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Access Type

WSU Access

Date of Award

January 2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Education Evaluation and Research

First Advisor

Shlomo Sawilowsky

Second Advisor

Barry S. Markman

Abstract

ABSTRACT

ANALYSIS OF SOFTWARE USAGE BY AN R1 UNIVERSITY’S EDUCATION FACULTY, ADMINISTRATORS, AND ACADEMIC STAFF

by

KEVIN C. CARROLL

MAY 2019

Advisor: Dr. Shlomo Sawilowsky

Major: EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION & RESEARCH

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

The extant literature related to the study of technology deployed in higher education teaching environments focuses on the placement and use of technology in classrooms, and how effectively existing technology is used to deliver course content, complete assignments, and conduct assessment of student progress. While several studies have been conducted as to faculty need for technology hardware, the literature is mute in regard to which software packages faculty, academic staff, and administrators in higher education need to perform their job duties. Similarly, there exists scant literature in regard to how faculty, academic staff, and administrators in higher education obtain support for the software packages they routinely use. The current study seeks to gather this missing data through a comprehensive survey sent to the target population, ideally the entire faculty, academic advisor, and administrators in Wayne State University. However, due to administrative restraints, the current study is restricted to the aforementioned population of the College of Education within Wayne State University.

The software needs of faculty and academic staff working at a Carnegie R1, R2, or R3 doctoral institution can be substantial, depending on research needs and administrative duties. Research activities require specialized software, including statistical packages such as SPSS, Minitab, Stata, and SAS that are used in conjunction with data collection and analysis.

Faculty within departments of a college may have specialized software needs. For example, the Microsoft Office Suite package is used for general administrative and support needs, but specialized software is required especially in conjunction with research projects. Many software programs are expensive and frequently require intense training to leverage all aspects of the program to best advantage. Depending on individual skill level, some users may not be using all the robust features of increasingly complex software packages. As the cost of software continues to climb, there is a need to establish if the faculty and staff have the needed software to function effectively and efficiently, as well as to discover what features of the software packages are needed, as well as which features are frequently used.

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