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A Sample Mixed Methods Dissertation Proposal Prepared by Nataliya V. Ivankova NOTE: This proposal is included in the ancillary materials of Research Design with permission of the author. If you would like to learn more about this research project, you can examine the following publications that have resulted from this work: Ivankova, N., & Stick, S. (2007, Feb). Students’ persistence in a Distributed Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership in Higher Education: A mixed methods study. Research in Higher Education, 48 (1), 93-135. DOI: 10.1007/s11162- 006 - 9025 - 4 Ivankova, N. V., Creswell, J. W., & Stick, S. (2006, February). Using mixed methods sequential explanatory design: From theory to practice. Field Methods, 18 (1), 3-20. Ivankova, N., & Stick, S. (2005, Fall). Preliminary model of doctoral students’ persistence in the computer-mediated asynchronous learning environment. Journal of Research in Education, 15 (1), 123-144. Ivankova, N., & Stick, S. (2003). Distance education doctoral students: Delineating persistence variables through a comprehensive literature review. The Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 10 (2), 5-21.
STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - LINCOLN
DISTRIBUTED DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION:
A MIXED METHODS STUDY
by Nataliya V. Ivankova PROPOSAL FOR DISSERTATION STUDY Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Interdepartmental Area of Administration, Curriculum, and Instruction Under the Supervision of Professor Sheldon L. Stick Lincoln, Nebraska December, 2002
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………………...
- Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………………..
- Research Questions ………………………………………………………………
- Definitions and Terms ……………………………………………………………
- UNL Educational Administration Distributed Doctoral Program ……………...
- Theoretical Perspective …………………………………………………………
- Delimitations …………………………………………………………………....
- Limitations ……………………………………………………………………...
- Significance of the Study ……………………………………………………….
- Chapter 2. Review of Literature ………………………………………………………...
- Persistence in Doctoral Programs ………………………………………………
- Academic and Social Integration ……………………………………….
- Stages in Doctoral Education and Student Persistence …………………
- Dissertation Progress …………………………………………………...
- Motivation and Personal Goals …………………………………………
- External Factors ………………………………………………………...
- Distance Education Student Profile …………………………………………….
- Persistence in Distance Education ……………………………………………...
- Student Persistence in Distance Education Doctoral Programs ………………...
- Chapter 3. Methodology and Procedure ………………………………………………..
- Research Design ………………………………………………………………..
- Variables in the Quantitative Analysis …………………………………………
- Target Population and Sample ………………………………………………….
- Phase I Quantitative..……………………………………………………………
- Data Collection …...…………………………………………………….
- Data Analysis….………………………………………………………...
- Reliability and Validity ………………………………………………....
- Phase II Qualitative……………………………………………………………...
- Data Collection …………………….…………………………………...
- Data Analysis ………………,,,,,,,,,,…………………………………….
- Establishing Credibility………………………………………………….
- Design ………………………………………………………………………….. Advantages and Limitations of the Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods
- Research Permission and Ethical Considerations ………………………………
- Role of the Researcher…………………………………………………………...
- References ………………………………………………………………………………
- Appendix 1 ……………………………………………………………………………...
