THIS STUDY'S PURPOSE WAS TO DETERMINE (1) THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POSITION OF RESEARCH DIRECTOR IN PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN THE FIFTY STATES, (2) DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR'S POSITION, AND (3) THE NATURE OF THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR'S JOB. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE PROVIDED THE BASIS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO 214 SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH STUDENT ENROLLMENTS OF MORE THAN 12,000. ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT USABLE RESPONSES WERE RECEIVED. SOME OF THE MORE NOTABLE FINDINGS INCLUDED--(1) THE MASTER'S DEGREE WAS THE MOST COMMON DEGREE REQUIREMENT, (2) A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS DID NOT HAVE MAJOR OR MINOR FIELD REQUIREMENTS, (3) THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS WAS THE IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR OF THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR IN 56.5 PERCENT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, (4) THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR DIRECTLY SUPERVISED PERSONNEL IN 80.9 PERCENT OF THE DISTRICTS, AND (5) THE MAJOR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCH DIRECTOR WERE IN THE AREAS OF EVALUATION OF EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMS, SURVEYS, REPORTS, EVALUATION OF PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, CONSULTANT SERVICES, AND TESTING. FROM THE LITERATURE REVIEW, FINDINGS, AND STUDY CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS WERE MADE CONCERNING THE POSITION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL RESEARCH DIRECTOR. (HW)