Doctoral Research in Educational Technology:

A Directory of Dissertations, 1977-2004
compiled by
Edward P. Caffarella, Ph.D.
Professor and Dean
School of Education
State University of New York College at Cortland
Copyright 2005 by Edward P. Caffarella
Revised January 2005

Preface
Doctoral Research in Instructional Design and Technology: A Directory of Dissertations, 1977-2004 is a compilation of doctoral dissertations completed during the calendar years 1977 through 2004. The directory includes listings of each student‘s name, graduation year, dissertation title, institution, and chairperson. This list is cross indexed so that the information can be retrieved in a variety of ways.
One key element in the continued development of the field and profession of instructional design and technology is the research being done by graduate students. This directory provides a complete overview of that doctoral research. This new publication is a compilation of two earlier works and new data from the years 1989-2001. The two earlier editions are Doctoral Research in Instructional Design and Technology: A Directory of Dissertations, 1977-1986 (Caffarella & Sachs, 1988) and Doctoral Research in Instructional Design and Technology: A Directory of Dissertations, 1987-1988 (Caffarella, 1991).
Prior to the publication of this and the earlier directories there was no way to look at all of the doctoral research in instructional design and technology nor any way to compare the kinds of research being done at one institution with that being done at another. The best one could do is to look up the research using a particular topic, subject, or context. Although this piecemeal approach provided some useful information it yielded only a segment of the research in the field. These directories now make it possible to take a closer and more complete look at this significant body of work.
This directory provides an opportunity to better define the research in the field of educational technology and will help the profession to identify valuable studies and research trends. By building upon the research of others, future researchers can advance the field more collectively than could be done by one individual working in isolation.
Particular thanks is extended to the many faculty members who provided the lists of their graduates and dissertation titles. Without these lists this project would not have been possible. Ultimately, thanks are extended to the new doctoral graduates in instructional design and technology who wrote the dissertations included in this directory. With them lies the future of the field.
Disclaimer of Liabilities
Due care has been exercised in the preparation of this directory to insure its accuracy. The author and publisher make no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the contents of this directory. In no event will the author or publisher be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages in connection with or arising from the furnishing, performance, or use of this document.
Forward by
Robert Heinich
Professor Emeritus of Education
Indiana University
How many times have you wished for a compilation of recent dissertations in the field of instructional technology? How about the time you wanted to be able to find quickly the dissertation title of a certain someone in the field? And then there were the times you or your students wished to know the kinds of dissertation topics favored by particular programs and by individual faculty in those programs over a period of time. Perhaps your most important wish, certainly that of many doctoral students, has been for quick access to the titles of dissertations on a topic of current research interest. As they say on TV, all those wishes and more are fulfilled in this volume.
This compilation of dissertation titles for 1977 through 2004, to be updated periodically, will be of considerable value to researchers in the field. Dissertations, along with periodic literature, may be the most reliable, if more conservative, index of change in the field. Dissertations may keep changes in the field within a better overall perspective than the trendier professional periodic literature. As significant new technologies are developed and added to the field, dissertations will be sure to explore their attributes through disciplined inquiry. New developments in related disciplines, such as the shift from behaviorism to cognition in psychology, will be reflected in dissertations. The recent interest of many in the field in "performance technology" will certainly be evident in a growing number of dissertations dealing with non-instructional interventions. But which academic programs will accept performance technology as a legitimate area of inquiry? The next edition will tell us. That is an example of the value of a compilation such as this in tracking the evolution of a field, particularly an applied field.
Even a cursory examination conveys important impressions. One is immediately impressed with the range of topics selected for study. If any Deans are insufficiently impressed with the breadth of instructional technology, a sampling of dissertation titles from this volume should be more than an adequate corrective. As one might suspect, inquiry in this field ranges from situation-specific, decision-oriented research to "pure," conclusion-oriented research. Appropriately, the variety of research methodologies is also impressive. It would seem that the field is not fixated on an orthodox approach to research; there seems to be concern to select the methodology that suits the nature of the problem. Scholars in the field will probably have much to say about the status of research when they have had the opportunity for intensive study of this document.
An important question, of course, is how inclusive is this compilation? The investigator included all academic programs that bore a label identifying them as part of the broad field. You might ask what about dissertations in telecommunications, sociology, psychology, etc., that treat topics related to instructional technology? The line has to be drawn somewhere, or the scope becomes impossibly broad. The decision to restrict coverage to identifiable programs in instructional technology was prudent. The field is indebted to Caffarella for undertaking this tremendous task.
