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ERIC Number: EJ1296669
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Apr
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1069-4730
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Information Asymmetries in Web-Based Information for Engineering Transfer Students
Journal of Engineering Education, v110 n2 p318-342 Apr 2021
Background: Transfer students in engineering must navigate a myriad of information sources to obtain accurate information on how to matriculate into a 4-year institution. Although some institutional and state-level initiatives attempt to streamline the transfer process, students still report difficulties. Purpose: This article explores the extent to which web-based transfer information is fragmented across institutional websites and written using communicative strategies that could limit comprehension. Accordingly, this study characterizes information asymmetries--gaps in information--that affect transfer students in terms of two constructs: fragmentation and language. Method: We employed a convergent fully integrated mixed-methods design with a stratified random sample of 38 US engineering degree-granting institutions. The connections between the webpages were transformed into networks and clustered using k-means and partitioning around medoids with measures of dispersion and centrality. A purposeful nested sample of 16 institutions was taken based on the clusters and explored using a two-cycle mixed-methods coding protocol to understand how fragmentation and language interact to create information asymmetries. The resulting themes from each construct were integrated to develop narratives across the sampled institutions. Conclusions: We found the web-based information for transfer students to be a messy web of loosely connected structures with language that complicates understanding. We identified four fragmentation themes illustrating how transfer information is organized and six language themes capturing linguistic patterns across the webpages. We offer strategies for researchers and practitioners based on the narratives we developed.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: DGE1651272
Author Affiliations: N/A