master thesis design science research

Constructive Master's Thesis Work in Industry: Guidelines for Applying Design Science Research

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Online Master of Science Research Design and Analysis

College of arts, sciences and education.

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Degree Title

Master of Science

Regardless of industry or field, in order to solve issues, data and analysis are needed. Despite continued projections for national growth, the number of graduates with graduate degrees in research design and analysis (RDA) lags behind the demand for RDA specialists. Leading publications in education and psychology, and reports of national organizations (including the National Research Council, the arm of the National Academy of Sciences), raise concerns that there are too few graduate programs preparing graduate students to meet national needs.

FIU’s fully online M.S. in RDA is designed to address the need for RDA graduates. The program provides students with strong research methods training for applied empirical settings. RDA students will learn about research design, statistics, measurement, and qualitative research. Graduates will generate both research expertise and pragmatic experience, which will serve them well as they transition to future employment.

In sum, the master’s degree program places emphasis on building research knowledge, expertise, and practical experience to help RDA graduates align relevant data with specific problems, design cutting-edge data collection methods, analyze data for practical solutions, and suggest rigorous research techniques to help solve real-world problems in education and related fields. In particular, RDA graduates will have an impact on both public and private sectors that deal with contemporary challenges regarding education, health and technology issues.

A critical feature of the master’s degree in RDA is the individual mentoring system designed to monitor each student’s academic motivation and career aspirations. Our RDA faculty will assist students from entering the program by providing information on RDA careers, mentoring them on how to build the knowledge base of RDA, how to interpret data and apply it to select fields.

The faculty’s frequent contact via online/remote communication tools (e.g., Zoom) will help to keep students engaged throughout the degree program. Specifically, each RDA faculty member will monitor four to five students and maintain close relationships with students to ensure learning quality, timely progress, and psychological health.

The RDA program utilizes cloud computing through online learning and FIU eLabs to offer students quality online instruction and access to remotely accessible research software. Specifically, FIU Online is well-known for its support services and online resources such as virtual tutoring and IT assistance for students and faculty. The FIU eLabs is equipped with quantitative and qualitative software and provide assistance through a multiplatform system in a virtual environment or through remote workstations.

Job outlook

Currently, there is strong national demand for professionals in the areas of RDA, including research design, analysis, testing and measurement, and program evaluation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS), Occupational Outlook Handbook reports that employment of research methodologists is projected to grow 35% by 2029, much faster than the average for other occupations. Growth is expected to result from the more widespread use of data analysis to inform healthcare, educational policy decisions, and business strategies for growth. The BLS also reports the median salary in 2019 as $92,030 per year, and research methodologists with a master’s degree are preferred in national job markets.

In line with national data provided by the BLS, Florida Employment data also projects robust employment of research methodologists with an estimated 33.9% growth between 2019 and 2027, compared with an increase of only 9% for all occupations and 9.9% for all education, training, and library occupations. Educational services in Florida are ranked as the third fastest-growing industries between 2019 and 2027, with a projected growth rate of 14.4%, only following ambulatory health care services and social assistance. In particular, South Florida has several public and private sectors that currently seek RDA specialists, such as the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Energy, Calc Stat, Florida Blue, Fort Lauderdale Airport, Miami Airport, ADT, Assurant, and Amazon.

Career opportunities

RDA graduates may gain employment as research methodologists, psychometricians, and program evaluators in government, research and testing agencies, and community organizations. Further, graduates from this program may utilize their research skills as administrators of educational institutes and organizations involved in the advancement of education and other areas such as mental health, counseling psychology, and school psychology.

Career Path

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Evaluation Consultant

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Institutional Research Analyst

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Institutional Research Data Specialist

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Director of Institutional Planning, Research and Assessment

Psychometricians

Government Program Evaluator

Educational Administrator

Innovation Specialist, Design/Brand Strategist

Product Designer

Consumer Insights

Grant Writing

Market Research Analyst

Non-traditional Career Paths

Human Resources

Forensic Science

Income Range

$36,000 - $144,000

Industry Outlook

FL: 32% ⬆️

US: 25% ⬆️

( Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics and onetonline.org )

Cohorts of 15-25 students are enrolled per year. Students complete the program within 12 months. The fully online M.S. in RDA program requires students to complete 30 credit hours that are sequentially structured over the course of 12 months.

Each semester, students enroll in three or four core research methods courses, each covering research design, data collection, data analysis, graphing, and program analysis.

In the last semester, students will gain hands-on research experience through conducting a research practicum to apply their learned knowledge and skills to specific research projects.

In particular, the analysis project is designed for students to organize the analysis outcomes and communicate with researchers and practitioners in other fields with colloquial language. In this way, RDA graduates will generate both research expertise and pragmatic experience, which will serve them well as they transition to future employment.

Note: The following course structure allows students to start the degree in the spring and complete the degree within one year. It also uses the “A” and “B” elements of the semesters, so students do not have to take all of the courses at once—instead students will have courses in condensed time periods throughout the year.

Semester 1 (4 courses: 12 credits): Spring

• Spring A: Introduction to Educational Research (EDF5481): Yuxi Qiu
• Spring B: Research Methods in Education (EDF6472): Yuxi Qiu
• Spring A: Single-Subject Research Design in Education (EDF6425): Martha Pelaez
• Spring B: Measurement and Evaluation in Education (EDF5432): Andy Pham

Semester 2 (3 courses: 9 credits): Summer

• Summer A: Advanced Analysis in Educational Research (EDF6486): Mido Chang
• Summer B: Application of Measurement and Assessment in Educational Research (EDF 6482): Kevin Coughlin
• Summer C: Qualitative Foundations of Educational Research (EDF 6475): Aaron Kuntz

Semester 3 (3 courses: 9 credits): Fall

• Fall A: Application of Statistical Model to Education (EDF6414): Mido Chang
• Fall B: Introduction to Statistical Software in Education (EDF 6414): Yuxi Qui
• Fall: Research Practicum in Education (EDF6XXX): Mido Chang or Aaron Kuntz

Requirements

Admission standards : The RDA master’s program is designed to provide students with strong research design and analysis training for applied research settings. RDA master's degree will be an attractive graduate degree for students with a bachelor in various education, social sciences, and business fields.

