In a treatment facility positive peer culture was operationalized after the completion of a level system. Comparing the programs, positive peer culture had fewer runaways, and less physical aggression, drug abuse, property destruction and suicidal behavior, while having more break-ins on campus and improper affection displays. (Author)

Workshop activities designed for the professional development of institutional researchers are described. It is suggested that a properly structured training session incorporates theory and experience and presents it in a format appropriate for the busy professional. (Author/SF)

Presents a selected bibliography of ERIC documents of interest and use to community college institutional researchers engaged in the planning or conduct of follow-up studies. (JDS)

The existence, size, purpose, and organization and administration of internally sponsored research programs in colleges and universities are documented in this study. It is shown that the vast majority of these programs exist as a centralized function of the institution. Support ranges from under $1,000 to over $500,000. (Author/LBH)

Asserts that the social sciences are clinical-like endeavors, and the way that "sister" fields discover and validate their results may inform research practice in education. Describes three fields of design that confront similar societal demands for improvement (engineering product design, research on the diffusion of innovations, and…

Discusses why and how Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis created its electronic institutional portfolio. Describes the process and highlights missteps and insights. Focuses on how electronic institutional portfolios can become catalysts for change and institutional improvement, while also serving as multi-media self-studies for…

Describes how, compared to 1995 strategic planning, participation by Georgia State in the Urban Universities Portfolio Project enabled more informed, wider campus participation in shaping the plan. The portfolio also supported transitions to a semester calendar, new admissions practices, and revised approaches to program review and assessment of…

Reflects on how using the electronic medium for portfolio projects can influence institutional self-examination. By viewing the portfolio project as a continuation of a campus's commitment to approaching change as scholarly work, asserts that the electronic medium can lead to new ways of knowing and understanding higher education institutions. (EV)

Summarizes the lessons learned by the institutions participating in the Urban Universities Portfolio Project regarding the functional and technological requirements for creating and sustaining Web-based institutional portfolios. The most pressing issues were those of aligning technology resources with analytical, evaluative, academic, and design…

Describes lessons learned by California State University about developing electronic institutional portfolios, discussing how the campus made progress in strengthening program review and assessment processes and in building a campus "culture of evidence," trust, and engagement. (EV)

Discusses the implications for higher education nationally of the Urban Universities Portfolio Project (UUPP), placing the UUPP within a national agenda to focus attention on student learning, and examining how portfolio development worked from both the "inside out" and the "outside in" to renew this focus. (EV)

Advocates focus group research, in which a homogeneous group led by a trained moderator discusses a carefully selected research question, as a qualitative tool well suited for community colleges. Offers case studies and the following guidelines: establish collegewide administrative procedures, carefully select/train on-campus moderators, and…

Describes three efforts to design research on innovation in organizations, each on a progressively more macrooriented tier (from the innovation project as the unit, to the organization, to the extraorganizational environment), along with the theoretical and empirical assumptions behind these efforts. (SR)

Reviews studies on the impact of organizational factors on the adoption of innovations along three dimensions (innovation type, innovation radicalness, and stages of adoption), finding considerable agreement. Proposes a research agenda for future studies. (SR)

Most decisions are made not by individuals but by groups. Knowing how the group process works and how information enters it can improve the quality of decisions, and can enhance the institutional researcher's role as data supplier and lead methodologist. (Author/MSE)