TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of the visualization tool dia2 in supporting stem researchers, educators, and administrators
AU - London, Jeremi
AU - McKenna, Ann
AU - Huang, Wen
AU - Molnar, Andreea
AU - Cruz, Samantha N.
N1 - Funding Information:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports 24% of all federally funded research conducted in America’s colleges and universities as part of its mission to ‘‘promote the progress of science’’ in the U.S. [1]. Projects in NSF’s portfolio of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education R&D have a scope of influence that addresses needs at various levels—from the individual to the systemic—and target a spectrum of needs that exist within the education ecosystem. Despite tremendous investments in STEM education throughout the existence of the agency, ongoing calls for ‘‘innovation’’ and ‘‘transformation’’ in higher education suggest that the greatest impact of NSF investments in STEM education research has not been realized, or at the very least is difficult to detect and define [2]. One premise of this study is that part of the reason the full potential of research has not been realized is because of limitations associated with the data revealing project outcomes. DIA2 is a cyberinfrastructure developed for the STEM community to make sense of NSF data that directly addresses some of the data challenges associated with NSF funded projects
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards TUES-1123108, TUES-1122609, and TUES-1123340. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Funding Information:
Acknowledgments—This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation awards TUES-1123108, TUES-1122609, and TUES-1123340. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 TEMPUS Publications.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - The impact of federally supported STEM education research is difficult to document, because knowledge resulting from research is deeply embedded in complex networks of social interactions, structures and artifacts. DIA2 is a web-based search and visualization tool designed to make knowledge associated with NSF-funded projects more accessible to the STEM education scholarly community. No studies have communicated its value to the community it was designed to serve. This study investigates users’ perceptions of DIA2’s usefulness for carrying out teaching, research, and administrative duties. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 89 principal investigators on NSF-funded grants. We used thematic analysis, and interpreted the results using the Distributed Cognition and the Affordances of Information and Communications Technology frameworks. Results indicated ten ways DIA2 is valuable for carrying out a spectrum of routine scholarly activities, including initiating research collaborations, preparing promotion and tenure documents, and informing strategic decisions. With increased accessibility to the knowledge DIA2 provides, we are better equipped to characterize the impact of federally supported STEM education R&D.
AB - The impact of federally supported STEM education research is difficult to document, because knowledge resulting from research is deeply embedded in complex networks of social interactions, structures and artifacts. DIA2 is a web-based search and visualization tool designed to make knowledge associated with NSF-funded projects more accessible to the STEM education scholarly community. No studies have communicated its value to the community it was designed to serve. This study investigates users’ perceptions of DIA2’s usefulness for carrying out teaching, research, and administrative duties. Using a qualitative interpretivist approach, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 89 principal investigators on NSF-funded grants. We used thematic analysis, and interpreted the results using the Distributed Cognition and the Affordances of Information and Communications Technology frameworks. Results indicated ten ways DIA2 is valuable for carrying out a spectrum of routine scholarly activities, including initiating research collaborations, preparing promotion and tenure documents, and informing strategic decisions. With increased accessibility to the knowledge DIA2 provides, we are better equipped to characterize the impact of federally supported STEM education R&D.
KW - Data knowledge
KW - Knowledge sharing
KW - Learning via discovery
KW - Value of information
KW - Visualization
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047560384
SN - 0949-149X
VL - 34
SP - 1104
EP - 1119
JO - International Journal of Engineering Education
JF - International Journal of Engineering Education
IS - 3
ER -