RDA applicants are required to submit:

• An online application to the Office of Graduate Admissions
• Three letters of recommendation (at least one from an academic source)
• An autobiographical statement

Candidates are admitted by the Department's Graduate Admission Committee's decision based on GPA scores in a bachelor's program, quality and source of letters of recommendation, and the candidate's career aspirations and goals.

An applicant must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or international students from an institution comparable to or equivalent to U.S. degrees for further study at the graduate level. An applicant must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 hours of the upper division of coursework. An applicant with less than a 3.0 GPA may be granted conditional admittance. These applicants must take 12 graduate credits and earn a 3.25 GPA to be considered for full admittance.

Graduation requirements : The students are expected to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours at the graduate-level while achieving a GPA of a minimum of 3.0 earned for courses required by the program. A student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0. No grade below "C" will be accepted.

International Students

Proof of English Language Proficiency. If you earned a bachelor's degree in a country whose official language is not English, you must demonstrate English language proficiency by earning a passing score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language ( TOEFL ) or the International English Language Testing System ( IELTS ). TOEFL required minimum score: 550 (paper-based exam) or 80 (internet-based). IELTS required minimum score: 6.5. When requesting official scores, please refer to FIU Institution code 5206. TOEFL / IELTS scores are valid for two years. View list of TOEFL/IELTS-exempt countries .

Graduate programs can use the Duolingo English Test.

Please visit Duolingo English Test for more information about how to register for the exam.

FIU Minimum Duolingo English Test Score: 110

Course by Course Evaluation. If your post-secondary educational history includes coursework outside the United States, you must submit a course-by-course credential translation and evaluation, with grade point average (GPA) calculation included, for all non-U.S. coursework. FIU accepts evaluations/translations from any NACES member evaluation service.

FIU accepts evaluations/translations from any NACES member evaluation services, below are a few FIU recommends:

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., International Education Consultants 7101 SW 102 Avenue Miami, FL 33173 Phone: 305-273-1616 | Fax 305-273-1338 www.jsilny.org  | [email protected] Visit the  Josef Silny & Associates FIU Form  for details

• As a fully online degree,  this program is ineligible to grant/provide F-1 Student visas.

Effective January 15, 2023 for Graduate applicants : If your post-secondary educational history includes coursework outside the United States, you must submit a course-by-course credential translation and evaluation, with grade point average (GPA) calculation included, for all non-U.S. coursework. FIU accepts evaluations/translations from any NACES member evaluation service. Please visit the NACES website here: NACES | Credentials Evaluations Provided by NACES Members

Tuition and Aid

Pursuing your graduate degree is one of the best investments you can make – one that will open doors to personal and professional opportunities. Our tuition costs represent some of the best value in higher education, and we also offer financial aid support to help you reach your goals.

The total cost of the online M.S. in Research, Design and Analysis is $17,700. Students pay for courses at the beginning of each semester. All fees are subject to change.

Top Faculty

Mido Chang Professor Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology

Aaron Kuntz Professor; Chair, Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology

Yuxi Qiu Clinical Assistant Professor Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology

Andy Pham Associate Professor; Director, EdS in School Psychology Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology

Martha Pelaez Professor Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology

View our Info Session

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Mapping a Design Science Research Cycle to the Postgraduate Research Report

• Conference paper
• First Online: 18 November 2017
• Cite this conference paper

• Alta van der Merwe 11 ,
• Aurona Gerber 11 &
• Hanlie Smuts 11  

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 730))

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• Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers' Association

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Design science research (DSR) is well-known in different domains, including information systems (IS), for the construction of artefacts. One of the most challenging aspects of IS postgraduate studies (with DSR) is determining the structure of the study and its report, which should reflect all the components necessary to build a convincing argument in support of such a study’s claims or assertions. Analysing several postgraduate IS-DSR reports as examples, this paper presents a mapping between recommendable structures for research reports and the DSR process model of Vaishnavi and Kuechler, which several of our current postgraduate students have found helpful.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Neels van Rooyen for his help with the type-setting of this paper.

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Alta van der Merwe, Aurona Gerber & Hanlie Smuts

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van der Merwe, A., Gerber, A., Smuts, H. (2017). Mapping a Design Science Research Cycle to the Postgraduate Research Report. In: Liebenberg, J., Gruner, S. (eds) ICT Education. SACLA 2017. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 730. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69670-6_21

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Design Research (M.Sc.)

Department of architecture, facility management and geoinformation.

• Apply to COOP Design Research

Cooperative Teaching

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Major Fields of study

The one-year Master program COOP Design Research offers an overview of the diversity of academic scholarship in this field and contributes to strengthening a research practice by the means provided by design. The program strives to integrate design and research as a transdisciplinary field between material studies, social sciences, design anthropology, cultural studies, technology studies, architecture and design history, and theory.

Master of Science

Architecture, Facility Management and Geoinformation Design

Dessau-Roßlau

2 semesters

Program Start

Winter Semester

1.250 euros per semester

Sem Contribution

Full-Time Program

Accreditation

accredited until 31.03.2029

Application period

15.12. – 15.05. (winter)

15.01. – 15.05. (winter)

Course content and objectives

Throughout the program, the students obtain the academic knowledge and intellectual competencies to critically engage with the complex challenges designers face in the 21st century. In this respect, students acquire the ability to engage in an academic discourse, to theoretically penetrate phenomena of the material environment and to articulate themselves in writing.

