Two studies investigated the effect of the placement of open-ended questions, relative to multiple-choice questions, on the responses elicited. Both studies found that positionings at both the beginning and the end of a predominantly multiple-choice questionnaire elicited significantly more responses than did either placement alone. When the two positions were used singly, the one at the beginning was found to elicit more discrete ideas and response categories. This was true for black samples and white samples and for different questionnaire topics and lengths.

Retention research and intervention strategies at low attrition institutions can often benefit from approaches other than the traditional methods that employ sampling techniques and statistical analysis. For example, many students will predict the likelihood of their own dropping out and then follow-up by requesting university-based counseling services. The difficulties such students describe are often idiosyncratic and may not lend themselves to large-scale categorizations. Often, the students themselves are not fully aware of the reasons for their anticipated withdrawal and make misleading attributions of cause, frequently adopting commonly identified university chalenges. Furthermore, in order to initiate prevention programs, it is not always necessary to know the "real" reason for which a student might withdraw. Rather, individual counseling and/or referrals within a university network, in a package of investigative and clinical services, can further retention while maintaining a neutral stance on the "true" reasons students choose to leave an institution. In many cases, such one-on-one interventions can improve retention even when an actual resolution of the individual's stated problems is not achieved. The current article describes a systematic "student centered" retention program developed under the auspices of a university Psychological and Counseling Center. Through self-identification and follow-up,

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Employees in 10 private for-profit hospitals responded to questionnaires regarding their work experiences, hospital facilities, and employer. Replicated results identified themes of employee opinions, including: Supervision, The Employer, Role Significance, Hospital Image, Competitiveness, Benefits, Cohesiveness, and Work Load. Only scores on the Role Significance scale differed between clinical and non-clinical respondents, with the former scoring higher. Survey methodology can be used to define an organization's culture from the employee's viewpoint. Their perception of this culture helps determine their behavior at work and their conveying the image of their facility in the community. The recent emphasis on quality improvement and 'bottom-up' management presents a particularly well-suited opportunity for the effective use of surveys. Quality improvement efforts involve employee groups which empower workers as active diagnosticians, internal consultants, and decision markers. Survey defined 'action levers' portray avenues along which such constructive efforts might be directed. Also, surveys identify themes through which management can evaluate organizational performance overall and department by department, building in means by which those responsible for units of the hospital can be accountable for achieving measurable results.