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Graduate education is a major part of American higher education, with more than one and a half million students enrolled in graduate programs (Baird, 1993). Approximately one fifth are graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees (Geiger, 1997). Out of this number, from forty to sixty percent of students who begin their doctoral studies do not persist to graduation (Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992; Nolan, 1999; Tinto, 1993). High failure rate and the ever increasing time to degree is reported as a chronic problem in doctoral education (Lovitts & Nelson, 2000) and results in a loss of high-level resources (Tinto, 1993). In educational majors, attrition from doctoral programs is estimated at approximately fifty percent. Furthermore, of this fifty percent, about twenty percent give up at the dissertation stage (Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992; Cesari, 1990). Failure at this point is not only painful and expensive for a student, but also discouraging for faculty involved, and injurious to an institution’s reputation (Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992 ; Johnson, Green, & Kluever, 2000; Tinto, 1993). The high dropout rate among doctoral students seems incongruous given the importance of doctoral study to research, education, policy, leadership and professional practice. In addition, doctoral students are considered to be among the “most academically capable, most academically successful, most stringently evaluated, and most carefully selected in the entire higher education system” (Golde, 2000, p. 199). Why doctoral student fail to meet their academic goals and leave programs prior to degree completion has long been a focus of researchers’ attention. A concomitant interest is
related activities often are not primary life objectives. Their other commitments assume greater degrees of obligation and necessity, at least during incipient stages of DE. Persistence in DE is a complex phenomenon influenced by a multitude of variables (Kember, 1990). Academic success in a distance learning environment using CMAL depends on many factors: challenges set by the distance learning environment, personally related internal and external variables, financial burdens, computer literacy, ability to access requisite technology, time management, and absent or questionable support from an employer and/or family. Researchers claim a higher dropout rate among DE students than commonly found among conventional higher education students (Carr, 2000; Diaz, 2000; Parker, 1999; Verduin & Clark, 1991). Their lack of persistence often is attributed to a failure of becoming socially and academically integrated, as well as other factors internal and external to an academic institution (Kember, 1995). Given the claimed high dropout rate of students from DE and the fact increasing numbers of postsecondary institutions offer advanced-degree distributed programs, it is important to know why some students are successful in pursuing doctoral degrees in CMAL environment and why others fail. Knowledge and understanding of the factors contributing to and/or impeding students’ persistence may help academic institutions better meet DE students’ needs and increase their retention and degree completion rate. This is especially important today when postsecondary institutions have to confront the growing problems of revenue generation and increasing budget cuts. Knowledge of the evolving tendencies may also serve as a baseline for higher educational administrators in elaborating extended education policies, designing and developing DE programs, and improving distant student support infrastructure.
This dissertation will add to research on persistence and attrition of distance learners by identifying factors contributing to and/or impeding students’ persistence in the Asynchronous Educational Administration Distributed Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership in Higher Education (ELHE-DE) offered by the University Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL), using a mixed methods design. The rationale for combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches is that the quantitative data and results provide a general picture of the research problem, i. e., what internal and external factors contribute to and/or impede students’ persistence in the ELHE-DE program, while the qualitative data and its analysis will refine and explain these statistical results by exploring the participants’ views in more depth (Creswell, 2002; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). Purpose of the Study The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study will be to study doctoral students’ persistence by obtaining statistical, quantitative results from surveying a sample of the distributed learning ELHE students and then following-up with four purposefully selected individuals to explore these results in more depth by semi- structured interviews and other elicitation materials. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, the quantitative research questions will address how selected internal and external variables to the ELHE-DE program served as predictors to students’ persistence and/or non-persistence in the program. In the second, qualitative phase, four case studies, selected on typical response and maximal variation principle, one from each of the four groups of participants (withdrawn and inactive, active in the first half of the program,