The students’ experiences gained in previous studies and professional practice constitute the basis for developing an approach towards a design research led by critical reflection. Comprehensive introductions to methodologies of theory reading, academic writing, field research, and analysis are provided as tools for complementing both theoretical knowledge and practical reflexivity. It is not only about what is studied, but also about how it is learned: due to its interdisciplinary and transcultural structure, the program also promotes inclusion, diversity and critical thinking.

The COOP Design Research MSc. program is conducted as a teaching cooperative by Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation in cooperation with Humboldt University Berlin, with coursework taking place both at Gropius’ Bauhaus in Dessau and—to a lesser degree—at Humboldt University in Berlin. The diversity of the teaching staff with their different academic backgrounds contributes to the multi-perspectivity of the program. The courses are jointly run by professors and lecturers from the associated institutions as well as by international guest lecturers.

Drawing from different teaching methods contributed by each of the three aforementioned partner institutions, the core of the MSc. program relies on three thematic building blocks: Design as Research; Design as Education; Design as Projection.

Please refer to  www.coopdesignresearch.de for more information.

Requirements

A qualified university degree in a bachelor’s or master's degree program in Architecture, Design, Cultural Studies or related programs with a standard period of study of at least 4 years (240 ECTS) is required.

English language proficiency (TOEFL min. 600 (PBT) or 94 (iBT), IELTS min. 7,0 or equivalent). An evidenced graduation from an English-medium university is also accepted.

Work experience of at least one year in the fields of architecture, design, cultural studies or equal is required.

Candidates are asked to submit a portfolio. After submission and evaluation of the portfolio, an additional personal interview can be requested.

Program-specific questions

Organizational questions

General Questions

Contact form Tel.: +49 (0) 3496 67 5203

Apply Now https://coopdesignresearch.de/#requirements-fees

Conditions And Regulations

Design Research - Master - Studien- und Prüfungsordnung - 2022

CURRICULUM OF ONE YEAR 01 Introductory phase / Preliminary laboratory 3 Weeks [ECTS Part of 02 Labratory] The preliminary laboratory (3 weeks) provides access to the program. This involves a general introduction to the various positions in design research and the working practices and methods of scientific work. Selected examples of design research will be analysed and reflected on in seminars. 02 Laboratory 12 weeks [10 ECTS] The laboratory is made up of three thematic building blocks: design as research, design as education and design as projection. In lectures, seminars and exercises these diverse modes of design knowledge production will be systematically analysed both historically and theoretically and argued in presentations based on selected examples. 03 Exposé 6 weeks [5 ECTS] Following up 02 Laboratory, the insights, methods and skills acquired in the first term will be applied in a self-chosen thematic project. The exposé serves as a test phase for an independent, original design research argumentation. 04 Theory and Methods weekly [5 ECTS] The lecture series offers an overview of the history of modern design research and presents discourses, projects and concepts in the field. The seminar will reflect on different approaches to the development of theories in, e.g., the natural sciences, the humanities and design. The seminar also includes an introduction to the varied methods of scientific work, e.g., literature research, archive study techniques, data analysis, interview techniques, qualitative methods, e.g. participatory observation or material studies, and aims to enable students to take a reflexive approach to these methods. 05 Elective subject [5 ECTS] The elective subject comprises block sessions in which partner universities present their research areas and introduce the participants to the issues arising from these contexts. The elective study broadens the thematic spectrum and enlarges upon the teaching content of the lectures and modules. 06 Lecture series / Master Talks [5+5 ECTS] The Master Talks offer a platform for international exchange on approaches to design research. Guest scientists and designers present their research approaches and hypotheses for discussion. In accompanying or separately organised research colloquia, the program’s participants, in association with the guests, can deepen their understanding of issues arising from the contexts of the respective themes. 07 Master Thesis [25 ECTS] The Master Thesis follows up the exposé. Students develop and elaborate their research argumentation to a full thesis under the supervision of their mentors within 20 weeks. Master Thesis will finally be presented in a public colloquium.

COOP Design Research Module Handbook

Application requirements.

This Master of Science Program requires a successful completion of a Diploma or a Bachelor / Master degree in the field of Architecture or Design, Cultural Sciences or similar of at least 240 ECTS (four years) and a full online application.

Application Documents

Academic Transcripts

Applicants must provide an official copy of their bachelor degree / diploma, the transcript of records and an official copy of their high school diploma. All of your academic credentials must be translated into English or German.

Proof of English Language

Proficiency in English is a prerequisite for acceptance. If you have completed your Bachelor or Master course in the English language and you can provide a certificate to confirm this, you do not need to do a language test. Otherwise, you must submit one of the following: TOEFL test with a result of at least 600 paper-based (PBT) / 94 internet-based (iBT), IELTS Academic test with a result of at least 7.0 or Cambridge Main Suite of English Examinations or equivalent. You should plan to take the language test well in advance of the application deadline since you will have to add them to your application package.

Candidates are asked to submit a portfolio. The portfolio must be sent via email (max. 10 Mb, 10-12 pages). After submission and evaluation of the portfolio, an additional personal interview can be requested.

Sending your Materials

Please submit the following application documents via email to: [email protected]

1. COOP Design Resarch Application form, including your Articulation of Interest and Personal Background

2.1. Anhalt University Application to Graduate Studies (filled out and signed)

2.2. Documents and Certificates, including:

• Transcript of Records from your Bachelor or previous Master course
• Copy of your Passport
• CV/Lebenslauf
• Language test certificate, e.g. TOEFL, IELTS
• Certified copies of original plus english translation of Bachelor Diploma and High School Diploma
• Copy of a Passport Photograph

3. Portfolio

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send them to: [email protected].

Every student is expected to pay 1,250.00 € (program fee for Master Program) plus 86.-€ (admin. fee for general registration and student union) per semester.

The COOP Design Research MSc. welcomes new students every winter semester which starts in the first week of October. The application deadline is May 15th of the same year.

