Data Request Management: articles for IR teams
Guides on data request intake, ticketing, and workflow design for institutional research teams.
Six files, 209,321 programs, three join keys: turning PPD:2026 into answers your provost actually asks
PPD:2026 looks like a single dataset. On disk it's six Excel files joined on opeid6 + credlev + cip4, with mixed-vintage dollars, statistical-noise privacy suppression, and a CIP-4 key that doesn't match the CIP-6 the STATS test will use. Here's where the analyst hours actually go, and how to skip them.
Clema Research Team · 10 mins readIs Your University's Data Request Form Actually Optimized? How Better Design Can Reduce 77% of Clarification Time
35% of universities have no formal intake process, and 77% of IR offices require extensive clarification before analysis begins. Analysis of 18 university data request forms reveals what the best systems do differently.
Clema Research Team · 8 mins readWhat Is the Relationship Between Data Request Intake Quality, Request Intelligence, and Workload in Institutional Research Given That 78% of Requests Require 10+ Follow-Up Questions?
Research shows 80% of IR data requests arrive missing critical elements. Learn how Request Intelligence (the quality of requests at intake) determines whether your team spends time analyzing or clarifying.
Clema Research Team · 10 mins readBest Practices for Institutional Researchers to Optimize Data Requests and Reclaim the 60% of Team's Capacity
Discover proven strategies from IR leaders to streamline data requests, implement self-service dashboards effectively, and reclaim up to 60% of your team's capacity for strategic work.
Clema Research Team · 12 mins read