Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons^™

Enhancing International School Implementation Capacity: Supporting Contextualized Learning At An International Baccalaureate School In China, Christopher J. Hayden Iv

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

International schools allocate substantial resources to implement progressive curricular innovations; however, the advantages offered by these developments are contingent on their effective execution within classroom settings. This mixed methods action research (MMAR) study examined the implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Global Context (GC) Strategy in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) at an international school in China and asked how the school might strengthen its capacity to enact this and similar innovations. Following a sequential MMAR design, a reconnaissance phase combined a whole-staff survey (n=87) with qualitative interviews to diagnose the individual, organizational, and contextual factors shaping implementation. Analyses identified …

Rebranding The Battle Against Clinician Burnout, Taylor Albitar

DSW Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project is to take a deep dive into the issue of burnout among marginalized healthcare providers. This paper will dissect key points in history that target wellness and define terms that are relevant to understanding the effects of burnout on a person’s work-life balance. It will be divided into several sections, including an overview of the problem and contributing factors, a thorough review of relevant literature, a conceptual idea that will explore both the problem at hand and theories that can help with its effects, and finally a practice application that will serve as the …

[Black] Teachers Resisting Damaged-Centered Research: Community Listening Exchanges As A Reciprocal Research Tool In A Gentrifying City, Thais Council, Shaeroya Earls, Shakale George, Rebecca Graham

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Gentrification impacts many cities across the nation. Affordable housing task forces and legislation meant to address housing inequities are becoming more common, yet the authentic experiences of those affected are often unacknowledged. Absent from the discussion of gentrification are the voices of those deeply impacted, some who are at the center of the work to maintain communities: Black teachers, Black students, and Black families. In many school districts, teachers do not have the opportunity to address the systemic issues that impact their students and communities. Still, it is impossible to ignore the ways societal injustice seeps into the classroom. This …

Big Data: Ethics, Resources, And Potential Collaboration, Matthew Zook

Geography Presentations

This presentation goes over 10 simple rules for responsible big data research.

An Egocentric Network Contact Tracing Experiment: Testing Different Procedures To Elicit Contacts And Places, Andrew Pilny, C. Joseph Huber

Communication Faculty Publications

Contact tracing is one of the oldest social network health interventions used to reduce the diffusion of various infectious diseases. However, some infectious diseases like COVID-19 amass at such a great scope that traditional methods of conducting contact tracing (e.g., face-to-face interviews) remain difficult to implement, pointing to the need to develop reliable and valid survey approaches. The purpose of this research is to test the effectiveness of three different egocentric survey methods for extracting contact tracing data: (1) a baseline approach, (2) a retrieval cue approach, and (3) a context-based approach. A sample of 397 college students were randomized …

Bio-Spatial Policing In Theory And Practice: Examining Impacts And Resistance Through Mobilities And Children's Everyday Life, Emily Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Despite decades of reforms and technological innovations, increasing evidence shows that state securitization disproportionately harms already racially, spatially, and socio-economically marginalized communities. My research investigates uneven impacts of state securitization, from punitive welfare programs to school surveillance to policing. Across sites, I focus on scales, voices and the everyday lived experiences often left out of scholarly discourse and sensational media. In the current climate of growing awareness and scholarship on police violence, my dissertation addresses three less-studied areas: 1) the interplay between racial, gendered, spatial, and technified police practices; 2) how these practices impact the everyday lives of those racially …

Parents’ Awareness And Perspective Of School Choice Scales: Development, Revision, And Validation Using The Rasch Model, Katherine Leung Robershaw

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Parents want the best for their children. But for those who also believe in equal educational opportunity, they struggle with the moral dilemmas raised by school choice. To investigate where parents stand in this dilemma, this study is devoted to the creation of the Parents’ Awareness and Perspective of School Choice (PAPSC) scales, a survey instrument capturing a continuum of conversations surrounding parental school choice, from parents’ awareness of school choice policies or programs to debates surrounding parental freedom of school choice. This study also emphasized the use of well-developed, validated survey tools in educational policy and school choice …

Thrown Together: Credit Union And Commercial Bank Regulation And Competition In The Consumer Finance Industry, 1960-2015, Grace Cale

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This project seeks to assess whether there are meaningful differences between the stability of the Credit Union and Consumer Banking industries before the 1980s, and how both industries’ stability had been affected by subsequent political-economic changes. I also sought to assess if deregulation would make credit union behave at risk levels similar to banks. I initially observed that there was a strong inverse correlation between credit union size and failures, which I argue could be explained by regulatory change. This claim was strengthened by the observation that credit unions had benefitted from certain key forms of deregulation, they were still …

