Survey Research in Educational Administration

Abstract

An examination of the research literature in educational administration reveals a pervasive use of survey methods. Given the widespread use, this study addressed the following questions: What level of methodological rigor is evidenced by these studies? and Did the rigor increase during the 1970s? To answer the questions, data were taken from random samples of survey studies published in the Journal of Educational Administration and the Educational Administration Quarterly during the eight years of 1972 through 1979. Each article was evaluated against six criteria for sampling and instrumentation procedures. Qualitative differences between the journals and systematic trends were not evident.