ActiveLeaRn Project: Facilitating student engagement with digital media in higher education
27/6/2017
Stage 1: Exploration of the research fieldUsing the software Leximancer, we are analysing 10,706 journal articles from 26 international journals that relate to the fields educational technology, instructional design or distance education. By using the text mining tool, we can create concept maps that identify thematic areas, key concepts and research trends across the last ten years. Figure below: Concept map of overall scope of the 26 journals, 2007-2016 (n = 10,706) Our research questions are:
What is my role in this stage?
Stage 2: Systematic ReviewA systematic review is "a review of research literature using systematic and explicit, accountable methods” (Gough, Oliver & Thomas, 2012, p. 2). It involves a lengthy amount of time at the beginning to organise a search strategy, figuring out exactly how you're going to conduct a search that will yield the results you want. Our research question is:
Once we have finalised our search strategy, we are going to search in four major databases (Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC and PsycINFO) with our search string. We will then go through and screen all of the articles to assess whether or not they should be included in the review, using a set of very stringent conditions for inclusion. Given that our initial searches have returned some 13,000 results, this stage may take a considerable amount of time, but thankfully we will be using EPPI Reviewer 4.0, which is software especially designed to handle systematic reviews. The result of our systematic review will hopefully be a synopsis of conditions through which universities can support and facilitate student engagement and successful learning. What is my role in this stage?
Stage 3: Communicative validation with e-learning expertsThe results of the study will be validated through qualitative research, in order to examine whether the statements identified by the content analysis and systematic review can be confirmed with practical examples. Interviews will be conducted with academics, who currently work (or did work) with digital learning projects at universities in Duisburg Essen and Oldenburg. Focus groups will also be conducted with academics from various faculties (for example Arts, Sciences, Engineering, Medicine) who use eLearning in their teaching. What is my role in this stage? To be honest, I'm not sure yet - we are currently trying to finish off Stage 1 and have already started Stage 2, which I imagine will keep me very busy for some time, but I will definitely keep you updated! How does this project link to my PhD?I am also looking at student engagement within my PhD, however with more of a focus on K-12. I will also be conducting a content analysis and systematic review as part of my PhD, as I have undergone training and it makes sense for me to apply these skills. I also really enjoy both research methods... I will use the systematic review search strategy to inform my own, with the search and screening process mirroring the project. After more information about the ActiveLeaRn project?Please don't hesitate to contact me or email Professor Michael Kerres or Professor Olaf Zawacki-Richter. Feel free to also connect with us on Research Gate. ReferencesGough, D., Oliver, S., & Thomas, J. (2012). Introducing systematic reviews. In D. Gough, S. Oliver, & J. Thomas (Hrsg.), An introduction to systematic reviews (S. 1–16). London [u.a.]: SAGE.
Kahu, E. R. (2013). Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 38(5), 758–773. http://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011. 598505
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AuthorMelissa is an EPPI-Reviewer Support Officer at University College London and a researcher. She worked for 10 years as a high school teacher in country South Australia, followed by three years as a Research Associate at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany. Categories
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