Best Practice Recommendations For Replicating Experiments In Public Administration, Richard M. Walker, Gene A. Brewer, M. Jin Lee, Nicolai Petrovsky, Arjen Van Witteloostuijn

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications

Replication is an important mechanism through which broad lessons for theory and practice can be drawn in the applied interdisciplinary social science field of public administration. We suggest a common replication framework for public administration that is illustrated by experimental work in the field. Drawing on knowledge from other disciplines, together with our experience in replicating several experiments on topics such as decision making, organizational rules, and government–citizen relationships, we provide an overview of the replication process. We then distill this knowledge into seven decision points that offer a clear set of best practices on how to design and implement …

“Okay Okay Okay, Now The Video Is On”: An Analysis Of Young Children’S Orientations To The Video Camera In Recordings Of Family Interactions, Sarah C. Barriage, Darcey K. Searles

Information Science Faculty Publications

This paper explores 3- to 6-year-old children’s orientations to the video camera in video recordings of everyday family interactions. Children’s orientations to the video camera in these recordings were identified and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Types of orientations to the video camera included talking about the camera, engaging in camera-directed talk and/or action, and interacting with the camera. In some cases, these orientations occurred after a parent or sibling first oriented to the video camera; however, in other cases no prior orientation was evident. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Assessing The Model Fit Of Multidimensional Item Response Theory Models With Polytomous Responses Using Limited-Information Statistics, Caihong Rosina Li

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Under item response theory, three types of limited information goodness-of-fit test statistics – M₂, M_ord, and C₂ – have been proposed to assess model-data fit when data are sparse. However, the evaluation of the performance of these GOF statistics under multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models with polytomous data is limited. The current study showed that M₂ and C₂ were well-calibrated under true model conditions and were powerful under misspecified model conditions. M_ord were not well-calibrated when the number of response categories was more than three. RMSEA₂ and RMSEA_C2 are …

Evaluating Preexisting Qualitative Research Data For Secondary Analysis, Victoria Sherif

Educational Leadership Studies Faculty Publications

In this article, I explore the nature of secondary analysis and provide a brief history of the method. Qualitative secondary analysis is a relatively under-used method in education and the social sciences, often due to the lack of easily accessible, relevant, trustworthy, and complete data. I address some of the potentials and limitations that influence its use and explore criteria for assessing the quality and sufficiency of preexisting qualitative research data. Qualitative secondary analysis has important implications for qualitative researchers, students and practitioners interested in generating new knowledge via unobtrusive, reliable, valid, and time/cost effective research through the wider use …

“The Best Thing That’S Happened In My Life”: The Journey Toward Acceptance Of One’S Lgbtq Child In A Sample Of Cuban-Americans And Puerto Ricans, Roberto Luis Abreu

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Acceptance by a parental figure is one of the most important protective factors for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) youth and young adults (e.g., Ryan, 2009, 2010). Lack of parental acceptance may lead to a disruption in parent-child relationships and may increase risk for maladaptive behaviors and poorer psychosocial outcomes in LGBTQ youth (e.g., Bouris et al., 2010). Researchers have called for more inclusive samples and methods to better understand the experiences of families from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds (e.g., Heatherington & Lavner 2008). Specific to Latinas/os, cultural factors and theoretically informed interventions that facilitate parental acceptance …

Exploring Factors Facilitating Sexual Self-Disclosure For Women, Caitlin Marie Grasson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Sexual Self-Disclosure is an important part of a relationship, however, often times, women do not feel it is appropriate to engage in. Specifically, many women do not disclose their sexual preferences, or what acts they do or do not find satisfying, with their partner. This lack of sexual self-disclosure keeps women from being able to have their own sexual needs met. This phenomenological study aimed to understand the factors that facilitate sexual self-disclosure for women in relationships. The participants (n=8) were women between the age of 24-30 who were in a committed sexual relationship for more than three months, but …

“I Wonder What You Think Of Me”: A Qualitative Approach To Examining Stereotype Awareness In Appalachian Students, Chelsea G. Adams

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Historically, Appalachia has been stereotyped as being a culture bred in poverty and ignorance. Much research has shown that stereotyping reveals a pattern of behavioral change and an impact on psychological well-being for the stereotyped (e.g., Pinel, 1999; Woodcock, Jernandez, Estrada, & Schultz, 2012), and has largely been centered on race and gender (e.g., Byrnes, 2008; Tuckman & Monetti, 2011). Less is known about the development of culture-specific stereotypes such as those related to Appalachians – a highly stigmatized group (Daniels, 2014; Otto, 2002). The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how adolescents in rural Appalachia …

