Four major pieces of legislation enacted since 1974--Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (the "Buckley Amendment"), Amendment to the Freedom of Information Act, The National Research Act, and The Privacy Act--represent a broad scope, impacting the administration of research, funding procedures, and the very substance and techniques of research. The legislation affects sampling, instrumentation, research design, data processing, data dissemination, and the retention of data. Thus, an entire research project has become subject to federal strictures. (Author/MLF)