Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Dissertations, Academic
- All Subjects: Higher Education
- Creators: Buss, Ray
Description
The current research examines the influence of disciplines, advisors, committees, language, culture, and previous experiences in students' search and selection of dissertation topics, as well as whether and how students react to those influences during this process. Invention has been an area of research for rhetoricians for centuries, but most modern research focuses exclusively on the pre-writing process in first composition classrooms (Young, 1976). The current research collected survey and interview data from second- and third-year Ph.D. students in natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities at a large research university in the United States. 80 second- and third-year Ph.D. students completed an online survey; 11 students and four of their advisors participated in a semi-structured interview. The results demonstrate that the majority of students spent over three months in the selection of dissertation topics, and the humanities students tended to spend longer time in this process than social sciences or humanities students. Additionally, students have much in common in their perception of the criteria they would use in the selection of dissertation topics, and those criteria are similar to what previous researchers (Isaac, Koenigsknecht, Malaney, & Karras, 1989; Kozma, 1997; Sessions, 1971) have identified. However, when it comes to the actual selection experiences, the interviews show that students do not necessarily apply those criteria rationally. Moreover, disciplines appear to have an overarching effect on students' topic selection. Natural sciences advisors appeared to have more direct involvement in students' topic choice than advisors in social sciences or humanities. The linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the eleven doctoral participants were not found influential in their selection of dissertation topics. Finally, although Ph.D. advisors generally have a good understanding of students' academic progress, their knowledge of the students' personal and professional concerns may differ, and the latter knowledge is crucial in their advising on students' dissertation topic choice. The current study suggests invention in the scholar and researcher level is significantly different from that of first-year composition classrooms. The successful invention of dissertation topics is indispensable of the influence of disciplines, programs as well as the intellectual and practical support students can receive.
ContributorsXia, Jing (Author) / Matsuda, Paul K (Thesis advisor) / James, Mark (Committee member) / Renaud, Claire (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Honors colleges have offered an academically rigorous option for growing numbers of diverse students. This study took place at a large, public university that required undergraduate students to complete a thesis to graduate from the honors college. In 2017, 97% of students who began the honors thesis prior to senior year completed it. Thus, the aim of this study was to help more students begin the honors thesis process early.
Thesis Launch was a six-week intervention that was designed to provide support for students in the critical early steps of thesis work such as brainstorming topics, examining professors’ research interests, reaching out to professors, preparing for meetings with potential thesis committee members, and writing a thesis prospectus. Thesis Launch offered web-based resources, weekly emails and text message reminders, and was supplemented by in-person advising options.
A mixed methods action research study was conducted to examine: (a) students’ perceptions of barriers that prevented beginning thesis work; (b) self-efficacy towards thesis work; (c) how to scale the intervention using technology; and (d) whether participants began the thesis early. Quantitative data was collected via pre- and post-intervention surveys, journals, and prospectus submissions. Qualitative data came from student interviews, journals, and open-ended questions on the surveys.
Quantitative data showed that after students participated in Thesis Launch, they had higher self-efficacy to work with professors, perceived fewer barriers to thesis work, and greater proportions of students began thesis work early. The qualitative data were complementary and showed that participants overcame barriers to thesis initiation, built self-efficacy, preferred an online intervention, and began thesis work early. Findings also showed that a primarily technology-based intervention was preferred by students and showed promise for scaling to a larger audience.
Thesis Launch provided a framework for students to begin work on the honors thesis and have mastery experiences to build self-efficacy. Strategies that fostered “small wins” and reflective efforts also assisted in this aim. Participants accomplished tasks tied to thesis work and customized their personal thesis timelines based on work begun during Thesis Launch. Finally, a discussion of limitations, implications for practice and research, and personal reflection was included.
Thesis Launch was a six-week intervention that was designed to provide support for students in the critical early steps of thesis work such as brainstorming topics, examining professors’ research interests, reaching out to professors, preparing for meetings with potential thesis committee members, and writing a thesis prospectus. Thesis Launch offered web-based resources, weekly emails and text message reminders, and was supplemented by in-person advising options.
A mixed methods action research study was conducted to examine: (a) students’ perceptions of barriers that prevented beginning thesis work; (b) self-efficacy towards thesis work; (c) how to scale the intervention using technology; and (d) whether participants began the thesis early. Quantitative data was collected via pre- and post-intervention surveys, journals, and prospectus submissions. Qualitative data came from student interviews, journals, and open-ended questions on the surveys.
Quantitative data showed that after students participated in Thesis Launch, they had higher self-efficacy to work with professors, perceived fewer barriers to thesis work, and greater proportions of students began thesis work early. The qualitative data were complementary and showed that participants overcame barriers to thesis initiation, built self-efficacy, preferred an online intervention, and began thesis work early. Findings also showed that a primarily technology-based intervention was preferred by students and showed promise for scaling to a larger audience.
Thesis Launch provided a framework for students to begin work on the honors thesis and have mastery experiences to build self-efficacy. Strategies that fostered “small wins” and reflective efforts also assisted in this aim. Participants accomplished tasks tied to thesis work and customized their personal thesis timelines based on work begun during Thesis Launch. Finally, a discussion of limitations, implications for practice and research, and personal reflection was included.