Admitted applicants choosing to enroll must submit their semester fees by September 15th and arrive in Dessau latest by October 1st. We advise new students to arrive two weeks in advance to prepare their stay here.

The program is set out along transdisciplinary lines and draws on the following disciplines: Architecture, design, cultural studies, visual studies, materials science and the history and theory of design and architecture. The new Masters Program unites the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation with its historic collection and its education and communication formats with Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and the combined outstanding academic expertise of Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, especially of the Cluster of Excellence „Matters of Activity". Moreover, engaging with the historic artefacts, materials and buildings found in the Bauhaus City Dessau means that contemporary issues in design may be explored through materials-based research and their currency tested in exhibition and communication formats.

Regina Bittner, Mary Copple, Sabine Hansmann, Michael Hohl, Richard Koeck, Joachim Krausse, Rebekka Ladewig, Zainab Marvi, Louise Mazet, Nicole Opel, Stephan Pinkau, Dieter Raffler, Friederike Schäfer, Wolfgang Schäffner, Angelika Seppi, Christian Stein, Niloufar Tajeri, Gernot Weckherlin, et al.

School Registration

There are several steps you will have to do when you arrive in Dessau. These include getting a German address as well as registering at the town hall, opening a bank account and organizing medical insurance. You also have to pay the semester fee, and after that you can be officially enrolled in COOP Design Research at the office of: Mr. Sebastian Krug

Email: sebastian.krug(at).hs-anhalt.de Building M (Mensa / Canteen), Room 201.

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 9:00 – 12:30 and 1:30 – 3:30

You will be asked for: – passport and visa – confirmation of admission from Anhalt University – registration document from town hall – proof of health insurance – proof of the payment of the students fee After you have completed the paper work, you will get your students card as well as login data for your university email and for the online platform. You will need your new email address to recieve all important information during the semester and the online platform to keep an overview of your grades and credits.

Student Housing

The housing administration responsible for the three student dorms in Dessau is the "Studentenwerk Halle". Applications are considered according to the date of their registration at the Studentenwerk. At the moment there are more students applying than there are rooms, so the earlier you apply the better are your chances! You can only apply though the Studentenwerkhalle online application form. Here is also an overview of Student Dorms in Dessau for your Orientation.

Contact details of the Housing Administration: STUDENTENWERK HALLE Wohnplatzvermittlung Köthen, Dessau und Bernburg Fasanerieallee 1a Mensa 1. OG 06366 Köthen wpvkoethen(at)studentenwerk-halle.de

If there are no rooms available in the dorms, we would like to refer you to: CAMPUS COORDINATOR in Dessau Mrs. Yili Lu Yili.Lu(at)hs-anhalt.de   +49 340 5197 1518

Master Thesis Abstracts

Selection of successfully completed Master's Theses You will find abstracts of successfully completed Master's Theses as pdf for download located on our external website. Please follow this link to visit the COOP Design Research page to view the thesis abstracts.

Link: coopdesignresearch.de

There are currently no documents available in this area.

MSc thesis examples

Brand Development in technical start-ups

This integrated master thesis presents the outcomes of a conducted research to obtain a double master degree of the masters Strategic Product Design and Science Communication. This research focused on brand development in technical start-ups before product launch. Both a practical and a theoretical study has been conducted, which resulted in a new brand and market introduction plan for the technical start-up Magic Mitad and a brand identity development tool for technical start-ups, the Brand-ID tool. A physical tool in the form of a booklet that guides entrepreneurs in the creation of a brand identity until the design of a logo.  Read more.

Resilience in Information Centric Networks and the Analogy with Human Collaborative Networks

In this thesis, we look into two different researches with the same basis; information centric networking. Enhanced resilience is one of the often mentioned advantages of this paradigm shift in internet networks. However, this resilience is not quantified in literature so far. In this thesis the information resilience of hierarchical ICN topologies is analytically approached, allowing us to quantify the enhanced information resilience. Furthermore, understanding information sharing in human collaborative networks is shown to be very complex. The caching mechanisms in ICN are very suitable for building up an analogy with human collaborative networks, to increase the understanding of information sharing in human collaborative networks. We build up the analogy, and investigate the notion of resilience in a human collaborative network through 3 consecutive experiments. The aim of this part of the research is to enhance insights in human collaborative networks from a cybernatic point of view.  Read more.

An approach for businesses to increase customer's willingness to share personal information online

Double degree of Master of Science in Science Communication & Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis, and Management / SEPAM: Technology Policy and Management / Department: Engineering, Systems and Services + SEC: Applied Physics / Department: Science Communication - In the era of digital communication, the relationship between businesses and customers has changed. Businesses provide online personalized services within their ecosystem based on customer data, but at the same time, customers are reluctant to share personal information. In this article, an online trust building tool is proposed to increase customer’s willingness to share information. A conceptual model is constructed on the relationship between customers sharing information in an online context and businesses providing online personalized services. Customer conditions for information sharing from the conceptual model are validated by a survey under a selection of Transavia airlines’ customers. After conducting a principal component and linear regression analysis, it is found that these customers do not necessarily find monetary or non-monetary benefits the most important conditions for online sharing information. Moreover, gender and age do not have influence. The factor that appears most important for sharing information relates to trust. Customers with a higher general trust and higher institutional trust, are willing to share more personal information with the company. Therefore, literature on trust building is reviewed and four trust building principles are constructed: experience, security, transparency, and trusted sources. For each of the principles, constructs are identified in literature and validated by exploratory customer interviews. The list of constructs is the input for a trust building tool for companies to increase their online trustworthiness. The tool is a basis for a discussion with businesses. These discussions can create insights in how a business can become more trustworthy in the eyes of the customer, and can as a result lead to gaining more customer information.  Read more.

