This paper reviews the empirical literature regarding factors associated with the development of Institutional Research (IR) offices in community colleges. The IR office is defined as any organizational unit which has at least one half-time staff member given responsibility for the synthesis and reporting of institutional data, is visibly identified with this responsibility through job description and title, and displays visible products indicating some data handling. Three kinds of descriptive research are considered which demonstrate important factors associated with IR office development: brief case descriptions, national and state-wide surveys, and focused interview studies. A synthesis of this literature reveals that: (1) IR offices have been established in increasing proportions; (2) IR offices seem to operate on a slim proportion of institutional resources, in no case exceeding 1% of total operating budgets; (3) such offices are created by and for top administrators; (4) they require administrative support to be maintained; (5) staff of IR offices are typically small; (6) reporting relationships have been maintained primarily with institutional chief administrators; (7) institutional size appears to be related to the existence of an IR office; (8) various conditions conducive to IR office development can be identified; and (9) IR offices can have considerable room to maneuver. A bibliography is included. (MB)