This paper reports on the current status of institutional research (IR) in community colleges. Studies indicate increased IR involvement in the last ten years, with the most recent research suggesting that 39% of the community colleges have IR programs; yet the typical institutional researcher still exists at the lowest level of staff administration and generally possesses few research skills. Types of studies which are most frequently conducted by institutional researchers, in rank order, include studies of students, curriculum and programs, institutional operations, faculty, and student personnel services. Sixteen representative studies are reviewed in this paper in order to provide models for beginning offices of IR. Criteria by which the studies are reviewed include purpose, results, prime sponsor, skills required in preparation, awareness of relevant literature, and examination of evidence that the study was successful in making institutional changes. In addition, the essential components of three successful institutional research programs are reviewed and compared, serving to illustrate coherent IR efforts. It is noted that the quality of community college IR depends not only on the individual institutional researcher, but also on the development of national standards of excellence. An extensive bibliography is included. (JDS)