Chapters cover the essential character traits and skills that are necessary to become an effective researcher, walk through the main steps for completing a research project from start to finish, and discuss considerations when building a career and research program. Rather than the nitty-gritty of research methods, authors Joshua N. Hook, Don E.…

Measurement systems give colleges a structure for collecting, sharing, and acting on data. The guidebook and tools presented here help faculty, staff, college leadership, and policymakers understand and use measurement systems--and specifically use data to improve completion rates, close institutional performance gaps, and facilitate economic…

Since the advent of online education, some colleges and universities have looked to third-party companies for help developing, marketing, and providing their online degree and certificate programs. But in recent years, those companies have expanded to run more and more of their clients' online programs. An industry has developed around online…

How can states and schools use data to support their efforts to improve educational equity? "Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts," provides information to help state and school district leaders develop ways of tracking educational equity within their preK-12 systems. The guidebook…

This guide provides experienced education researchers with suggestions for conducting high-quality effectiveness studies to overcome research challenges common to rural settings. The guide addresses four factors that researchers must consider when conducting educational effectiveness research in rural settings: (1) study design, (2) recruitment of…

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) developed the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative in consultation with federal partners and Congress. It is a research-focused initiative designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide through the development of knowledge regarding the most effective and sustainable school safety interventions and…

Time and again, the authors have observed how a great program faculty creates unique learning experiences to everybody's satisfaction. They have experienced the pleasure that all involved feel when great learning has taken place, when the program participants leave the sessions with an enhanced skill set and co-created answers to pending and…

ED"Facts" is a U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiative to govern, acquire, validate, and use high-quality, kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) performance data for education planning, policymaking, and management and budget decision making to improve outcomes for students. ED"Facts" centralizes data provided by state…

Districts now have access to a wealth of new information that can help target students with appropriate supports and bring focus and coherence to college readiness efforts. However, the abundance of data has brought its own challenges. Schools and school systems are often overwhelmed with the amount of data available. The capacity of districts to…

The purpose of this guide is to help readers clarify their roles in the college access and success system and to identify how they might use data to create change for students. This guide shows how data can strengthen current programs and support broader changes that ease the path to college for students. This guide illuminates how a long-term…

The document has been compiled for reference use by instructors and others in need of information necessary to understand and implement the Mountain-Plains instructional and evaluation system. Included in detail are: (1) descriptions of the several forms used for student accounting, student progress monitoring, program evaluation, and ancillary…

This manual is concerned with the classification systems, codes, and definitions necessary for describing and quantifying building areas in terms of statistical aggregations that are meaningful and useful for planning at all levels of resource allocations. Procedures for collecting higher education building and room data for institutional use, and…

The first 15 pages of the manual provide: (1) background information on the importance of adult education, the need for adult education statistics, the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), and the scope of the term adult education; (2) the application of ISCED to adult education and the ISCED classifications (levels, fields,…

The basic qualities which questionnaires must have in order to serve best the purpose for which they are designed are emphasized. A description of the preliminary planning necessary to questionnaire construction, as well as the construction of the form itself, is provided. Various types of questionaire items and the advantages and disadvantages of…

This brief guide to interview training in survey research is designed for persons without previous training or experience in interviewing. Basic techniques of interviewing are presented in such a manner as to facilitate the training of persons with varying educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Topics include: the interviewer's role in the…