Enhancing Information Use in Decision Making

by Ewell

The idea that information is valuable for decision making constitutes a core value of institutional research. But research on information utilization as well as accumulated practioner wisdom continually raise questions about the validity of this assumption. What preconditions the use of information in decision making in higher education and how might its utilization be improved? The authors of this volume of New Directions for Institutional Research revisit an old topic in some new ways, reviewing what is known about infomation utilization on conceptual grounds, then critically evaluating some common mechanisms for communicating information to decision makers. This volume provides a foundation for the application of broad lesons about information utilization to some actual predicaments that practicing institutional researchers face. The is the 64th issue of New Directions for Institutional Research. For more information on the series, please see the Journals and Periodicals page.

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 1990