Retention Research: Issues in Comparative Analysis. AIR 2001 Annual Forum Paper.

Conducting institutional research on a complex issue such as retention provides the opportunity to use the method of comparative analysis through which numerous independent comparisons can provide the institution with a more complete picture of an issue. Researchers have done different types of comparative analysis at one university over the last several years, including analyses that were: (1) internal; (2) external; (3) entry/intent comparisons; and (4) demographic comparisons. Each of these comparisons provides a unique perspective on the retention and success of students at the institution, along with unique challenges and problems. The paper discusses these perspectives and challenges as they have limited the effectiveness of the analyses. Such comparative analyses are simple, can be done repeatedly, and can draw on existing groups, but they are limited in that they do not help understand student attrition and are sometimes limited by group size. (Contains 8 figures and 25 references.) (Author/SLD)