Thematic Analysis of Survey Responses From Undergraduate Students

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Swart
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Survey Responses

scholarly journals Work a Way Out: Breaking Monoethnic Isolation through On-Campus Employment

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengwei Su
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
International Student ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Domestic Students ◽  
Student Employees ◽  
The University

Since the global economic recession in 2008, Chinese undergraduate students have quickly risen to be the largest international student population in American colleges and universities, forming a monoethnic group that often isolates itself from domestic students on campuses. This study explores how twelve Chinese undergraduate students utilized on-campus employment as a means of engaging host nationals to improve language skills and engage in cross-cultural interactions. Thematic analysis affirms the efficacy of the university workplace as an educational space outside of the classroom. Based on these findings, various policy recommendations are proposed to improve the management of international student employees.

PAINT-BY-NUMBER OR PICASSO? A GROUNDED THEORY PHENOMENOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF STUDENTS’ CONCEPTIONS OF STATISTICS

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-102
Author(s):  
NICOLA JUSTICE ◽  
SAMANTHA MORRIS ◽  
VERONIQUE HENRY ◽  
ELIZABETH BRONDOS FRY
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Statistics Education ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Introductory Statistics ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Survey Responses

Statistics students’ conceptions of the work of statisticians and the discipline of statistics may play an important role in the topics to which they attend and their interest in pursuing further study. To learn about students’ conceptions, we collected open-ended survey responses from 44 undergraduate students who had completed introductory statistics courses. We used a grounded theory phenomenographical qualitative approach to identify several themes in students’ conceptions. In addition to the test-and-procedure conception, we offer several other themes, such as acknowledgement of variation and the role of ethical integrity. We use a metaphor of painting styles to compare to experts’ conceptions of statistics. By identifying “seeds” of what may be developed into expert conceptions, these preliminary results set possible foundations to explore trajectories that may help shape students’ conceptions of statistics. First published June 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

scholarly journals ‘Clients. Outdoors. Animals.’: retaining vets in UK farm animal practice—thematic analysis of free-text survey responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine E Adam ◽  
Sarah Baillie ◽  
Jonathan Rushton
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Farm Animal ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Outdoor Work ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Management Issues

Retaining vets in farm practice has been identified as a key strategy to maintain an adequately trained and experienced workforce to provide animal health services for livestock enterprises and government. This qualitative study aimed to explore vets’ experiences of UK farm animal practice and their perceptions of the factors that influenced their career choices. Thematic analysis of free-text survey responses from 187 vets working in farm practice and 141 who had given up farm work identified four main themes: affect (experiences of feeling or emotions), personal life, the job and the bigger picture. Those who stayed in farm practice described satisfaction with their career and enjoyment of physical, outdoor work in rural communities. Choosing to give up farm work was influenced by both personal and professional circumstances and related frequently to management issues in practice. Veterinary businesses also face challenges from the broader agricultural and veterinary sectors that affect their ability to support and retain vets. The findings presented build on previous quantitative analysis of factors associated with retention and demonstrate the complexity of individual vets’ career choices.

scholarly journals Growing a growth mindset: characterizing how and why undergraduate students’ mindsets change

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa B. Limeri ◽  
Nathan T. Carter ◽  
Jun Choe ◽  
Hannah G. Harper ◽  
Hannah R. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Survey Responses

Abstract Background The extent to which students view their intelligence as improvable (i.e., their “mindset”) influences students’ thoughts, behaviors, and ultimately their academic success. Thus, understanding the development of students’ mindsets is of great interest to education scholars working to understand and promote student success. Recent evidence suggests that students’ mindsets continue to develop and change during their first year of college. We built on this work by characterizing how mindsets change and identifying the factors that may be influencing this change among upper-level STEM students. We surveyed 875 students in an organic chemistry course at four points throughout the semester and interviewed a subset of students about their mindsets and academic experiences. Results Latent growth modeling revealed that students tended to shift towards viewing intelligence as a stable trait (i.e., shifted towards a stronger fixed mindset and a weaker growth mindset). This trend was particularly strong for students who persistently struggled in the course. From qualitative analysis of students’ written survey responses and interview transcripts, we determined that students attribute their beliefs about intelligence to five factors: academic experiences, observing peers, deducing logically, taking societal cues, and formal learning. Conclusions Extensive prior research has focused on the influence of mindset on academic performance. Our results corroborate this relationship and further suggest that academic performance influences students’ mindsets. Thus, our results imply that mindset and academic performance constitute a positive feedback loop. Additionally, we identified factors that influence undergraduates’ mindset beliefs, which could be leveraged by researchers and practitioners to design more persuasive and effective mindset interventions to promote student success.

