Along with the benefits of increased access for more users, improved reporting capabilities, and less reliance on centralized information, come questions of appropriate data usage, data access and security,…

Guidelines for managers of university research groups cover securing resources, personnel, and services and choosing collaborators, as well as organizing, supervising, and controlling research activities. Attention is directed to: orientation of personnel; reporting mechanisms; boosting morale; the needs of different personnel; handling travel,…

A statement of principles and practices of graduate education in the 1980's offers to help institutions plan and evaluate the organiztion and administration of their graduate schools. It is argued that institutional goals and practices in higher education will be subject to close scrutiny and change in the coming decade. Changes forecast include…

During the growth period of the 1960's and the early 1970's, community college institutional research focused on conducting surveys, compiling institutional reports on grades and enrollments, analyzing student characteristics, and providing background information for writing grants. The researchers came mostly from the teaching faculty and were…

In response to the need of Adult Basic Education (ABE) practitioners for means of disseminating information concerning new ideas and practices in their field (particularly the results of "309 Projects" funded under Title III of the Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1966), The Iowa Model was developed in which the…