The Handbook of Institutional Research

Institutional research is more relevant today than ever before as growing pressures for improved student learning and increased institutional accountability motivate higher education to effectively use ever-expanding data and information resources.

As the most current and comprehensive volume on the topic, the Handbook describes the fundamental knowledge, techniques, and strategies that define institutional research. The book contains an overview of the profession and its history, examines how institutional research supports executive and academic leadership and governance, and discusses the varied ways data from federal, state, and campus sources are used by research professionals.

With contributions from leading experts in the field, this important resource reviews the analytic tools, techniques, and methodologies used by institutional researchers in their professional practice and covers a wide range of topics such as: conducting institutional research; statistical applications; comparative analyses; quality control systems; measuring student, faculty, and staff opinions; and management activities designed to improve organizational effectiveness.

Richard D. Howard is retired director of institutional research and professor of educational policy and administration at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He served as editor of Resources in Institutional Research.

Gerald W. McLaughlin is an associate vice president for enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University in Chicago. He has served as editor of AIR's Professional File and IR Applications.

William E. Knight is executive director of institutional effectiveness and an adjunct faculty member at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He has been associate editor of Resources in Institutional Research.

The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) is a professional association of institutional researchers, planners, and decision makers from higher education institutions around the world. The editors have each served as AIR president.