Mining the mundane : using content analysis to explore what organizational documents say about what we truly value /
This case explores how academic department bylaws, an often-overlooked type of organizational document, can be used as data in qualitative content analysis. It's based on a study at a mid-sized, unionized university in the Midwest that was trying to increase faculty participation in program-lev...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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London :
SAGE Publications Ltd,
2025.
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| Series: | SAGE research methods cases.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | This case explores how academic department bylaws, an often-overlooked type of organizational document, can be used as data in qualitative content analysis. It's based on a study at a mid-sized, unionized university in the Midwest that was trying to increase faculty participation in program-level assessment. While classroom assessment is routine and tied to individual syllabi and grades, program assessment looks at whether students, as a group, have learned what a degree promises to deliver. It's a quality control mechanism, which is essential for accreditation and institutional credibility.The university had made program assessment a high-profile priority. They funded faculty travel to assessment conferences, gave out monetary awards for strong assessment plans, and offered summer stipends for faculty who wanted to improve their programs. But few faculty showed up. Participation was flat. The incentives weren't working.This led to a question: If administrators say assessment is important, is that reflected in the policies that govern what faculty get rewarded for? Using Schein's (1984) model of organizational culture, this study examined whether assessment work was embedded in departmental bylaws, the formal documents that guide promotion, tenure, and reappointment. The research involved 40 departments and more than 1,100 pages of documents. The case describes how we approached sampling, designed our categories, and handled coding decisions.Readers will learn how to conduct document-based research and explore how artefacts, like organizational documents, can reveal deeper cultural tensions within organizations. They will also come to understand that, although documents appear static and risk-free, researchers must consider the potential ethical and unintended downstream implications of their findings. Specifically, they will see how a collaborative approach using consensus coding within a summative content analysis framework can be applied to interpret complex textual data. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| ISBN: | 9781036242428 1036242420 |