New Initiatives: Literature Review Manuscripts And The Appointment Of Ernest T. Pascarella As An Associate editor

The higher education research literature has increased dramatically in both size and complexity over the past four decades. Pascarella (2006) estimated, for example, that approximately 6,000–7,000 college impact studies alone have been conducted during this period. When one adds the many other domains of scholarly inquiry, the sheer size alone of the literature is staggering. The literature, however, has grown not only in terms of it size, but also in its complexity and sophistication, as evidenced by a much more diverse array of topics being addressed and reliance on theoretical frameworks from other disciplines to guide those inquiries. The literature has also become increasingly more diverse and sophisticated in terms of methodological approaches. Today’s literature has a rich blend of both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches, with growing sophistication in the specific forms of both methodological approaches. Such developments are healthy manifestations of the continuing evolution of higher education from an emerging to a more mature academic discipline. The exceedingly more diverse, sophisticated, and fragmented character of the higher education research literature is but one consequence of this maturation process. Nonetheless, these same conditions may be seen as inhibiting future evolution by frustrating efforts toward the development of cumulative knowledge, a salient attribute of more mature areas of scholarly inquiry. Research in Higher Education has contributed to the expanding higher education research literature since its founding in 1973. The journal is