As many in the field know, there have been previous compilations of dissertations. AV Communication Reviewpublished compilations by John Moldstad beginning in volume 4, number 4 (1956), and continuing in volume 6, number 1, volume 7, number 2, and the last in volume 9, number 4. The earliest entry in the 1956 listing is 1921. Che-tsao Huang picked up where Moldstad left off. His compilation of dissertations from 1960 to 1970 was published by ERIC, ED 184 555. He published the institutional productivity part of his study inECTJ, volume 28, number 1. Huang continued his work through 1979 but so far this list has not been published. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources published a directory of dissertations by Kirschner, Mapes, and Anderton covering the years 1969-1972. The earlier Caffarella and Sachs directories cover the years 1977 through 1988. Therefore, except for the years 1973-76, we have access to a reasonably complete listing of dissertations from 1921 through 1992. Let‘s hope the missing years will be published soon. Unfortunately, the earlier compilations do not have some of the very useful indexing features of the Caffarella opus. Would it be too much to hope that someday someone will incorporate all of the lists into one publication? But for now, we can commend them all for their efforts. Due to them, scholars have rich and reliable sources of information on the evolution of the field.
Introduction
The online publication Doctoral Research in Instructional Design and Technology: A Directory of Dissertations, 1977-2004 is a compilation of doctoral student research during the years 1977 and 2004. The directory is divided into five major sections including the student listing, key word in context index, institution listing, chairperson listing, and year listing.
The student section lists the student‘s name, graduation year, dissertation title, institution, and chairperson. The key word in context index makes it possible to look up any of the major words in a title. The institution section lists all of the dissertations completed at a specific institution. The chairperson lists all of the dissertations directed under the guidance of a particular chairperson. The year index lists all dissertations completed in a particular year. These indexes provide access to the data in a variety of ways.
The data for the directory were supplied directly by the universities in the United States offering graduate programs in instructional design and technology. These various programs are offered under a wide variety of titles including educational technology, instructional development, educational media, instructional technology, and instructional systems. The basic list of institutions was taken from the list of doctoral programs in theEducational Media and Technology Yearbook 2000 (Branch & Fitzgerald, 2000). This list was checked against the membership list for the Professors of Instructional Design and Technology for the locations of additional programs. The intent was to be as inclusive as possible so that the wide variety of dissertations in the field of instructional design and technology would be included in the directory.
Each participating institution supplied the following information for their doctoral students who graduated during the years 1977 through 2004.
Student‘s Name Year of the Degree Institution Name Dissertation Chairperson(s) URL for Abstract
The decision to participate and which dissertations to submit was left to the individual institutions. The directory contains nearly 3,400 dissertation entries from 65 doctoral level institutions. This includes virtually all doctoral programs in instructional design and technology based in the United States.
This volume supplements the printed listings in Doctoral Research in Instructional Design and Technology: A Directory of Dissertations, 1977-1986 (Caffarella & Sachs, 1988) and Doctoral Research in Instructional Design and Technology: A Directory of Dissertations, 1987-1988 (Caffarella, 1991).
Institutions Included
The following sixty-five institutions of higher education in the United States of America have students and dissertations included in this directory.
Arizona State University Boston University Brigham Young University California, University of at Berkeley Central Florida, University of Colorado, University of Colorado, University of at Denver Columbia University Teachers College Connecticut, University of East Texas State University Florida State University Florida, University of Georgia State University Georgia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Indiana University Iowa State University Iowa, University of Kansas State University Kent State University Lehigh University Louisiana State University Memphis, University of Michigan State University Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of New Mexico, University of New York University North Carolina State University Northern Colorado, University of Northern Illinois University Northwestern University Nova University Ohio State University Ohio University Oklahoma State University Oklahoma, University of Oregon State University Oregon, University of Pennsylvania State University Pittsburgh, University of Purdue University Rutgers University San Diego State University/Claremont Graduate School San Diego State University / University of San Diego South Alabama, University of Southern California, University of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville State University of New York at Buffalo Syracuse University Temple University Tennessee at Knoxville, University of Texas at Austin, University of Toledo, University of Utah State University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia, University of Washington, University of Wayne State University Wisconsin, University of
Instructions
The index is divided into subsections by student name, keyword in title, institution, chairperson, and year. Select these subsections with the pull up menus at the bottom of the screen. The user is then prompted for the range of the alphabet to be displayed on the screen. The student name, keyword in title, institution, and chairperson sections are each divided into several parts with a segment of the alphabet in each part. Some menu items cover a single letter, others cover multiple letters, and few letters are split over multiple items.
The entry in each subsection includes the student‘s name, year of the degree, dissertation title, institution name, dissertation chairperson(s), and URL for abstract arranged like the following sample.