Real time communication in shipbuilding

This integrated master thesis presents the outcomes of a research conducted to obtain a double master degree of the masters Strategic Product Design and Science Communication. The research focusses on the communication and collaboration between the engineering and a remote production department in during the ship production phase. A communication process and tool are proposed to improve the collaboration between engineering and production and to create closed feedback loops and shared responsibility fro the quality of the ship. The process focusses on the detection, indication and correction of problems in the ship production phase.  Read more.

Facilitating promotive voice for contributing to sustainable innovation

Sustainable innovation is essential for companies to stay in competition. The first phase of sustainable innovation is idea generation. Ideas for improvement can come from all employees, among whom employees that operate machines. The problem is that companies that strive for sustainable innovation often do not use the potential of their operators’ ideas for improvement. Therefore, this research aims to gain insight in how companies that strive for sustainable innovation can facilitate operators to display promotive voice. When operators share their ideas for improvement, this is called promotive voice. This leads to the research question: How can changes in the organizational context increase the probability that operators display promotive voice in companies that strive for sustainable innovation? Sub-questions are (i) What stimulates and limits promotive voice, according to literature? (ii) To what extent do operators, team leaders and management at Van Houtum B.V. find sustainability an important motive for improvement? (iii) To what extent do operators at Van Houtum B.V. perceive barriers and stimulants to display promotive voice? (iv) How can Van Houtum B.V. increase the likelihood that operators display promotive voice by changing the organizational context? This research question will be answered for one case company, by performing a design-based research. A theoretical framework is constructed and applied to this case study. An intervention aims to change an element of the organizational context. The effect of this intervention is used to reflect on the theoretical framework. According to the theoretical framework, companies that strive for sustainable innovation can increase the likelihood that operators display promotive voice by influencing a set of individual and contextual constructs, or by influencing how important their employees value different motives for an idea. (A motive for an idea is how important the individual assesses the envisioned outcome of the idea.) At the case company, eight motives for an idea were identified; to make work processes safer, more sustainable, cheaper, cleaner, easier, faster, give more production, or produce products with better quality. According to importance, respondents ranked the motive more sustainable on the third place, out of eight. Besides, operators appeared to experience many barriers and stimulants for promotive voice, of which the greatest barrier was the feeling that their ideas are not heard. An intervention that aimed to reduce this barrier indeed resulted in an increased likelihood that operators display promotive voice, but this effect was limited. According to team leaders, the likelihood that operators display promotive voice had slightly increased, because operators felt more heard. Yet, operators did not notice this change. In conclusion: In theory, there are many starting points for companies to increase the likelihood that operators display promotive voice, but in practice it is not easy to effectively change the organizational context in favor of promotive voice. The revised theoretical framework replaced individual and contextual constructs by critical variables for promotive voice. By validating `being heard' as a critical variable and identifying more critical variables, further research can develop a model that describes the decision of individuals to display promotive voice.  Read more.

Idea Generation in University Cities

New ideas and innovation are the fuel to the modern knowledge economy. The university has for centuries been part of the innovation system responsible for the development of new ideas. Today, the interdisciplinary character and complexity of societal issues makes that there is a need for new methods to support innovation development at university. This thesis has sought for these methods from two different perspectives: that of the urban design of the university city (Section 1) and that of the learning process of its students (Section 2). Section 1 aims at developing an urban design approach for creating innovation space in the university city by conducting design-based research. Section 2 uses critical reflection as a method to give insight in the integration of design and research in Section 1.  Read more.

Smart Support: Design and implementation of a man-machine interaction to increase group collaboration and decision making for marketers in the energy sector.

Collaborating and communicating across disciplinary boundaries in Biomedical Engineering

This graduation thesis forms an inquiry into the cross-disciplinary collaborative practice in Biomedical Engineering in the Netherlands. The rationale of this study was provided by Professor Jenny Dankelman (BioMechanical Engineering, TU Delft) who indicated that she would like to gain better understanding of the collaboration process of technical experts and health care experts. Professor Dankelman’s experiences and a literature study showed that cross-disciplinary collaboration is challenging because of diverse group of disciplinary experts with differing perspectives need to develop a common working understanding in their collaborative project. To explore how these challenges took form in cross-disciplinary collaboration in Biomedical Engineering in the Netherlands, we conducted a qualitative case study of a cross-disciplinary project between a technical university and a peripheral hospital (the DORA project). The main goal was to create more awareness within team DORA of the challenges and opportunities of the collaboration process. We used Deanna D. Pennington’s framework of team actualization as a conceptual springboard to empirical investigation. She maintains that effective cross-disciplinary collaboration depends partly on a group’s capacity to value different disciplinary perspectives appropriately and to accommodate those perspectives in a shared research vision that makes full use of the diverse expertise available in the group. Team actualization represents an ideal type of situation in which cross-disciplinary experts can work autonomously but the team is effective because every expert knows how his/her fits in the shared vision that drives the team effort. The main research question of this research project was as follows: To what extent does team actualization enable participants of the DORA project in the collaboration process? To answer this research question we employed a qualitative research strategy and an inductive-deductive approach to data analysis. The concepts constituting team actualization were used as sensitizing concepts in setting up an interview guide for semi-structured interviewing. Sensitizing concepts are often used in qualitative research as springboards to investigate empirical instances. The main research method comprised 9 semi-structured interviews with key participants of the DORA project. These data were complemented by observations of interactions between participants in the DORA project at 11 meetings. We used a thematic analysis to analyze the data. This process was initially inductive of nature, which means that the first interviews were coded using ‘open’ codes that stayed close to the data. These codes were used to set up a ‘closed’ coding framework with which the remaining interviews were coded. The observational notes were used as aid in the interpretation of themes that emerged from the interview data. The findings of this study suggest that team actualization within the context of the DORA project is characterized by the following: •The research vision of the technical university researchers incorporated the interests of the hospital and acted as an important driver of this collaboration. The vision was broadly supported by the team members and seemed to mediate the different perspectives that were present in this collaboration. •The team of researchers and health care professionals had a contact group as the main decision-making organ. The long-standing relationships and familiarity between key members of the contact group had resulted in a firm basis of trust, which manifested itself in informal decision-making based on verbal agreements. •One team member played a crucial role in safeguarding the substantive progress of the collaboration by monitoring research activities in the hospital. In this way she was pivotal to the effectiveness of team DORA’s collaboration process and therefore helped team DORA to become actualized. Based on our findings we want to raise team DORA’s awareness for the following points: •Team DORA is effective in reaching their goals due to the presence of a content manager in the collaboration process. This is potentially a good strategy for effective collaboration because the team does not need to set up a very dense substantive shared vision in which all individual perspectives of team members are incorporated. Then the team should enable one member to be the manager of the collaboration process and explicitly discuss what he or she needs to make the collaboration move forward. •When a content manager is elusive, team members will probably have to build a substantive shared vision for the collaboration to progress. The firm basis of trust can then be used a springboard to a substantive shared vision that integrates different disciplinary perspectives present in the collaboration. •According to the points above, there are two ways for team DORA to expand their network. First, a new actor may be familiar with the common history of interaction and the long-standing relationships of team DORA. The basis of trust of team DORA will probably ensure an easy entry of the new actor into the team. Second, a new actor may be interested to join the collaboration, but not have the proper social connections with team DORA. According to our understanding of the collaborative process of team DORA, this means that the content manager will be the main entry point for the new actor. According to our knowledge, this is the first social scientific study into cross-disciplinary collaboration in Biomedical Engineering in the Netherlands. We hope that this inspires further study of the collaborative practice in this field and we recommend the following topics for future research: • What organizational structured and management styles are required for effective cross-disciplinary collaboration (in terms of reaching intended goals) in Biomedical Engineering? • How do the social relationships between different disciplinary experts in a collaboration affect communication in cross-disciplinary problem solving in Biomedical Engineering? •How do individual differences in framing of the content of a collaboration (research problem, goals etc.) affect communication in cross-disciplinary problem solving in Biomedical Engineering?  Read more.