Different interest group views of fuels treatments: survey results from fire and fire surrogate treatments in a Sierran mixed conifer forest, California, USA

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah McCaffrey ◽  
Jason J. Moghaddas ◽  
Scott L. Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Treatment Preferences ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
The Public ◽  
Overall Acceptability ◽  
Natural Resource Conservation ◽  
Natural Resource Conservation Service ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forest ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Fuels Treatments

The present paper discusses results from a survey about the acceptance of and preferences for fuels treatments of participants following a field tour of the University of California Blodgett Forest Fire and Fire Surrogate Study Site. Although original expectations were that tours would be composed of general members of the public, individual tour groups ultimately were much more specialised, with tours made up of individuals from five distinct groups including foresters, environmentalists, entomologists, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, teachers, and high school or undergraduate students. This proved fortuitous as most studies of ‘public’ perceptions to date have been of general members of the public and little work has been done assessing the views of groups who may have more specific knowledge or interest in fuels treatments. Such assessment is perhaps long overdue given the importance of understanding characteristics of different audience segments in developing effective outreach programs. Analysis showed that group membership was in fact the key element in differences in survey responses with significant differences found between groups on overall acceptability of treatments, treatment preferences based on different land ownership and management types, and which variables were most important in determining treatment preferences.

scholarly journals “It’s Been a Good Reminder That Students Are Human Beings”: An Exploratory Inquiry of Instructors’ Rhetorical and Relational Goals During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 62-77
Author(s):  
Victoria McDermott ◽  
Drew Ashby-King
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Perceived Change ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Exploratory Inquiry ◽  
Practical Recommendations

As colleges and universities moved to remote learning during the Spring 2020 semester due to COVID-19, the traditional higher education classroom format was challenged. This study examines how instructors reconceptualized their rhetorical and relational goals in the pandemic classroom. A thematic analysis of 68 qualitative survey responses revealed that instructors adapted their rhetorical and relational approaches to instruction due to a perceived change in students’ needs. Moreover, findings suggest that instructors intend to continue to use many of these instructional changes in their post-pandemic classrooms. These conclusions confirm that instructors should consider contextual factors not only during but also after COVID-19. We close with practical recommendations for instructors beyond the pandemic classroom.

scholarly journals Exploring Skills Gained Through a Robotics Program for Youth With Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Lindsay
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Perceived Impact ◽  
Making Friends ◽  
Survey Responses

Children with disabilities often have fewer opportunities to engage in science, technology, engineering, and math programs that can enhance their educational and career opportunities. This study explored the quality, experience, and skills learned in a group-based robotics program for youth with disabilities. Survey responses of 23 youth (16 males, 7 females), aged 9 to 14 with a disability, were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Our results showed that youth with disabilities who participated in a robotics program rated the quality of their experience, perceived impact of the program, and skills gained highly across most items. Children enjoyed participating in the program and especially building the robots and making friends. Clinicians should consider engaging children with disabilities in robotics programs to enhance their participation and skill development.

Do pro-social students care more for the environment?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haimanti Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantile Regression Analysis ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to use pro-social and pro-environment attitudes as indicators of social and environmental sustainability to empirically examine the relationship between the two pillars of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Self-reported survey responses of undergraduate students of the University of Utah are used for conducting a two-stage quantile regression analysis wherein social support serves as an instrument for identifying pro-social attitude for estimating the relationship between pro-social and pro-environment attitudes. Findings The estimates show that students who receive more social support tend to be more pro-social, and more pro-social students are more pro-environment. Research limitations/implications University students may not necessarily be representative of the broader human society. Studies need to examine this question for different segments of the society. Originality/value These results reiterate that universities can enhance sustainability education by adopting a more holistic approach wherein social and environmental sustainability are co-integrated. Additionally, by strengthening their role as a vital source of social support for students, universities can further enhance the synergistic relationship between pro-social and pro-environment attitudes of university students.

Are Teachers Approachable or Unapproachable: Insights From Undergraduate University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-58
Author(s):  
Fizza Sabir ◽  
Robert Matthews ◽  
Poulomee Datta
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Undergraduate University Students ◽  
University Setting

This research examines the student perceived characteristics informing a student’s choice in deciding to approach or not to approach a teacher in a university setting. Semi-structured interviews gathered perceptions from 10 final semester undergraduate students at a Pakistani university. 12 teachers were discussed in the data clearly demarcating 7 approachable and 5 unapproachable teachers. Thematic analysis identified substantial number of previously unreported characteristics of approachability in addition to those already existing in the literature and a comparatively large number of new unapproachable characteristics. The results of this research will inform discussion of approachability by teachers at universities within Pakistan and beyond.

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