A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of Non-Completers in the Doctoral Program
by
Bernadette Marie Wyman Liberty University School of Education
December 2011
You are invited to be in a research study of the experiences and perceptions of non- completers in a doctoral program. You were selected as a possible participant because you have withdrawn from an online Ed.D. or Ph.D. degree in education program during the last three years and have been enrolled in the program for at least one year. You were referred by the sender of this email to aid in the completion of this doctoral dissertation. Your efforts involve completing the following survey and participating in a brief interview. We ask that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study.
This study is being conducted by Bernadette Wyman, a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. My advisor, Dr. Judy Shoemaker, and committee members Dr. Amanda Rockinson-Szapkiw and Dr. Lucinda Spaulding are supervising the research. All committee members are affiliated with Liberty University. Background Information:
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study is to describe the lived experiences as perceived by doctoral students who have broken enrollment in an online Ed.D. or Ph.D. degree in education program. The data collected will aid in understanding how participants perceive the barriers to degree completion, how students and universities can contribute to overcome these barriers, and the essence of the lived experience of online doctoral students with broken enrollment.
Procedures:
If you agree to be in this study, we ask that you take approximately 10 minutes to complete an online survey and agree to a 25-minute to 40 minute interview. Contact information is requested on the survey and you will be contacted within the next two to four weeks to arrange for an interview. With your verbal consent at the time of the interview, you will be recorded while responding to questions via the telephone or Skype (a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet).
Risks and Benefits of being in the Study:
The risks are no more than the participant would encounter in everyday life. The benefits to participation are in helping current and future doctoral students complete the doctoral program. The information collected from doing this study will help better understand the experiences of students who do not complete a doctorate program. You may also receive personal satisfaction from helping others.
Confidentiality:
include any information that will make it possible to identify a subject. Research records in the form of paper or external hardware memory devices will be stored securely in a locked file cabinet and only researchers will have access to the records. Any data stored on a computer hard drive will be right protected with a security password known only to the principal investigator. Once the data is collected, analyzed, and the dissertation has been accepted as complete, any coding key that could link the survey with the participant is destroyed. These actions will maintain the anonymity of the results. Three years after the completion of this study, all records will be destroyed by burning. Data stored on external devices and hard drives will be deleted by the Principal Investigator. Data collected from participants will be used for this research only and will not be available for future research unless permission is granted.
Voluntary Nature of the Study:
Participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with the University or with other participating
universities. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at any time without affecting those relationships.
How to Withdraw From the Study:
Please email Bernadette Wyman at [email protected] with the words “please withdraw” in the subject line. Any recorded interview will be erased and any data included in this research will be deleted.
Contacts and Questions:
The researchers conducting this study are Bernadette Wyman and Dr. Judy Shoemaker. You may ask any questions you have now. If you have questions later, you are encouraged to contact Bernadette Wyman at 508-821-5644 or email [email protected]. You may also contact Dr. Judy Shoemaker at 863-326-6208 or email [email protected].
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher(s), you are encouraged to contact the Institutional Review Board, Dr. Fernando Garzon, Chair, 1971 University Blvd, Suite 1582, Lynchburg, VA 24502, or email at [email protected].
You will be given a copy of this information to keep for your records.
Statement of Consent:
I have read and understood the above information. If initiated, I have asked questions and have received answers. By placing an X in the space below, I consent to participate in this study. ______ I consent to participate in this study
I also consent to be interviewed by Bernadette Wyman and may be reached at the contact information provided below:
Name______________________________________________ Email address________________________________________ Telephone Number ___________________________________