Institutional researchers can be confronted with ethical quandaries. Pressures from their institutions can conflict with professional standards and general ethical requirements. Analyses that appear to be neutral can conceal hidden assumptions that are unintentionally harmful to those individuals whom institutions have a responsibility to protect.…

Colleges have access to more data than ever before, and to unlock its full potential, the right culture, processes, and technologies are needed. Given the pressures now facing campuses, the demand for evidence-based approaches to strategy have intensified. As a result, more attention has been placed on the importance of the relationship between…

Despite widespread agreement that privacy in the context of education is important, it can be difficult to pin down precisely "why" and "to what extent" it is important, and it is challenging to determine how privacy is related to other important values. This chapter seeks to better understand the concept of privacy in…

The market is full of vendors selling products each designed to solve institutional problems. But how does one choose the right tool for their institution and situation? Topics addressed in this chapter include: how to gauge institutional needs, how to evaluate products, and understand the available institutional resources (current and future).…

As we become increasingly acquainted with the rich opportunities that analytics systems can provide, there is a commensurate need to consider the extent to which analytics tools are effectively integrated, with proper training, into the day-to-day functioning of higher education professionals. This chapter explores the extent to which predictive…

Information Technology (IT) and Institutional Research (IR) units working together with planning, a focus on collaboration, and a willingness to create partnerships can help accelerate their institution's efforts to improve the data landscape. This chapter includes an overview of the challenges facing these two functional areas, the benefits of a…

Building a culture of data governance at a higher education institution involves collaboration across the entire institution. Before the creation of formalized roles to perform data management and data governance functions at colleges and universities, these functions were performed by traditional institutional research personnel. Documentation…

In this chapter, we explore the contexts within which institutional researchers must try to ensure the ethical use of data. We also identify challenges institutional research professionals can face when navigating college culture while trying to ensure the ethical use of data. Finally, we identify potential solutions for improving institutional…

This chapter synthesizes research on women in STEM undergraduate fields and aims to sharpen our empirical and theoretical frameworks for future higher education research. Institutional research implications are discussed here and throughout the volume.

Institutional research/effectiveness offices are instrumental in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (D.E.I.) efforts. Ideally they have the knowledge, perspective, and network within an institution to impact practice, process, policy, and planning in order to guide the institution toward a goal of being fully inclusive. With an…

This chapter provides tools, resources, and examples for engaging qualitative inquiry as a part of institutional research and assessment. It supports the development of individual ability and organizational intelligence in qualitative inquiry.

Framed by Terenzini's revision of his classic "On the nature of institutional research" article, this chapter offers concluding thoughts on the way in which technical/analytical, issues, and contextual types of awarenesses appeared across chapters in this volume. Moreover, it outlines how each chapter demonstrated how qualitative inquiry…

Research on women in STEM often silences the voices of minoritized populations, such as women of color, inpart because the most commonly used theoretical frameworks do not center or contextualize their experiences. This chapter highlights the importance of critical perspectives and methodologies such as intersectionality in research design. We…

Institutions have many unique cultures and organizational structures that can strengthen or inhibit the planning and implementation of initiatives to enhance data-informed decision-making, build supporting infrastructure, and align the necessary human resources. This chapter discusses different strategies for aligning resources and organizing…

This chapter begins with an overview of the history of the Association for Institutional Research's use of ethical guidelines. The Association reworked these principles during 2019, the next chapter discusses the rationale and process for this rework. Next, AIR's new Statement of Ethical Principles is presented and discussed, and finally the…