Qualitative Evaluation Of A Service Leadership Subject In A Chinese Context, Daniel T. L. Shek, Jing Wu, Li Lin, Emma X. P. Pu

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Adopting a qualitative methodology, views of the students on a subject on service leadership were examined. Students taking the subject (n=153) were invited to use descriptors and metaphors to describe their experiences about the subject. Regarding the descriptors given by the students, most of them were positive in nature. Similar positive findings were obtained for the metaphors. The findings are generally consistent with those studies using the same methodology reported in the literature. In conjunction with other evaluation findings, the present findings suggest that students had positive experiences about taking the subject and regarded the subject to be able to …

Qualitative Interviews: A Methodological Discussion Of The Interviewer And Respondent Contexts, Shannon M. Oltmann

Information Science Faculty Publications

Interviews are a staple method used in qualitative research. Many authors hold face-to-face interviews to be the gold standard, or the assumed best mode in which to conduct interviews. However, a large number of research projects are based on conducting interviews via telephone. While some scholars have addressed the advantages and disadvantages of using telephones to conduct interviews, this work is scattered across multiple disciplines and lacks a cohesive, comprehensive framework. The current article seeks to rectify this gap in the literature, by explicitly developing the constructs of the interviewer context and the respondent context. By examining key components in …

Volunteering And Democratization In Southern Africa: A Structural And Cultural Analysis, Sara Compion

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation examines the practices and social constructions of volunteering in Southern Africa. Grounded in structural and cultural theory, I focus on volunteering as the product, rather than the raw material, of political processes. My approach stresses the volunteers’ perspectives, yet centers on critiques of dominance. In doing so, I destabilize the view of volunteering as inherently pro-social behavior, or as intrinsically characteristic of deepening democratic systems.

Combining evidence from Afrobarometer surveys and twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in South Africa and Zambia I show how meanings and practices, not just resources and capital, shape the socially constructed nature of …

A Digital Dud? New Media, Participation, And Voting In The 2004 And 2008 United States Presidential Elections, Jeremy D. Hickman

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation analyzes the linkages between new media and the possible emergence of the youngest members of the voting population (the “digital native” generation, who have grown up concurrently with the rise of the internet as a means of communication). The main question is whether this digital native generation will have more civic and political participation due to their use of online news sources and social media communication on news media websites and elsewhere on the internet. Regression analyses are used to explain civic and political participation, using American National Election Studies (ANES) from the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections. …

Emotion, Community Development, And The Physical Environment: An Experimental Investigation Of Measurements, George E. Boone

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

A wide range of research fields have studied how emotions and behavior are affected by the physical environment. This gestalt theorist approach of experimental research as well seeks to measure emotion (using the valence-arousal scale) and micro-scale community development interactions when weighted physical environment factors are adjusted. Community development (CD) interactions at the micro-scale have received but slight attention from scholars in the CD research field and this study aims partially to investigate developing objective measures from social observations. CD interactions from recordings along with self-reported emotion through surveys in four quasi-experimental groups (where the environments were constructed based on …

Local Ghanaian Stakeholder Perceptions After One Year Of A New School Feeding Program In Adjeikrom, Ghana, Monica E. Fowler

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

The objective of this qualitative longitudinal study was to assess stakeholder perceptions after one year of a new school feeding program to contrast and compare to pre-program expectations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using questions reviewed by an in-country collaborator for cultural sensitivity and appropriateness. Follow up questions were determined from participant response. The interviews were analyzed by performing content analysis using open and axial coding to find key concepts in the data. The results showed the school feeding program met stakeholder expectations regarding reduction in absenteeism and truancy, improving classroom behavior and increasing enrollment as well as relieving short term …

Promises We Have Kept: Using Grounded Theory Methodology To Understand Developmental Factors That Contribute To Caucasian Low-Income Parents Positive Assessment Of Marital Health, S. Greg Thompson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Low-income Caucasian married parents described lifespan processes and conditions that contributed to their individual assessments that their marriage was healthy. Spouses participated in an interview together, followed later by an individual interview with each. Interview scripts referenced the study‘s primary research questions which sought their reflections on (a) external conditions that they considered to be important to their development, and (b) personal thoughts, emotions and behaviors they deemed relevant to the success of their marriage. A third research question called for integration of participants‘ reflections into a cogent grounded theory regarding successful low-income marriages. Analysis incorporated grounded theory methods, and …