Definitions and Terms Academic advisor is the person assigned to serve as primary mentor to a student. Academic program of studies is the designed sequence of formal and informal coursework, including research activities, internships, and directed study, prepared for each doctoral student and approved by the respecting Doctoral Supervisory Committee and Graduate School Dean. Administration, Curriculum and Instruction is one of the doctoral programs offered through UNL Teachers College. Admitted and active students are those who are admitted into the ELHE-DE program and have been enrolled in at least one credit hour of academic coursework and/or dissertation hours during the last three terms (spring, fall, summer). Admitted but not active students are designated as inactive. Asynchronous is a type of communication occurring with a time delay between steps in the dialog, allowing participants to respond at their own convenience. Literally “not synchronous”; in other words, not at the same time. Asynchronous capabilities give learners access to course materials, including readings, embedded and streamed multimedia, and external Web sites. They also allow learners to participate in facilitated discussions, and complete assignments individually and collaboratively (Web Based Learning Resources Library, 2002). Attrition refers to a student who has been enrolled in a program of studies and fails to continue or make satisfactory progress (Isaac, 1993). Blackboard is a Web-based server software platform enabling colleges and universities to put their academic, administrative, community and other educational
services online. It offers a course management system, an open architecture for customization and interoperability, and a scalable design. It features: (1) modular architecture for superior scalability and performance, enabling single-site implementations to support tens of thousands of users and thousands of courses; (2) an open architecture to support third-party learning applications, interfaces, and system services to seamlessly interact with the Blackboard platform (Blackboard Inc., 2002). Comprehensive examination is a broad examination covering material in several courses, typically taken at the end of doctoral course work before writing the dissertation (Glossary of United States Educational Terminology, 2002). Dissertation is a formal writing requirement -- often an original contribution to knowledge and research -- for a doctoral degree (Glossary of United States Educational Terminology, 2002). Dissertation proposal is a blueprint of the proposed dissertation study, which provides the background information for the study topic, states the study aim and research questions, and discusses the methodological procedures. Distance education is a formal instruction in which a majority of the teaching function occurs while an educator and learner are at a distance from one another (Verduin & Clark, 1991). Distributed learning is a general term used to describe a multi-media method of instructional delivery including a mix of Web-based instruction, streaming video conferencing, face-to-face classroom time, distance learning through television or video, or other combinations of electronic and traditional educational models. Distributed
Oral defense is the process during which a doctoral candidate defends the premise of the dissertation, methods for analyzing data collected, interpretations and conclusions. The process is done before at least the members of the Doctoral Supervisory Committee, who then vote on the adequacy of the candidate's work. A positive vote leads to recommending the candidate be awarded the doctoral degree sought. Persistence for the ELHE-DE students is defined as successful completion of six credit hours of course work within two years or being enrolled for dissertation hours and making demonstrable progress toward completion of the dissertation. Program of studies for either the Ph.D. or Ed.D. in EHLE includes seven components: 1) doctoral seminars, 2) coursework in the area of emphasis, 3) common studies, 4) multicultural/global perspectives, 5) teaching or internship requirement, 6) research requirements, and 7) service requirement. An academic program of studies addressing these areas varies according to an individual student’s needs, expectations, and goals. Appointment of the Doctoral Supervisory Committee and approval of a student’s program of studies by the Dean of Graduate Studies establishes the program of studies for a doctoral student. Students must complete no less than 45 semester hours of coursework, including the dissertation, after approval of the program of study. For the Ph.D., a minimum of 90 semester graduate hours must be completed, excluding research tools, and up to one-half may be transferred in as acceptable graduate credit if the Supervisory Committee approves. For the Ed.D., a minimum of 96 of approved semester graduate hours is required, and up to one-half mat be accepted as transfer credit if approved by the Doctoral Supervisory Committee. Research tools are included in the
academic program, a marked distinction from the Ph.D. (Graduate Studies Bulletin 2000- 2 002). Residency is a period of time when a doctoral student is in locus. Conventionally it refers to a doctoral student completing a prescribed number of graduate hours within a defined period of time. The intent is to ensure continued progress toward completion of a Program of Studies. The University of Nebraska - Lincoln requirements for meeting residency requirements are completion of 27 hours of graduate course work within a period of 18 months, or if employed in higher education the requirement is 24 hours of course work within a period of 24 months. At no time is there a stipulation for a student being physically present on campus, so the term locus refers to satisfying a condition during a passage of time. Retention is the process by which a student enters a program of study and remains until graduated (Gunn & Sanford, 1988). Virtual - “not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to do so
from the point of view of the program or the user” (Jewell & Abate, 2001).
UNL Educational Administration Distributed Doctoral Program The Educational Leadership in Higher Education Distributed Doctoral Program is offered through the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Nebraska Lincoln (Seagren & Stick, 1999; Seagren & Watwood, 1996, 1997; Stick & Ivankova, 2003). The program offers students a choice of the Ph.D. or the Ed.D. degrees. It is possible for students to complete an entire doctoral degree, meeting residency requirements, via the distributed mode.
