Nearly all quantitative analyses in higher education draw from incomplete datasets-a common problem with no universal solution. In the first part of this paper, we explain why missing data matter and outline the advantages and disadvantages of six common methods for handling missing data. Next, we analyze real-world data from 5,905 students across…

This study examines the potential of visual sociology to expand our knowledge of higher education through the use of visual data sources and methods of analysis. Photographs and archival material form the basis of the study. The images were analyzed as being part of the initiation and fulfillment stages of the social construction of collective…

The authors articulate objections to the organization of the recent special issue on student engagement and respond in detail to three criticisms leveled in that issue. Situating their response relative to longstanding calls to make research more relevant to practice, they argue that the validity critique inappropriately focuses on criterion…

This article highlights the problem of omitted variable bias in research on the causal effect of financial aid on college-going. I first describe the problem of self-selection and the resulting bias from omitted variables. I then assess and explore the strengths and weaknesses of random assignment, multivariate regression, proxy variables, fixed…

In the wake of paradigmatic and methodological wars, a post-paradigmatic time of epistemological and theoretical diversity in educational research calls for rethinking graduate education. The authors argue for an engaged pedagogy, which represents a shift in emphasis from instrumental training in research methods to an approach in which students…

A study explored constraints experienced by policy researchers working for the National Commission on Student Assistance, founded in 1980 to investigate federal student-aid policy. It analyzed how political changes limited the scope of research questions, influenced reporting of results, and reduced effects of research on policymaking. Findings…

Examines quantitative studies, especially small-scale statistical probes, which have become the dominant mode of inquiry in higher education, but criticisms of this approach are mounting. Describes the presuppositions of this prevailing mode, and several strands of criticism, noting how education and social research have changed over four decades.…

A discussion of the increased use of qualitative methods in social science research looks at four emerging issues: the nature of research, the growth in status of the narrative in research, political influences on the research process, and the nature of the relationship between the philosophy of science and applied research practice. Some…

A study investigated the standards used in refereeing scholarly journal articles to judge qualitative research methods. Examination of reviewers' critiques of 57 manuscripts submitted to the "Review of Higher Education" revealed 7 themes that reviewers focused on, and also found reviewers emphasized good writing and clear articulation of all…

(NOTE: See HE 512 216 for journal name change information.) The findings, methodology, and policy implications presented in Astin's longitudinal study of college students, are reviewed by four higher education scholars. These include J. Bruce Francis, Gerald Gurin, Arthur W. Chickering, and G. Lester Anderson. (SF)

Problems with previous factor analytic studies on effective college instruction include: lack of theoretical rationale for item selection; use of incorrect units of analysis; lack of student randomization to classes; failure to control for setting effects; and low content and construct validity. (Author/MSE)

A method of classifying college student groups according to motivation theory for the purposes of research into measuring student satisfaction suggests that typologies of student subgroups can assist in research on college outcomes. (MSE)

An alternative method of approaching research on postsecondary learning and teaching that is designed to reduce redundancy is outlined, with illustrations from research on student ratings of courses and teachers and other topics. (MSE)

Changing views in contemporary society make it important to understand college influences on women's career development. A study to investigate whether women's colleges provide a more supportive learning environment for women to develop their potential than at coeducational colleges is discussed. (MLW)

In an effort to understand the condition of teacher education in the research university, schools of education at three major research universities were examined. The intent was to analyze the change process through a study of teacher education programs. (MLW)