This guide for district and school leaders shows how to recognize opportunities to embed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into planned policies or programs. Opportunistic RCTs can generate strong evidence for informing education decisions--with minimal added cost and disruption. The guide also outlines the key steps to conduct RCTs and responds…

The structure and process of college institutional research is compared with three different ways in which science is conceptualized. It is concluded that, although institutional research has much in common with science, it is distinct because the dynamic nature of institutional research prevents development of a cohesive body of knowledge.…

Describes the general methodology of time and motion studies and reports the results of a study which used this methodology to compare digitization of images in a microcomputer environment with storage of images on microforms. (CLB)

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine (a) ways in which elementary principals in Connecticut influenced the induction experiences of new teachers and (b) how school leaders professional backgrounds and beliefs affected their approaches to induction. Research Methods: The study included six elementary principals from three Connecticut …

Organizes, describes, and evaluates management information systems research from 1981 to 1985 to provide an understanding of what constitutes management information systems research and to indicate areas for future research. (210 references) (Author/CLB)

Purpose: This article explores distributed leadership as it relates to two teacher teams in one public secondary school. Both situational and social aspects of distributed leadership are foci of investigation. Methods: The qualitative study used constant comparative analysis and discourse analysis to explore leadership as a distributed phenomenon.…

Institutional comparison groups can be selected in several ways, depending on the comparison issue. The method chosen involves both technical and political considerations. (Author/MSE)

Policy analysis in higher education is distinct from but is informed by and can contribute to both institutional research and institutional planning. Policy analysis extends beyond data analysis, using many qualitative research methods and a degree of intuition, and focuses on specific issues, not systems as does planning. (MSE)

Provided are appendices for a study which examined the relationship between graduate medical education (GME) and practice profiles in three specialties: family practice, psychiatry, and obstetrics/gynecology. Appendix A includes materials related to methodology of the study. Appendices B-D include supplementary materials for family practice,…

The use of a semantic differential measure to investigate the institutional image of Tufts University (Massachusetts), both internal and external, is reported. The study focused on (1) differences between the current and desired image, and (2) differences among alumni, current student, and other constituencies' views of the institution.…

The derivation of discipline cost indexes, developed to permit accurate interinstitutional comparisons of relative costs among disciplines, is explained using expenditure data from five peer institutions. How the indexes have been used in one research university's budget allocation process is then described. (Author/MSE)

College and university fund raisers are encouraged to test various strategies for direct-mail solicitation by comparing variations of five factors that influence direct mail response: copy; timing; package; offer; and list. Suggestions include forming a hypothesis, testing one variable at a time, choosing test and control groups carefully,…

Examination of popular publications that rate and rank collegiate undergraduate education reveals several methodological concerns. The challenges for consumers and researchers are to know what shortcomings exist in these ratings, what impact the shortcomings have on the rankings, and what methodological changes might improve the evaluations.…

Although higher education institutions dislike rankings published in the mass media, they like the attention the rankings create and prefer to be included rather than excluded. Common criticisms of the methodology include emphasis on inappropriate criteria, unfair comparison of private and public institutions, faulty assumptions, inaccurate data,…

The author of a survey of 254 college public relations officers (HE 531 785) describes briefly the underlying definitions, design, and results of the study, and makes comparisons between this and an earlier study of college presidents. Discussion of methodology focuses on respondent characteristics and consistency of definition. (MSE)