A Quantitative Content Analysis of Mercer University Theses

• Main Authors: Justus Randolph, Lura Gaiek, Torian White, Lisa Slappey, Andrea Chastain, Rose Prejean-Harris, Cole Hansard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georgia Southern University 2012-01-01
• Series: Georgia Educational Researcher
• Subjects: Quantitative; Methodological review; Research methods; Content analysis; Theses and dissertations
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gerjournal/vol9/iss1/6

Quantitative content analysis of a body of research not only helps budding researchers understand the culture, language, and expectations of scholarship, it helps identify deficiencies and inform policy and practice. Because of these benefits, an analysis of a census of 980 Mercer University M.Ed., Ed.S., and doctoral theses was conducted. Each thesis was coded on 10 variables. The descriptive characteristics of the theses, the predictors of the length of the theses, and the predictors of the type of research method used were investigated. The main results were that: (a) the vast majority of thesis authors was female, (b) the number of qualitative theses was on the rise, (c) there were slight variations in research method and length based on location of publication, (d) the page length of M.Ed. theses had been slightly decreasing over time, (e) mathematics instruction was the most frequent subject descriptor of theses, and (f) the proportion of male authors increased over time.