Needs analysis is often ambiguous, leading to five types of misconceptions: (1) information needs can be easily identified; (2) information is best handled in institutional settings; (3) all information is of potentially equal value; (4) given sufficient information, decisions can be made; (5) information and education are unrelated. (Author/JM)

What problems are involved in the development and organization of data sources used in a research project on student aid? Problems faced are: (1) using data from sources that had combined information into different categories; (2) incomplete data on a topic; (3) the disparity in the numbers of students or dollars reported by different data…