As the number of articles on postsecondary topics expands, new methods are required to quantitatively understand the literature. Previous scholars looking at the higher education literature use manual coding, which limits the number of years that can be studied, or network analysis of citations and words, which does not yield groupings of articles…

Purposes of research in higher education, the issue of research paradigms, and the identification of research questions are discussed in this keynote panel paper. Different purposes of research include conceptual and theoretical development, relating theory and practice, and improving practice. Higher education as a field has not yet given much…

Argues that comparative studies in higher education are helpful in conceptual restructuring and in understanding how higher education is shaped by common international trends, reforms based on comparisons, increasing trans-national cooperation, and some supra-national integration of systems. Recommends a semi-structured research design allowing…

Nine syllabi for courses on research and evaluation in higher education are reviewed. The syllabi fall into four areas: general research design and methods, program evaluation, naturalistic inquiry, and institutional self-study. A course on research design and methods at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, focuses on three basic modes…