Social desirability and mobility impacts of early forms of automated vehicles

Double degree thesis: Part A: Civil Engineering Part B: Science Communication The first forms of automated vehicles (level 1 and 2) are already available at dealers, and next levels are being developed at this moment (level 3 and up). Literature indicates two development paths for automated vehicles: an autonomous and a cooperative path. Autonomous vehicles only monitor the driving environment, whereas cooperative vehicles also communicate with other vehicles or roadside systems. This thesis consists of two parts: one (part A) researching the mobility impact of these two development paths, the second (part B) develops a method to include the public in decision making around automated vehicles. Part A: Modelling the mobility impacts of automated vehicles Governments are eager to know the impacts that automated vehicles have on mobility. Investment plans and policies can be made with this information. Current macroscopic models that assess the large-scale impacts of automated vehicles are complex, unsuitable for explorations with many uncertainties and are not able to simulate multiple vehicle types. This thesis aims to explore the impacts of early forms of automated vehicles (level 1, 2 and 3) on mobility. To cope with this problem a System Dynamics model (SD-model) is built. This model is based on the structure of the ScenarioExplorer, a model developed by TNO in the 1990s. The SD-model is strongly explorative and does not make use of an explicit road network. The goal of this model is to capture the most important effects of automated vehicles, but not to go into all the details. As the structure is simple and the run time is short, the model can be used to assess different scenarios. In this model the road capacity, value of time and fuel economy effects of automated vehicles are researched. The different levels of automated vehicles are modelled as different user classes in the mode choice, time of day choice and the assignment. This is novel for modelling automated vehicles on a large scale. In the assignment PCU factors depended on the penetration rate are used per vehicle automation class. This PCU makes it possible to translate results of microsimulations easily to large scale models and to simulate mixed traffic. The SD-model is compared to three macroscopic models and historic data and shows similar results. In addition, other tests point out that the model is suitable for explorative studies. Simulations with the SD-model show that due to the benefits automated vehicles bring, they will lead to extra car traffic in all researched scenarios. In the cooperative development path, the travel times on characteristic relations will roughly stay the same due to capacity benefits. In the autonomous development path, the average speeds drop due to less capacity benefits. The model shows that early forms of automated vehicles will not reduce congestion and in most scenarios have a negative effect on mobility. The only benefits early forms of automated vehicles entail are for the drivers, but not for mobility as a whole. Governments should therefore invest in other measures to stimulate the mobility. Due to the increase in car traffic, more emissions are expected. Part B: A more responsible innovation through the use of a constructive dialogue Societal impacts of automated vehicles can be large, not only on mobility, but also on safety, privacy or security. Complicating aspect is that automated vehicles both influence the living environment of the consumers and other road users. Literature indicates that at this moment the public (both user and other road users) are important stakeholders, but are not enough involved in the automated vehicle innovation. Due to this, and other flaws, the automated vehicle innovation cannot be called a responsible innovation. not involving the public constitutes the risk of neglecting their fundamental ethical principles, as their opinions remain unheard. This research aims to develop a method to involve important actors and to translate their ethical principles into starting points for a design of future automated vehicles. The values of four important actor groups (the government, manufacturers, consumers and non-consumers) are investigated. The method aims to be a constructive dialogue method. The value profiles created from the questionnaire show that opinions of the various actors differ. All actors agree that safety is the most important value. Differences are that the government and non-consumer value traffic flow, whereas the car manufacturers value spending time differently and self-determination for the driver. The cooperative path therefore seems attractive for the government and the non-users, whereas the car manufacturers are most likely to be in favour of the autonomous path. The survey shows no preference for one of the two paths from the consumer. The value profiles created from the questionnaire show that opinions of the actors differ. All actors agree that safety is the most important value. Differences are that the government and non-consumer value traffic flow, whereas the car manufacturers value spending time differently and self-determination for the driver. The cooperative path therefore seems attractive for the government and the non-users, whereas the car manufacturers are in favour of the autonomous path. The survey shows no preference for one of the two paths for the consumer. To create a common value profile a dialogue is needed, this is done in workshops. Tests with the constructive dialogue workshops show promising results: tensions in values become clear and the students reach consensus in the workshop. This is empirical evidence for what Van de Poel (2013) describes in his paper on specifying values to design requirements. The set-up seems to be a way to involve the different actors. This method is therefore a step towards a more responsible innovation for automated vehicles. Another promising aspect of the method is that the new ideas which are not mentioned in literature on self-driving cars arise in the sessions. This research contributes to a more responsible innovation as stakeholders are involved. Still, other important steps have to be taken. The method which is developed in this thesis should be used by manufacturers to give input to future designs or by governments for policies. Future research should focus on the validation of the workshops and the embedding of the method.  Read more.