Franklin, Melvin E. (1999) An Analysis of the Relationship between Preservice Teacher Training in Technology and Actual Utilization in the Classroom. (Central State University; Levinson, Jean Q.) Link to Abstract
The student section is arranged in alphabetical order by the student‘s last name. The institution index is organized in order by the inverted institution name. This index provides an overview of the dissertations which have been completed at a particular institution. Throughout the directory, institution names are entered in normal order but alphabetized under the main word(s) in the name. For example, the University of Iowa is listed under university and but alphabetized under Iowa. Similarly, Michigan State University is listed under Michigan and alphabetized under Michigan.
The chairperson index is arranged in order by the chairperson‘s last name. Most universities use the term chairperson to describe the faculty member responsible for directing the dissertation. A few institutions use a different term such as director or sponsor to describe this faculty member. For example, Indiana University uses dissertation director. In this directory the term chairperson has been used universally to describe the faculty member responsible for a student‘s dissertation. A few students had two chairpersons and they are both referred to as co-chairpersons with the dissertation listed under both.
The key words in the title are indexed by use of a key words in context (KWIC) index. This index allows the user to look up the dissertations by any major word in the title. The following words and abbreviations are not used in the KWIC index.
a about across after all among an and are as at avoiding b based be before beside better between beyond both by c care corp. d de don‘t during e ed eight eighth either end f fifth fifty first five following for four fourth from g give given h had has have he her his how i j k l like m may more much n near nine ninth no non o of on one only or other over p pre pre- q r s same san second seen selected seven seventh several she since six sixth some sr status studies study t take ten tenth th that the their these they third this three through to too took toward towards twelfth twenty two u under up upon use used using v v. versus very vi via vii viii von vs vs. w what when which while who whom with within without x y year your z
Comments
The directory is updated annually with the addition of dissertations completed during the previous year. Users of this directory are encouraged to contact Ed Caffarella of the State University of New York College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland) at CaffarellaE@cortland.edu with corrections, omissions, and suggestions for changes in the directory format. This directory is also available as a text only version. Click below for that version.

Obtaining Dissertations
Actual copies of the dissertations are generally available through three different sources.
Go to the library of the institution where the dissertation was completed and the dissertation should be available much like any other book. Obviously, this only works if the institution is close to your home.
Some universities will make the dissertations available through interlibrary loan. To do this, submit a request through your home library to the library at the dissertation institution.
Purchase a copy of the dissertation through Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company (formerly UMI) athttp://www.umi.com/hp/Products/Dissertations.html
References
Branch, R. M. and Fitzgerald, M. A. (2000). Educational Media and Technology Yearbook: 2000. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Caffarella, E. P. (2000). Doctoral Dissertation Research in Educational Technology: The Themes and Trends from 1977 through 1998. Educational Media and Technology Yearbook: 2000. edited by R. M. Branch and M. A. Fitzgerald. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Caffarella, E. P. (1991). Doctoral research in instructional design and technology: A directory of dissertations 1987-1988. Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Caffarella, E. P. & Sachs, S. G. (1988). Doctoral research in instructional design and technology: A directory of dissertations 1977-1986. Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Caffarella, E. P. & Sachs, S. G. (1990). An analysis of doctoral dissertation productivity in instructional design and technology from 1977 to 1988 Educational Media and Technology Yearbook: 1991. edited by B. Branyan-Broadbent and R. K. Wood. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Caffarella, E. P. & Sachs, S. G. (1990). "Doctoral dissertations in instructional design and technology, 1977 to 1988." Educational Technology: Research and Development, 38(3).
Huang, C. (1979). Monograph of doctoral studies in educational technology: 1960-1970.New York, NY: City University of New York, York College, Center for Educational Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 184 555)
Huang, C. (1980). "Analysis of doctoral production in educational technology: 1960-1970."Educational Communications and Technology Journal, 28(1).
Kirschner, C. D., Mapes, J. L. & Anderton, R. L. (1975). Doctoral research in educational media 1969-1972.Stanford, CA: ERIC Clearinghouse in Information Resources.
Moldstad, J. (1956). "Doctoral dissertations in audio-visual education [1921-1956]."Audio-Visual Communication Review, 4(2), 291-333.
Moldstad, J. (1958). "Doctoral dissertations in audio-visual education: Supplement I [1956-1957]."Audio-Visual Communication Review, 6(1), 33-48.
Moldstad, J. (1959). "Doctoral dissertations in audio-visual education: Supplement II [1957-1958]."Audio-Visual Communication Review, 7(2), 142-153.
Moldstad, J. (1961). "Doctoral dissertations in audio-visual education: Supplement III [1958-1960]."Audio-Visual Communication Review, 9(4), 220-229.
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