Krista Donaldson

Targeting undergraduate students for surveys: Lessons from the Academic Pathways Of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES)

The academic pathways of people learning engineering survey (APPLES) was deployed in April 2007 targeting cross-sectional populations from four American universities. The goal of APPLES is to validate earlier findings from the academic pathways study on factors that correlate with persistence in engineering. There is minimal literature detailing the practical process and methodology for engineering education researchers to undertake thorough, statistically-sound survey research, particularly as it relates to reaching specific student groups within the undergraduate engineering population. We outline the APPLES development methodology, and specifically the lessons learned in deploying a multi-site, medium-scale survey. This paper details our process for constructing the sampling plan and the resulting design for the APPLE survey, and addresses issues relating to working with campus liaisons, subject recruitment and deployment. Finally, we share preliminary response rates and feedback from respondents to inform a model for conducting survey design and research for engineering education researchers.

Customer Value Chain Analysis

Customer Value Chain Analysis (CVCA) is an original methodological tool that enables design teams in the product definition phase to comprehensively identify pertinent stakeholders, their relationships with each other, and their role in the product’s life cycle. By performing CVCA, design teams are better able to recognize diverse product requirements and their relative priority for undertaking Product Definition Assessment and downstream Design for X (DfX) tools, such as Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This paper discusses the evolution of the CVCA in response to the need for a DfX tool which is able to delineate customer needs early in the product development process. A step-by-step guide clarifies the implementation of CVCA with an example. Further, three case studies highlight the tool’s broad utility and important features to support design decision-making, including: 1) confirmation of the product’s business model, 2) recognition of the critical stake-holders, and 3) clarification of the value proposition to be embedded in the product.Copyright

Scaling up: Taking the Academic Pathways of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES) national

The Academic Pathways of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES) was deployed for a second time in Spring 2008 to undergraduate engineering students at 21 American universities. The goal of APPLES was to corroborate and extend findings from the academic pathways study and the first deployment of APPLES (Spring 2007) on factors that correlate with persistence in engineering on a national scale. This set of deployments, which surveyed over 4,500 students, was among the largest and broadest cross-sectional surveys focusing on undergraduate engineering ever undertaken. Because there was no readily-available list of undergraduate students attending American institutions studying and intending to study engineering, we sampled by institution using institutional characteristics such as Carnegie 2000 classification. In seeking participation by a broad range of institutions, we recognized the need to vary the target student strata for recruitment by institution. In this process paper, we present an overview of our institutional sampling, discuss our student sampling and recruitment, and report response results. We extend our lessons learned from deploying the online survey at four institutions to 21 institutions, including coordination with local campus coordinators, IRB requirements, subject recruitment and deployment to build on the model for conducting survey design and research for engineering education researchers.

Approaches to Product Design in Kenya: Is Design Practice Universal?

Design discussions and debates tend to be focused in and on more industrialized economies (MIEs). In this paper, product design approaches in Kenya are investigated and questions relating to the universality and applicability of design process are explored. Data on informal sector, formal sector and donor-funded design were analyzed in the context of interviews with local producers. Emerging patterns of detailed design acquisition resulted in the delineation of four observed approaches to the design of common-use products in Kenya: imitated design, imported design, basic original design and specialty design. Of the 200+ products examined, a negligible number might be considered original designs targeted specifically at the local market. Most designs originate outside the country or are imitated from imported products. The approaches to product design and findings regarding design activity are discussed with comment made regarding the appropriateness of the MIE-style model to design in less industrialized economies.Copyright

Special session - academic pathways study: Special interactive session on findings and implications for engineering education and practice

The Academic Pathways Study (APS) is a mixed- methods longitudinal study of engineering students at four institutions. The goals of this special interactive session are to begin the processes of (1) knitting APS knowledge into the larger body of engineering education scholarship, and (2) develop ways of thinking about these findings that inform engineering education program planning and classroom practice.