ContributorsEardley, Trisha Lynn (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Henderson, Mark (Committee member) / Johnson, Melissa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The community college leadership pipeline is a source for concern in the face of anticipated retirements, yet most administrators come only from the ranks of classroom faculty, not from the full spectrum of all faculty. Librarians, whose experiences lend themselves to many administrative duties, seldom advance into administrative positions. This study was centered on the development of a career coaching intervention by which participants from a subset of California community college libraries received guidance from administrators who had previously been librarians. The aim was to see whether such an intervention could increase administrative skills, improve self-efficacy to perform in administrative roles, increase perceptions of the desirability of attaining such positions, and lead to greater intent to move onto such career pathways. The study found that a career coaching program had mixed success at addressing the study aims, but that it also opened space for librarians alone to explore other leadership and professional growth opportunities. The research argues for the restaging of such a career coaching program, centered on librarians only, so as to encourage their advancement, whether into administrative ranks at their community colleges or otherwise.
ContributorsHepburn, Peter (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Aguiñaga, José (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The operations within universities have become increasingly complex and challenging for various reasons. Notably, some of those challenges have been combated by developing talent within the organization. Although many professional development opportunities abound at Arizona State University and within the ASU Foundation, the options for developing competencies such as collaboration and resilience were lacking. Thus, the purpose of this action research project was to develop several specific competencies for my team to be successful in their current roles and to develop skills affording success in future roles. The setting for this study was Arizona State University, a four-year, public institution. The specific unit under examination was the Arizona State University Foundation, the unit dedicated to raising resources for the university through philanthropy. The intervention consisted of four professional development workshops including the topics of collaboration, resilience, leadership, and a concluding workshop to debrief the three topics and how participants’ new understandings had been incorporated into their professional roles. Prior to each workshop, participants observed a professional development video specifically associated with the topic of the workshop. During the workshops, participants were actively engaged through facilitated discussion on the topics, proposed scenario narratives, and guided participant activities. Following the workshops, participants reflected on their understandings and use of the skills as they engaged in nine weeks of reflective journaling based on standardized prompts. The prompts alternated among the topics of collaboration, resilience, and leadership. I used a concurrent mixed-method action research approach for this study, where I gathered quantitative and qualitative data over the course of the intervention and at its conclusion. Results centered around the themes of collaboration, resilience, leadership, and meta-topics, which included theme-related components such as asking for help, having a shared goal, locus of control, resilience in the workplace, leadership styles, leadership qualities, comfort zone, learning and growing, relationships, and so on. In the discussion, I explained the outcomes relative to theoretical perspectives and previous research that guided the study, presented limitations, proposed implications for practice and for future research, and reviewed personal lessons learned.
ContributorsEgbert, Travis (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Antonucci, Mark (Committee member) / Smith, Stephanie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The purpose of this action research study was to understand better student perceptions of entrepreneurship opportunities, with a particular focus on exploring how a peer-mentor might play a helping role supporting the entrepreneurial activities of their peer students in a college environment. This action research study focused on the experience of a five-week, virtual mentorship program. The theoretical perspectives guiding the research included the work of Ajzen, Bandura, and Stets and Burke. In this mixed method study, quantitative data were collected for three constructs—self-efficacy, entrepreneurial identity, and entrepreneurial mindset. Quantitative data were gathered using pre- and post-intervention surveys. Qualitative data were gathered through written journal reflections and semi-structured interviews at the end of the study. Participants were undergraduate students serving as mentors and first-year, full-time students engaging as mentees. The study was conducted during the fall 2020 semester and occurred in a fully, virtual format in response to COVID-19 public health considerations. Modest increases in levels of agreement with entrepreneurial self-efficacy and relational support for entrepreneurship were indicated from the analysis of the quantitative results. A slight decline for entrepreneurial identity also occurred. Qualitative data provided richer understandings of student perspectives. Themes around the perception of self, relationship with others, entrepreneurial focus, and feelings towards entrepreneurship emerged from the mentee’s qualitative data. Central themes for the mentor data included helping, focusing on the college experience, and feelings as a mentor. The perspectives of mentors and mentees were also explored in analysis of journal entries. Students indicated they valued entrepreneurial activity and mindset, with the majority expressing future goals relevant to entrepreneurship. The discussion focused on the complementarity of the data, connection of the outcomes to the theoretical frameworks, personal lessons learned, limitations of the study, and implications for research and my own practice.
ContributorsDunning, Lauren (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Mcintyre, Lisa (Committee member) / Westlake, Garret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
While PhD dissertations are typically accessible many other terminal degree projects remain invisible and inaccessible to a greater audience. Over the past year and a half, librarians at Arizona State University collaborated with faculty and departmental administrators across a variety of fields to develop and create institutional repository collections that highlight and authoritatively share this type of student scholarship with schools, researchers, and future employers. This poster will present the benefits, challenges, and considerations required to successfully implement and manage these collections of applied final projects or capstone projects. Specifically, issues/challenges related to metadata consistency, faculty buy-in, and developing an ingest process, as well as benefits related to increased visibility and improved educational and employment opportunities will be discussed. This interactive presentation will also discuss lessons learned from the presenter’s experiences in context of how they can easily apply to benefit their respective institutions.
ContributorsPardon, Kevin (Author) / Dyal, Samuel (Author) / Harp, Matthew (Author)
Created2017-05-02