utilize the Internet as a connecting link. A majority of the program is delivered to the students via the UNL adaptation of the Lotus Notes groupware, which provides asynchronous and collaborative learning experiences to participants (Stick & Ivankova, 2003 ). Complying with the university residency requirement of completing 27 hours in 18 months (or 24 hours in 24 months if employed in the major field), participants are encouraged to have some on-campus attendance. Students usually attend one or more campus summer school sessions; configurations for 3, 5, 8, 10, or 13 weeks are made to accommodate participants regarding the on-campus experience, and to balance program requirements with participants’ personal, professional, and academic needs. The on- campus experience enables students to take courses not currently offered online, work intensively with their academic advisor, meet and work with other students in the ELHE program, and to concentrate on their studies for a period of time with minimal daily disruptions (On-Line Graduate Degrees in Higher Education, 2002). In an effort to create a supportive and integrated learning environment, students in the distributed program have access to a virtual student organization, a virtual student union, UNL library online access, student advising, and technical support (Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, 2001). These services are comparable, and probably better, than those provided to on-campus students, and help distant students get socially and academically integrated into the UNL learning community. Theoretical Perspective Three major theories of student persistence -- Tinto’s (1975, 1987, 1993) Student Integration Theory, Bean’s (1980, 1985, 1990) Student Attrition Model, and Kember’s
(1989a, 1990, 1995) model of dropout from distance education courses -- served as a theoretical foundation for this study. Tinto’s model. Tinto’s Student Integration Theory (1975) conceptualized persistence as an outcome of students’ interactions with their colleges and universities as organizations. In this model, Tinto described the relationship between student background characteristics and educational expectations and the characteristics of academic institutions. Students’ background characteristics were seen as important predictors of persistence because they helped determine how a student interacted with an institution’s social and academic systems, and subsequently become integrated into it. Tinto’s conceptual model represented five variable sets in a causal sequence: (1) background characteristics; (2) initial goal and institutional commitments; (3) academic and social integration; (4) subsequent goal and institutional commitments; and (5) withdrawal decisions. Tinto (1987, 1993) identified attrition as lack of congruency between students and academic institutions. Academic performance and social involvement reflected the degree to which students were integrated into an institution, and determined the degree to which students established committed goals to be graduated. Dropout was viewed as a result from a multidimensional process involving interactions between an individual and an institution. Tinto’s model suggested the characteristics of an institution, like its resources, facilities, structural arrangements, and composition of its members, imposed limits on the development and integration of individuals within an institution and thus led to development of academic and social climates, which an individual must contend.
theories did not distinguish between traditional (18-22 years olds) and nontraditional (older and working) student departure (Ashar & Skenes, 1993), and did not discuss the applicability of the model to graduate students, or in nontraditional educational settings, like distance education. Kember’s model. Kember reformulated (1989a, 1990, 1995) Tinto’s (1975, 1987,
- model for adult students in a distance education learning environment. Kember (1994) argued if influences external to a campus have significant impact on traditional students’ persistence, they must be important to DE students who also had more demanding commitments to work, family, and social lives. Kember’s model of dropout from distance education courses included the entry characteristics, goal commitment, academic, and social integration components of Tinto’s (1990) model. The characteristics of Kember’s (1995) model included background variables related to a student, family and home situation, the work environment, and educational history of the student. The variables were chosen because they influenced the succeeding components of the model instead of any direct statistical relationship to dropout (Kember, 1989a). The goal commitment component considered intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Kember (1990) defined academic integration and social integration as embracing all facets of the offering of a distance education course by a higher education institution, including both academic and administrative support systems, the package of study materials, and all forms of contact between faculty and students. To determine whether a student was successfully integrated academically required examining each of facets of the academic environment. Social integration was measured by the degree a distance student was able to integrate part-time study with family, work, and social demands. Because DE
students normally were employed full-time and most had family commitments, the extent to which such integration was successful was crucial to their chances for completing a course (Kember, 1989a). The model also presented a cost/benefits analysis for a student considering whether to drop out or continue studying. A recycling loop reflected changes and developments as students proceeded through a course and took account of changes to variables during this period. Principles versus predicting. This dissertation study will use the principle components of the three models (Bean, 1980; Kember, 1994; Tinto, 1975) to test the predicting power of selected internal and external factors to doctoral students’ persistence in CMAL environment. None of the models were used as a foundation for testing such relationships for distributed doctoral students. It bears recognizing, the goal of the current study is not to test any of the theories or develop a model of doctoral student persistence in the distributed learning environment. This will be left for future research. Delimitations Delimitations of the study include:
- The study will be confined only to the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and one graduate program. The uniqueness of the study within a specific context makes it difficult to replicate exactly in another context (Creswell, 2003).
- Participants’ responses will be reflections of, and confined to their personal experiences in the UNL Educational Administration Distributed Doctoral Program, involving the self-assessment component.
