dissertation progress

Well, I have finally gotten my topic approved. I know I've delayed my dissertation for some time due to personal and health issues, and I've actually felt embarrassed to ask for more time. But, both my dissertation mentor and my academic advisor have been more than generous, and my latest deadline gives me, I think, another 9 months to finish my current section.

I'm still planning on using the TIPP in my dissertation and feel very fortunate to have such a gifted individual allowing me to use her assessment. As I have said in previous blogs Shelly Loewen has been instrumental in not only encouraging me to pursue my doctorate degree but also in letting me bounce ideas off of her throughout my doctorate program up to this point.

I had a slight scare about a month ago upon seeing that her website was down, but we have spoken since then, and everything is under control.

So, enough with my rambling, what is my dissertation topic? A Reliability and Validity Study of the TIPP Assessment for Use with Adolescents. This second step that I'm completing now is the methodology to include my population description, sampling techniques, rationale for both population and sampling, and the actual methodology description. For the most part, I feel fairly confident about what I'm doing. I have emailed the Peninsula School District to inquire about their computer labs in the elementary and middle schools and also to confirm the process by which I need to request permission to request student participation in my study. I had emailed them more than a year ago with my initial questions. However, the computer I was using died, and I lost the email that was sent to me. I'm hoping that the process will be simple, and they will be interested in helping me out.

My biggest concern is statistics. I understand correlations; however, with the TIPP assessment giving a categorical profile as a result, it is difficult for me to consider a simple Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. It would seem, according to the little I have read and conferring with my dissertation mentor, that Cronbach's alpha for intraclass reliability would be the most appropriate. But, I don't know enough about it to proceed. I think for now, I want to have everything completed with the exception of my explanation and rationale for Cronbach's alpha, and then I can confidently approach my mentor again for a crash course in statistics.

Beyond that, I am excited about this study. The more I think about it, the more I want to be in a position where I can evaluate educational programs and assessments. What would that job be called or where could I find that job? I'm not sure. I have done some searches, and have not found exactly the title with which I could be satisfied. I suppose I'm looking at a consultancy job; however, the problem is my dissertation will be the first time I have ever evaluated anything!

I will post again when I've completed my methodology review form.

I might have found a new dissertation idea

Now I follow blogs everywhere, but most of my friends are either on blogger or live journal. I had joined live journal after a conversation with a friend a few years back, but it's mostly foolishness for a better word of what I type over there. At any rate, in all my foolishness, I joined groups related to educational psychology among others and somehow ended up communicating with another woman who was also studying at Capella. We finally met in person at my track three colloquium in Chicago in 2008. While she isn't specializing in educational psychology, she still seems pretty connected to all fields in psychology. She recently finished all of her coursework and will be starting her comprehensive exams, so I've been able to provide her feedback on my experiences.

We hadn't spoken in a while. In fact, it had almost been a year since either she or I blogged on livejournal. But about two weeks ago, I saw a blog from her commiserating on her job search. We got back in touch, and I told her about my tribulations over the past six or so months, including my recent lack of a dissertation idea.

And, she gave me a fabulous one to pursue. I suppose I should say I'm glad we're not in the same specialization. We can offer advice to one another without fear that one might steal the other's idea!

At any rate, her idea was to do a study on high school students who are currently enrolled in self-directed transformative education. How do their perceptions and maybe actions change due to a trauma that occurs in their life? Now, there would be a lot of work involved with this topic. I have contacted two virtual academies approved to offer public education in Washington state. But the more I think about it, my study could encompass any state that allows for public virtual education. I would simply need to mail them information, and it may take a bit longer to do my study, but it would give me a greater pool of participants and perhaps be more interesting to see how students in different environments react.

Right now, though, I need to do some research on why a student would pursue self-directed education in the first place. Both schools that I contacted offer this self-directed education to students as young as five years old. Certainly, they are not the ones who make the choice. It could mean, then, that some students who are currently enrolled in these high schools have been conditioned from an early age to embrace virtual education. I would need to find out how long virtual education has been sanctioned in a particular state.

I will update soon.