Although there have been calls for many years for Extension professionals to use secondary data in their work, finding appropriate data online can still be a challenge. With the multitude of data sources available online, it can be helpful to use the concept of developing a community portrait as the context for becoming proficient at locating…

Higher education is now and will increasingly be faced with requests for data from a variety of sources to which it is accountable. Such data may ultimately be used in decision-making regarding the appropriation of public and private resources. Comparisons of costs and other measures among institutions will be the byword. Thus it is important that…

Noting that obtaining facts and figures on important policy issues related to children is the critical first step toward identifying what is working and what needs improvement, this Kids Count guide is designed to help local community members find and use data on the condition of children and families in Minnesota. The guide describes how to…

It is proposed that market research needn't be formal but can be useful. Suggestions include using a variety of existing information sources; conducting focus groups; using readership surveys of school publications; paying attention to the timing of surveys; and sharing results with others who can use it. (MSE)

The study was undertaken to identify the kinds of information that the Oklahoma public wants about vocational education. Two data collection methodologies were used, the Delphi Technique and task force procedure. Participants were 240 volunteers from a statewide master list of 653 persons selected as representative. After four meetings the task…

The University of Massachusetts has recently developed and implemented a new student opinion survey system. The concept was based on the perceived need of various university decisionmakers for information on student opinion in making various decisions. The purposes of the project were (1) to develop and provide a system whereby a rapid response…

One of a series of instructional booklets designed to introduce adult education program planners to the basic concepts integral to and alternative strategies for conducting needs assessments, this instructional booklet deals with determining how to interpret information. Described first is the relationship of the process of determining how to…

Ways that higher education institutions can improve their compliance procedures in responding to external requests for reports and information are addressed. Institutional officers must first determine how the data will be used by the external agency. By questioning how the requested information will be used, a determination can be made of what…

Governmental interference with academic freedom is illustrated by F.B.I. surveillance of and unauthorized distribution of information about progressive educators John Dewey, George Counts, and Harold Rugg. These three educators attracted the attention of governmental agencies and special interest groups during the 1930s and 1940s because they…