Practical guidance for navigating issues associated with combining mixed methods and case study research approaches is in short supply, particularly for novice researchers who may grapple with ...numerous decision points in planning and conducting such studies. This methodological discussion examines the decision-making process used in a qualitatively driven mixed methods dissertation study with a focus on how mixed methods and case study research approaches can be applied together to enhance case descriptions and interpretations. This discussion contributes to the field of mixed methods research methodology by expanding conversations about the inherent messiness of mixed methods research and by providing practical guidance to researchers interested in applying a mixed methods case study approach.
The current study reports on a meta-analysis of the relative effectiveness of interaction in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and face-to-face (FTF) contexts. The primary studies ...included in the analysis were journal articles and dissertations completed between 1990 and 2012 (k = 14). Results demonstrate that interaction in SCMC and FTF had a significant impact on second language (L2) development, providing further support for previous research demonstrating the efficacy of interaction in both communication modes (e.g., Mackey & Goo, 2007; Pellettieri, 2000; Smith, 2004, 2005). There was also a small advantage for interaction in SCMC on measures of overall L2 learning outcomes, with additional analyses indicating a small advantage for SCMC interaction on productive and written measures and a small advantage for FTF interaction on receptive and oral learning outcomes. Interestingly, there were no significant differences between SCMC and FTF, suggesting the mode of communication has no statistically significant impact on the positive developmental benefits associated with interaction.
The use of library resources by Hebrew University of Jerusalem Sociology and Anthropology graduate students was assessed through an examination of bibliographic references cited in a sample of theses ...and dissertations accepted during the academic years 2010–2013. Five variables were identified and quantified: type of material (monographs, journals, or other), format (print, electronic or both), language of material (English, Hebrew, or other), year and “age” of publication, and availability of item in Hebrew University's library holdings. Results showed a larger percentage of citations to books than to journals, with predominant usage of books in print format and predominant usage of journals in print & electronic format, with English being the predominant language for all resources cited. The median age of cited material was 15years, older for books than for journals. 95% of the journals and 82% of the books were available in the University library's holdings. These findings present a substantiated appraisal of the University Library's ability to answer the needs of its graduate students in the Sociology and Anthropology Department.
PurposeHow to provide the most useful papers for searchers is a key issue for academic search engines. A lot of research has been carried out to address this problem. However, when evaluating the ...effectiveness of an academic search engine, most of the previous investigations assume that the only concern of the user is the relevancy of the paper to the query. The authors believe that the usefulness of a paper is determined not only by its relevance to the query but also by other aspects including its publication age and impact in the research community. This is vital, especially when a large number of papers are relevant to the query.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes a group of metrics to measure the usefulness of a ranked list of papers. When defining these metrics, three factors, including relevance, publication age and impact, are considered at the same time. To accommodate this, the authors propose a framework to rank papers by a combination of their relevance, publication age and impact scores.FindingsThe framework is evaluated with the ACL (Association for Computational Linguistics Anthology Network) dataset. It demonstrates that the proposed ranking algorithm is effective for improving usefulness when two or three aspects of academic papers are considered at the same time, while the relevance of the retrieved papers is slightly down compared with the relevance-only retrieval.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, the proposed multi-objective academic search framework is the first of its kind that is proposed and evaluated with a group of new evaluation metrics.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of employee engagement (EE) in global research and Vietnamese business context.
Design/methodology/approach
This ...review was conducted in the following order: an integrative review for garnering drivers and outcomes of EE in global research, followed by a narrative review for selecting variables relevant to Vietnamese businesses.
Findings
In EE global research, a 3 × 3 findings framework was devised. Three antecedent clusters included the internal environment, job-related and employee-related factors. EE resulted in three outcome clusters: intra-role behaviors, extra-role behaviors and personal development and growth. In Vietnamese businesses, few studies existed on organizational learning and organizational support as EE antecedents, whereas turnover intention was examined the most as an EE outcome.
Research limitations/implications
The search was limited to EE-related peer-reviewed articles in Business Source Complete and Google Scholar. Literature on Vietnam EE was restricted to ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and Google Scholar because of a lack of literature availability on this topic in Business Source Complete.