Reciprocity in Wind Farm Development: An Applied and Theoretical Approach

Communication in wind farm development is complex. A relationship between wind farm developers and residents which is based on reciprocity can lead to the trust and commitment necessary to deal with these complexities. The role of reciprocity is researched in a case study and a network model of reciprocity is developed. Implementing the findings of the case study in the model gives insight in the conditions for which communication leads to mutual advantage for wind farm developers and residents.  Read more.

Video-based assessment of communication during cardiopulmonary bypass & a case on responsible innovation

This report is written for partial fulfillment of two master degrees. Part A1 and A2 are written for the master Science Communication, whereas Part B is written for the master Biomedical Engineering. The goal of this thesis therefore was twofold. The goal of part A was to formulate recommendations on the responsible use of video recordings in operating team research. To this end first a theoretical framework was developed on Responsible Research and Innovation and then this framework was applied in a case study at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), where video recordings were used to study communication during cardiac surgery. The same video recordings were used in part B of this thesis to develop a quality standard for the verbal interactions of surgeon, anesthetists and perfusionists during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures.  Read more.

Responsible Digital Hospitality Quality Measurement to Facilitate Reflective Communication

In this study, a unique combination of concepts such as hospitality, digitalisation and responsible research and innovation is brought together in the Responsible Digital Hospitality Quality Scale. This conceptual tool is more than a website benchmark or customer satisfaction measurement tool. It measurably defines responsible digital hospitality in six key domains and twenty-three elements using a visual representation of individual element scores and thereby enables digital brand owners, designers and communication experts to constructive communication and self-reflection on a status of a digital brand. The aim of reflexivity and real time assessment are tested in a small focus group session with digital experts. Literature study and expert insights are combined in an iteration process of tool design in order to develop a valid tool in survey format. Additionally, a theoretical framework is developed that combines theories of electronic service quality, user experience, RRI and interactivity. This framework could possibly function as talkative tool alone, however is not further researched within this study. More extended research on figure representation and inclusion of fun elements could provide extra value to the RDH quality tool design in the future.  Read more.

Social learning for sustainable food: Recommendations to facilitate social learning in practice within the governmental programme Knowledge and Education Deal Food.

The networked brand identity: Management support tool for tension analysis in brand identity networks concerning privacy

A corporate brand is a complex construct, which might be difficult to manage because of a lack of insight into the network of relevant influencers. Sense Observation Systems (Sense) is a small software company developing software that helps users to get information from the sensor data of their telephones. Sense is aware of the possible threats to privacy users of their products might perceive and wishes to express their vision on privacy in the corporate brand. The communication manager aiding Sense in their external communications works for their parent company Almende. Almende advocates self-organization and the bottom-up approach that goes with it. Sense therefore wishes to manage their corporate brand with as little management as possible. The proposed self-organizing approach is a novelty in corporate brand management. This research aims to aid the communication manager of Almende in managing Sense’s corporate brand. To help the communication manager in this management task, we defined the following research question: How to manage the corporate brand of Sense Observation Systems so as to encompass the principles on end-user privacy present within the corporation? --Method-- Semi-structured interviews were used to gather insight into how principles on end-user privacy are present within the corporation. A total eight respondents were interviewed: six employees of Sense, and two of the parent company Almende. The respondents cover different functions in the company: four software developers, two managers, and two other members of staff. A conceptual model for brand management was developed from relevant literature and used to structure the interviews. Six identity types were linked to the corporate brand to distinguish between personnel, products, corporate communication, clients, market, and vision. In the interviews was searched for Sense-specific actors (humans, artefacts, policy, organizations, etc.) represented in these identity types. The interviews provided the following information needed for the conceptual model: • 75 actors from all identity types influencing the corporate brand; • 7 aspects of privacy relevant for Sense; and • the distribution of privacy aspects over the actors. --Results-- From the 75 actors we defined 10 representative actor clusters, each cluster consisting of actors with similar associated privacy aspects and from identical identity types. For each of the privacy aspects, we visually analysed the tension within the actors network using the privacy landscapes defined in the conceptual model. Based upon the preference of Sense employees and network analysis results, we advised Sense to focus on the privacy aspect use limitation. We also advised to add more stable elements to the actor network, so that core values become more embedded in the network. The practical suggestions of such stable elements were to develop a corporate slogan, build a product showcasing the corporate values, develop a market strategy leading to clients fitting the corporate values, write out the corporate vision so that it becomes more public. --Conclusion and discussion-- The developed privacy landscapes enable us to indicate points of attention in the actor network attributing to the corporate brand of Sense. Also, the advice to manage the company brand using stable elements increases the practical applicability; the effort for the communications manager at Almende can therefore decrease over time. The developed method is a novelty in brand management because of its ability to visually point out actors unaligned to the (preferred) corporate brand. Furthermore, the method provides insight not only in misalignments between but also within identity types by the use of actor clusters. Information privacy research might benefit from the observation of the following privacy aspects that were not found in literature: ownership of the data collected about a person, restriction of access to user data for the company where data is stored, how ownership is distributed in issues concerning multiple parties, and the depersonalisation of data so that it can not be traced back to an individual. We believe that the developed method and resulting privacy landscapes can be applied to other companies using different concepts in order to find points of attention within the corporate actor network. We recommend to reduce the possibilities for observer bias in the methodology by replacing the individual semi-structured interviews with group sessions. with Participants in such sessions have limited observer influence and can determine concepts for the brand identity and label and cluster actors. Instead of a research approach, the group sessions would be more similar to creative sessions.  Read more.

