Three issues must be addressed when discussing the standards needed to judge the methodological rigor of naturalistic approaches to administrative research. The first issue involves defining naturalistic inquiry. In contrast to the scientific paradigm, naturalistic inquiry emphasizes, first, the inseparability of variables or events from their…

Educational research would benefit if standards could be agreed for recording precisely what has been done in a research study, and if these records were available for scrutiny. Advantages claimed include better quality data, easier comparison with other studies, the possibility of analysis by others and greater credibility of findings. (BRR)

Methodological adequacy in naturalistic inquiry is enhanced by understanding the differences between the naturalistic and rationalistic paradigms; by using simultaneous data collection and analysis, with prolonged field research, an audit trail, multiple sources, and referential materials; and by employing "thick description" extensively…

This article examines problems inherent in current federal criteria for estimating special education graduation and dropout rates. Proposed changes in reporting categories are presented. Exiting data included in reports by the Office of Special Education Programs may overestimate dropout rates and not be comparable to data reported by other…

Institutional procedures for fielding out-of-state data requests are examined in order to develop procedures for the generation of data for state agencies in a prompt, accurate, yet politically astute manner. Part I (Analyzing the Request for Data) discusses the importance of understanding the reasonableness and complexity of the request. Part II…

Triangulation strategy results in evidence characterized by the following: (1) convergence; (2) inconsistency; and (3) contradiction. In order to render the data sensible, the researcher or evaluator must report data collection procedures, as well as the three levels of information from which explanations of social phenomena are constructed. (BJV)

A consideration of ethics is necessary in the development of guidelines for conducting and reporting research. A brief description of the history of ethical guidelines in research is presented followed by suggestions for development of ethical guidelines, both those that can be legislated and those that cannot. (SI)

This paper contains the results of a survey of graduates of Boise State University (Idaho) from 1992-93 and 1993-94. The report presents respondents'(N=1,476) answers to three open-ended questions of the survey concerning "what they liked most" about their BSU experience, "the hardest thing they had to do" in order to complete…

A chronicle of the problems faced in an attempt to collect data on sociology curriculum trends in California's community college system is presented. The project was initiated in an effort to determine if other colleges in the system were experiencing the same difficulties with curriculum and enrollment in sociology courses being encountered by…

Information on institutional research, planning, and evaluation is provided in 15 conference presentations. The papers included in the collection are: (1) "The Nature of Institutional Research in the Community College (CC)" by James L. Wattenbarger; (2) "The Range and Organization of Data for Research" by Richard L. Alfred; (3) "Research Methods…

The progress of a novice ethnographic researcher is traced from problems associated with a pilot study through the production of a final draft of her dissertation--an observational case study. Focus is on the data analysis process, the development of conceptual maps leading to an emergent grounded theory, and writing the dissertation. Research…

This report summarizes the activities conducted in 1994 in relation to the 23 recommendations included in Ohio's Action Agenda for Adult Literacy. The recommendations are grouped into the following categories: coordination/collaboration, public awareness, research, program resources and support, advocacy/funding, and accountability. Some of the…