Practical implications
Knowing that leadership, HR practices and working environment are important antecedents of EE in Vietnam (Table II) would prompt enterprise leaders and managers to improve the company’s conditions for engaging its employees. This is an important finding because Vietnamese businesses are suffering increasing turnover. Creating favorable organizational support evidenced via career growth opportunities, pay and benefits, company culture, job fit and effective management will stimulate employees to stay and engage.
Originality/value
This study emphasizes the organizational and employee factors in EE research and calls for combined research application to inform EE in Vietnamese businesses, thus providing ground for human resource development researchers and practitioners in their respective work.
The primary research output of a contemporary doctoral journey is no longer limited to a traditional thesis. Amongst other possibilities, current doctoral candidates may choose to produce a Thesis by ...Publication (TBP). However, very little is known about the factors shaping doctoral candidates' decisions to adopt a TBP approach during their doctoral journey. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2018 and 2019 from 246 recent doctoral graduates from Australian universities who completed a TBP. It reports on data exploring when candidates made the decision to select this option, who influenced their decision, and their reasons for choosing the TBP approach. We found that candidates typically adopted a TBP approach early, strongly influenced by their supervisors, to meet vocational, promotional and process goals. The study has implications for administrators, supervisors and candidates in selecting the thesis mode that suits the unique needs of each candidate. Author abstract
Reflective practice is a core value of nursing education and emphasizes the self as a source of learning. Writing and reflection are often viewed as inseparable. The goal of this qualitative ...meta-study is to explore the mechanisms writing stimulates to promote learning transformation for nursing students in both clinical and classroom contexts.
A literature search using the CINHAL, Medline, ERIC, and Academic Search Complete databases, using systematic methods, identified 26 papers and dissertations which gathered narrative data from nursing students in pre- and post-registration undergraduate courses.
Three themes were found describing: 1) Evolving through time and space to reflect; 2) Surfacing and absorbing; and 3) Trust, judgement, and social desirability in the feedback process.
Transformative learning is promoted through forming a bond with faculty during the writing process to normalize emotions, create critical self-awareness, and providing a safe, non-judgemental space to reflect on their practice and their learning.
The objective of the present study was to systematically review the current research knowledge on hospital preparedness tools used in biological events and factors affecting hospital preparedness in ...such incidents in using a scoping review methodology.
The review process was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guideline. Online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) were used to identify papers published that evaluated instruments or tools for hospital preparedness in biological disasters (such as influenza, Ebola, and bioterrorism events). The search, article selection, and data extraction were carried out by two researchers independently.
A total of 3440 articles were screened, with 20 articles identified for final analysis. The majority of research studies identified were conducted in the United States (45%) and were focused on CBRN incident (20%), Ebola, infectious disease and bioterrorism events (15%), mass casualty incidents and influenza pandemic (10%), public health emergency, SARS, and biological events (5%). Factors that were identified in the study to hospitals preparedness in biological events classified in seven areas including planning, surge capacity, communication, training and education, medical management, surveillance and standard operation process.
Published evidences of hospital preparedness on biological events as well as the overall quality of the psychometric properties of most studies were limited. The results of the current scoping review could be used as a basis for designing and developing a standard assessment tool for hospital preparedness in biological events, and it can also be used as a clear vision for the healthcare managers and policymakers in their future plans to confront the challenges identified by healthcare institutes in biologic events.
This paper focuses on the PhD process as one of the paths researchers take to enter the action research paradigm. The discussion is framed in the context of one specific small and peripheral AR ...environment and argues that PhD processes in these contexts may encounter problems that could be resolved if supervisors were familiar with educational AR. The challenge arises because such environments are often too small to have such expertise. The core of the paper comprises a case study based on the author's own experiences supervising one such PhD process. The student involved had previous experience in both research and teaching at university level, as well as in policy making, but was new to the field of action research. The case study shows how the dialogue between supervisor and student was handled in order to address challenges as they arose. Following the case description, the author proposes an analytical framework and invites educational action researchers to play a role in small and peripheral AR environments.
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