The purpose of this paper is to: (1) explore some possible explanations for the lack of empirical support of advance organizers; (2) suggest a plan for improving the empirical research on advance organizers; and (3) recommend some further investigations needed in the area of advance organizers. Some explanations for this lack of support are proposed. Among these explanations are: absence of an operational definition of the advance organizer; neglect of the measurement of the cognitive structure of the learners; failure of the tests to detect the facilitative effects of the organizer; failure of the learners to understand or use the organizers to study the learning materials; and use of very lengthily written organizers that might cause a memory strain. A plan is suggested to improve this research. This plan includes: the preparation of operationalized advance and placebo organizers; the experimental design; the sample selection; the implementation of the advance and placebo organizers; test construction and application; and the hypothesis testing and data analysis. Some aptitude interaction studies are recommended which relate the advance organizer to selected learners' attributes, including information processing capacity, learning styles, and Piagetian cognitive levels. (Author/JN)