This study examined institutional researchers' use of qualitative methods to document institutional accountability and effectiveness at two-year colleges in Texas. Participants were Institutional Research and Effectiveness personnel. Data were collected through a survey consisting of closed and open ended questions which was administered electronically. Participants preferred using document analysis over focus groups, interviews and observations. Developmental education was the accountability measure that most of the participants said that data from qualitative research could assess. A greater percentage of respondents said qualitative research can be used to assess accountability measures while a lower percentage said that they use qualitative methods to access accountability. Participants agreed that time was a barrier to using qualitative research. While quantitative data might reveal certain effects, results from this study indicated qualitative data provided deeper interpretations of what may seem to be similar events in students' lives but are experienced differently by those students. Institutional researchers need to expand their collective notions of credible evidence, constituted primarily of quantitative data, to include qualitative data which, as results from the study indicated, can be used to supplement an institution's quantitative information. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]