As an institutional researcher, we are ever reliant on relevant and timely information. It only seems good and proper that as the professional organisation representing institutional researchers in Australasia that we provide you with some helpful resources right at your fingertips. It is intended that over time these will be developed into an extended education and training resources kit.
The purpose of institutional research (IR) is to provide objective, systematic and thorough research that supports the institution’s enrolment goals, planning, policy formation and decision making.
Now that we have a broad idea what institutional research is, how does that translate into job roles within your institution/organisation? To make this a little clearer we’re putting together descriptions of some of the different types of jobs that institutional researchers do. Over time it is intended to build this into a comprehensive list as a result of member input. We currently have descriptions of four different job roles that an institutional researcher may do:
The Institutional Researcher is the official newsletter of AAIR, which serves to inform its subscribers on a diverse range of topics. The AAIR newsletter, first published in 1996, is currently published quarterly. Prior to 2025, The Institutional Researcher was available to anyone who subscribed to the newsletter. In 2025, it became a Members Only publication. Previous versions of The Institutional Researcher are available via links at the bottom of all President’s Update posts on our blog prior to 2025. Our first issue in 2025 was made available to everyone on our mailing list before we restricted access to members only.
The Journal of Institutional Research, otherwise known as the JIR, was the AAIR peer-reviewed journal published between November 1991 and July 2014. The JIR officially ceased publication in March 2016.
It was initially published biannually, but in subsequent years was published less frequently. It served as a forum for discussion and for the dissemination of ideas and research findings. It contained original research papers that had not been submitted for publication elsewhere, that dealt with all aspects of institutional research, planning and related issues in both higher education and technical and further education institutions.
You can visit the directory of articles on this website. All articles have been officially archived on Pandora.
That’s pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? Ok, I’ll help you…
If you’re looking for any of the following, look no further!
Ever wonder what types of roles people have in the field of institutional research?
