This preliminary report of a project in progress--the creation of an alternate research guide for educational technology--begins by noting the influence of early ties to behavioral psychology and systems theory on research in the field and recent recommendations by researchers and scholars that the field be broadened to include such non-experimental approaches as ethnographic, descriptive, historical, and analytical methods. The five steps that will be followed to complete the study are then outlined, and work completed on the first two steps of this methodology is reported, i.e., a review of the last decade of instructional technology research, and a survey of materials, texts, compiled readings, etc., used by major educational technology academic programs in their research courses. The research review focuses on topic areas, methodologies, and research questions. The responses from the 19 universities (out of 30 selected for participation) and one corporate center that responded to the survey questionnaire are summarized, including current research topics being investigated in both experimental and non-experimental studies. The next steps in the project are briefly discussed, including a review of the research from 1976 to 1986 that will provide a more detailed look at the current state of research in instructional technology; a review of the research topics and methodologies, purposes, results, and recommendations for the last several years; and a discussion of the proposed paradigm shift, the alternate methods it would necessitate, and the various data gathering techniques available to researchers. Three tables provide data on the findings of the literature review, and a copy of the survey questionnaire is appended. (7 references) (EW)