Recruiting participants through gatekeepers has been widely discussed in qualitative research. However, when a sampling frame is not available, surveying through gatekeepers can also be important for quantitative studies. We used three sampling methods to survey guardians of University students: (a) a gatekeeper variant of the time-space sampling,…

Although over the past decades the numbers of studies investigating international student mobility and migration (ISM) increased, methodological challenges in empirical research on the topic have remained mainly unaddressed. This is particularly the case for sampling, which is a crucial but often less considered part of qualitative research…

Studies of the effects of class attendance on class performance typically are quasi-experimental because students choose whether or not to attend class; that is, the samples are self-selecting. The lack of random assignment prevents one from establishing a causal relationship between attendance and performance. Relating attendance to performance…

Studies of group differences in intelligence often invite conclusions about groups in general from studies of group differences in selected populations. The same design is used in the study of group differences in other traits as well. Investigators observe samples from two groups (e.g. men and women) in some accessible population, but seek to…

The literature and typical approaches to reducing attrition among college students are critiqued, and a strategy for the identification of different interventions likely to have positive effects on retention rates of different student subgroups is proposed. It is claimed that a small sample approach to empirical testing of the combinations of…

A survey of speech communication departments and a review of the literature indicate that most speech communication researchers continue to use college students as their primary source of subjects. The problem of sampling is discussed and methods for dealing with generality are offered. (PD)

Equity topics that need special attention from higher education researchers are discussed. It is argued that focusing on the increased numbers of women students, faculty, and administrators may disguise more complex issues. It is advocated that when researchers propose to study "women," they should identify which women are being examined. When…

Two studies are reviewed to determine their relevance to proposed legislation (H.R. 2620) concerning athletic scholarships. The review was conducted at the request of U.S. Representative James J. Howard who proposed the bill. H.R. 2620 would require colleges to graduate at least 75% of their scholarship athletes within 5 years in order for…

A study conducted at one large research university compared electronic mail and telephones as methods for gathering survey data from undergraduate students. Problems associated with electronic-mail use include higher rate of socially undesirable activity among respondents and difficulty in identifying the target population. Implications for campus…