Twenty-nine steps necessary for data file preparation for secondary analysis are discussed. Data base characteristics and planned use vary the complexity of the preparation. Required techniques (file verification, sample verification, file merger, data aggregation, file modification, and variable controls) and seven associated pitfalls are defined…

A detailed examination of the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) data base--its content, development, and past and potential uses for researchers--is presented. Because knowledge of the data elements is crucial for successful secondary analysis, procedures for collecting needed information on the data in HEGIS are suggested. (BS)

In this information system, sponsored research information is routinely forwarded, in machine-readable form, from NIH to Columbia, to the benefit of each. The promotion of future systems development is enhanced through the adoption of standardized data element designations and definitions. (LBH)

This paper considers the feasibility of linking a student data sample with the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) teacher and administrative data. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has from time to time considered linking their student-based elementary and secondary surveys to the school- and teacher-based surveys. Speculation on…

Issues and considerations likely to be confronted in designing and constructing longitudinal institutional databases or studies are examined, including operational definitions of retention and attrition. The intent is to reduce current limitations in dropout research. (MSE)

Niles Township School District 219, Skokie, Illinois, has rebuilt its personnel and payroll program. The new system provides a data bank for storage of any and all information required by both the personnel and payroll departments on each district employee. (Author/MLF)

Launching an alumni survey requires consultation with many campus constituencies, thoughtful decisions about intent and content, careful planning of all operational procedures and proper promotion. Census surveys, telephone versus mail surveys, decisions on data entry, timelines, costs, publicizing, etc. are discussed. (MLW)

The LABLIB system at the Language Centre of the University of Turku, Finland, is described. LABLIB is a computerized bilingual information retrieval system that assumes a minimum of user computer expertise and includes comprehensive information on tape recordings, video programs, and other teaching materials. (four references) (LB)

Describes how the collection, analysis, and reporting of qualitative data from a research project examining the implementation of microcomputers in classrooms was facilitated by using a microcomputer. The use of hypertext to create a unified relational database is described, and implications of hypermedia for qualitative research are suggested.…

Examines issues regarding the privacy of information contained in patron databases that have resulted from online circulation systems. Topics discussed include library policies to protect information in patron records; ensuring compliance with policies; limiting the data collected; security authorizations; and creating and modifying patron…

This response to an article evaluating Indiana's early intervention service delivery (EC 628 669) notes additional important aspects such as the central finance model used, the value of the Indiana data system in tracking the amount and type of services provided, the incentive provided to complete all the Individual Family Service Plan data…

Schools gather, store and use an increasingly large amount of data. Keeping track of everything from bus routes to building access codes to test scores to sports equipment is done with the help of electronic database programs. Large databases designed for budgeting and student record keeping have long been an integral part of the educational…

The analysis of classroom observation data is seen as increasingly important in research on the impact of high-stakes language tests or new foreign-language programmes on students, teachers and other stakeholders. Video-recordings of language teaching and learning in classrooms impacted by such tests or programmes can provide revealing data,…

Education, it seems, is increasingly driven by the numbers. Whether it is measuring student performance or a school district's ability to balance the books, one will find data out there about it. So much data, in fact, that it is difficult to sort through all the numbers to get the needed information. This article describes California's Ed-Data…

Recommendations designed to assist states in the creation of meaningful definitions of types of schools and students for use in the Council of Chief State School Officers' Education Data Improvement Project are presented. The Project's goals are to promote and facilitate the reform and refinement of the National Center for Education Statistics'…