Learning analytics provide a set of powerful tools to inform and support learners. They enable institutions and individuals to better understand and predict personal learning needs and performance. Universities already collect vast amounts of data about their student populations, but often this is underutilised. The current "state of the…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Using Data for Action and includes: (1) Community and School Use of Data for College Readiness and Postsecondary Success (Karmen…

Issues concerning the collection and uses of data about college student retention are considered. Some of the documented findings about student retention in U.S. colleges is summarized, with attention to both national data and data for colleges belonging to the United Negro College Fund. Difficulties in obtaining useful retention data are…

Junior nursing students participated as research subjects in a faculty study, collected data for a student project on health attitudes, and analyzed both studies' findings. Thus, they learned about the research process through participation in several different phases. (SK)

The purpose of this pamphlet is to clarify the issues pertaining to ownership of research data. It examines legal issues on data management for colleges and universities and suggests ways to better articulate statements regarding data management and ownership. It urges universities, research sponsors, and other pertinent groups to develop policies…

Some of the errors associated with use of data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) are described, 1980 HEGIS and census reports of college enrollment are compared in tables of data, and a more cautious use of HEGIS data is recommended. (MSE)

This introductory level text provides a background for understanding the uses of qualitative research in education, its theoretical and historical underpinnings, and specific methods of educational research. This revised edition places qualitative research into the context of current discussions of research methods and alternative ways of knowing.…

The origins of institutional research and its association with a planning function are reviewed. The role of values, politics, and social pressures in regard to the planning function are examined. Planning is likely to be more directed to attaining administrative and faculty aspirations than to meeting educational and social needs. (Author/MLW)

Basic and practical information on how to do opinion surveys and how to apply the information gathered for use in student recruitment, public relations, and other advancement programs is presented. In addition, 12 sample questionnaires are included that have helped colleges and universities measure the opinions of alumni, students, faculty/staff,…

Increased demands for colleges and universities to engage in outcomes assessment for accountability purposes have accelerated the need to bridge the gap between higher education practice and the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. The "Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education" provides higher…

This book is designed to provide knowledge about educational research and to help graduate students in education organize and conduct their own research. No prior familiarity with the principles, procedures, or terminology of educational research is required. Chapters are: (1) "Educational Research: Its Nature and Rules of Operation"; (2) "Types…

Today's outcomes assessment movement places great expectations on a college's ability to generate longitudinal data on student flow and achievement. Though computers and data managers will play an important role in meeting these expectations, outcomes assessment is not just a data collection task. Its success depends on how clearly the goals of…

The Collaboration for the Improvement of Teacher Education (CITE) Project, now beginning its third year, consists of a blocked semester of three courses--curriculum and methods, social aspects of teaching, and measurement and evaluation--and the related field experience activities occurring at the pre-student teaching level. Approximately 120…

Notes that large-scale qualitative research projects tend to produce vast data pools from observation journals, interview transcripts, and other material that often is barely analyzed in the originating project. Argues that this material represents a valuable research resource. Includes six suggested rules for the use of older data. (MJP)

The concepts of need and needs assessment are examined in the context of information needs for college administrators. A description is included of the conceptual framework underlying the Needs Assessment Information System (NAIS), which was developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. Attention is directed to: (1)…