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Master's Thesis Research

Prereq: All course work toward the degree must be completed. Note: Registration for this course is not available via telephone (UK-VIP) or webUK. For enrollment information contact the Graduate School at 257-4905.

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MIT's DSpace contains more than 58,000 theses completed at MIT dating as far back as the mid 1800's. Theses in this collection have been scanned by the MIT Libraries or submitted in electronic format by thesis authors. Since 2004 all new Masters and Ph.D. theses are scanned and added to this collection after degrees are awarded.

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At michigan state university, kellen mcgee wins particle accelerator science and technology doctoral student award.

Kellen McGee, a former graduate research assistant at FRIB, has earned the 2024  Particle Accelerator Science and Technology (PAST) Doctoral Student Award. This is the first time a Michigan State University (MSU) student has received this award.

Presenting the PAST Doctoral Student Award is the  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society . An individual receives this award if their doctoral thesis demonstrates significant technical contributions to the particle accelerator science and technology field. McGee earned the award for her experimental work with novel medium-velocity sub-gigahertz superconducting resonators. These resonators are crucial for continuous-wave operation in hadron linear accelerators (linacs).

While at FRIB, McGee’s focus was on optimizing 644 MHz 5-cell elliptical superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities for the  FRIB400 upgrade .

“Her thesis work was to improve the performance of superconducting cavities for FRIB400 and similar applications and eventually reduce the cost of such facilities,” said Peter Ostroumov, professor of physics at FRIB and in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and associate director of the FRIB Accelerator Systems Division.

McGee’s research explored nitrogen N-doping properties in a sub-GHz frequency cavity required for heavy-ion acceleration. Ostroumov said it is intriguing both from a fundamental physics perspective and from the standpoint of maturing the technology for use in an entire production run for a real-world machine.

“Her highly creative and hard work resulted in setting a world-record quality factor for a cavity at the FRIB400 operating gradient,” Ostroumov said.

McGee is now an engineering physicist II at  Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), where she spent time during her graduate studies. She is continuing her work in SRF cavity development. McGee credits MSU and FRIB for preparing her to be a leader in machine construction and commissioning.

“I chose MSU/FRIB for the very unique opportunity to not only study accelerator physics, but to do so in the midst of a facility that was building and commissioning a world-leading superconducting linear accelerator from the ground up,” she said. “Since MSU/FRIB developed the infrastructure to undertake nearly all parts of the construction process, from radio-frequency cavity chemical processing and testing, to full cryomodule assembly and ultimately linac commissioning, I had the rare but incredible opportunity to witness and learn from each of these steps firsthand.”

FRIB provides students with a valuable perspective on machine design, construction, and commissioning. This prepares them to lead upcoming major construction projects, like CERN's Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee). Other projects include the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) and subsequent accelerator complex upgrades at Fermilab. Students may also be involved in potential future upgrades to FRIB.

McGee will receive the award at the  2024 International Particle Accelerator Conference , 19-24 May, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Michigan State University (MSU) operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. User facility operation is supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics as one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities.

The  U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science  is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit  energy.gov/science .

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Category: Graduate Students

Life in the Lab

June 05, 2024 Written by Molly Schafer | Photos by Jeremy Wayman

University of Delaware alumna Mackenzie Sharp studies bacteria and the microbiome. After graduating from the UD's non-thesis M.S. in Animal Science in 2022, Sharp began working at the Wilmington International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) location. Sharp spends her days working with gut bacteria in an anaerobic chamber. As an associate scientist at IFF, she performs microbiology research for Next Gen Probiotics (NGP). 

“I work in a lab every day, which is very cool,” explained Sharp. “And not something that I particularly saw myself originally going into when I was an undergraduate, but I love this job so much.”

The non-thesis master’s in Animal Science with a concentration in Veterinary Biosciences, Biotechnology, and One Health (VBBOH) at the University of Delaware includes an individual research experience requirement. Sharp worked with Prof. Hong Li to perform research on chickens for her research experience.

For Sharp, it was a formative experience. 

“The University of Delaware got me into research, and I ended up really enjoying it. And I saw how it could benefit me in the future,” said Sharp. 

After completing the credit requirements, Sharp asked to stay on the project. 

”I was able to stay and was offered a part-time job,” Sharp noted.

Sharp says her UD research with Prof. Li helped prepare her for her current role. 

”In Prof. Li’s lab, we had weekly lab meetings, which is very similar to what I do now.” emphasized Sharp. “At the University of Delaware, "I presented every week and learned how to present data properly as a visual. That was very helpful and prepared me well for this job."  

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic amid shutdowns and hiring freezes, Sharp graduated with her UD  undergraduate degree in pre-veterinary medicine . Sharp took stock of the situation and decided it was the right time for graduate school.

“It was bizarre to be graduating,” recalled Sharp. "I decided to apply for the non-thesis M.S. in Animal Science graduate program. I didn’t know what the next step would be for me if it wasn't vet school. I ended up loving the program and loving the research.” 

Sharp attests that the program set her apart and allowed her to excel in her career.

“I loved my time at the University of Delaware. I miss it a lot,” underscored Sharp. “As a UD student, you feel like you are a part of something bigger.”

About UD’s non-thesis M.S. in Animal Science >

Related news, ud’s non-thesis m.s. in animal science prepares kayla pettiford for veterinary school, decoding rice roots.

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