The use of computers by institutional researchers is considered, with a focus on West Germany and Europe. Two developmental stages concerning higher education's political and economic contexts and information technology are addressed, along with the emerging tasks of instititutional research in higher education, and the functioning of microcomputers as decentralized computing power. Databases at the institutional level and statistical databases on the state and federal level operate mainly for government decision-making. Institutional research in Germany does not mean self-study for strategic planning of an individual university. Stages of information technology (batch systems, the online-system, and microcomputers) are considered. New roles for institutional researchers in Germany are projected: to enhance institutional planning, policy formation, and decision-making; to manage information; to help the end-users at the operational and strategic levels use their computers; to promote empirical investigations and the use of databases by the institutional research office; and to automate offices within the university. (SW)