D ELIMITATIONS

The field of research pedagogy or, more widely speaking, RDI pedagogy is large. Careful demarcation is therefore crucial to ensure that the current research project stays within the scope of a master’s thesis, and focuses on a manageable substantive area within the confines of the phenomenon.

Firstly, regarding the type of grounded theory, a middle-range or formal theory based on widening the scope of one or more substantive theories (for definitions, see Corbin & Strauss 2008, 56) is outside the scope of a master’s thesis. Glaser and Strauss stress the importance of making a clear selection between substantive and formal theories when commencing a research project.

Substantive and formal theories exist on distinguishable levels of generality, which differ on in terms of degree. Therefore, in any one study, each type can shade at points into the other. The analyst, however, should focus clearly on one level or other, or on a specific combination, because the strategies vary for arriving at each one. (Glaser & Strauss 1967, 33.)

Secondly, the field of RDI pedagogy in the context academic studies is a wide area of study.

Finnish HE follows the three cycle (bachelor, master, doctorate) structure of degrees agreed for the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Additionally, the accord allows national intermediate qualifications, which in the Finnish context is a licenciate degree below the doctoral degree. The structure was set up as a result of the Bologna Accord process, which aimed to ensure the comparability of HE qualifications across member countries (Conference of European Ministers Resonsible for Higher Education 2005, 2). Examined from the perspective of the HE structure, this

study was delimited using the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria shown in figure 1 (areas highlighted green).The focus was on the final academic project, the bachelor thesis, required in many first-cycle bachelor degree curricula. Within the bachelor thesis, the focus was on the planning stages of the thesis project, specifically.

FIGURE 2.A conceptualization of RDI pedagogy by the type of project, level of academic study, and the stage of thesis or dissertation process. The areas shaded green indicate the demarkation of the study.

Thesis projects are mostly done individually, although small group (2–3 persons) theses are allowed. In the metropolitan region UAS business degree program studied, two-person theses are a rarity and three-person theses are not done. RDI projects completed in courses were not considered. The main difference between thesis and course projects is that course projects typically utilize team-based social learning pedagogies and collaborative writing. Thus, the amount of peer assistance in course projects is much higher than in thesis projects. The outcome of the thesis planning stage is a research proposal or plan with information on the title, the background to the study, the research question, research objectives, method, literature review, timescale and references (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2009, 41–45). It should be noted that the type of proposal produced by the business students investigated here did not require a thorough literature review, but rather indication of key concepts, theories and models suited for the specific needs of the project. Additionally, the methods chapter indicated only key methods to be used without much methodological argumentation. Also the references list was typically a very tentative one.

Workshop(s) or seminar(s)

Thesis & dissertation supervision & peer feedback

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION (RDI) PEDAGOGY

Both research and project or product oriented theses were covered. Part of the Finnish UAS theses are traditional research oriented theses following some version of the IMRD reporting structure. Increasingly, however, students are completing project or product oriented theses, where, instead of a research question divided into investigative questions, they formulate a project objective divided into project tasks. The outcome of a project oriented thesis can be, for example, an event in a trade fair or a social media advertising campaign. The product oriented theses are more focused on producing physical ‘products’, such as, sales manuals tailored to commissioning company needs, packaging designs or warehouse plans. Many institutions do not differentiate between project and product oriented theses, but use the terms interchangeably, because the line between a project and a product can be hard to draw.

Lastly, the conditional/consequential matrix was utilized to locate and focus on the most relevant levels of analysis for purposes of data collection, analysis and theorizing. Corbin and Strauss (2008, 90) developed the matrix to help analysts “relate structure to process”, that is, contextual conditions and consequences to human action, interaction and emotion (FIGURE 3).

The outermost rings represent macro context (structure). The level of analysis focuses on a smaller and smaller context until, in the center, lies the individual person’s micro context (structure). Since it is possible to “study any substantive topic within any area of the matrix” (Corbin & Strauss 2008, 95), it is important to make a conscious delimitation to ensure that the data collection remains focused at all times, and, consequently, the scope of the thesis remains within that of a master’s thesis. The study at hand keys in on the personal experiences of UAS bachelor thesis candidates in the early stages of the thesis process. In other words, the analytical focus is on the core level of “action pertaining to a phenomenon” (yellow area in FIGURE 3). As Corbin and Strauss (2008, 93) point out, however, whatever the focus, the outer layers influence and cross over to the inner layers, and vice versa, often in unanticipated ways. Hence the analysis will also touch on other levels, such as, “interaction”, collective”, “organizational and sub-institutional”, “organizational and sub-institutional”, and “community”.

In the context of this study, up to the “organizational and institutional” layers, the thesis candidate is interacting with the educational institution and its faculty (green circles in FIGURE 3).

The “community” level, on the other hand, refers to organizations and businesses that students aim to complete commissioned thesis projects for (blue circle in FIGURE 3). The “national” layer has an immence influence on all the inner layers as the political and legislative primum movens for the bachelor thesis. As it is not the focus of the study or the data collection, but rather sets the background for the activities investigated, it was presented above in chapters 1.1 through 1.3. The

“international or global” layer was not studied. But, about half of the respondents were

international students, which means that international aspects were present in the analysis to a degree.

FIGURE 3. Delimitation of the study shown on the conditional/consequential matrix of Strauss and Corbin (2008, 94; image reproduced by author).

Based on the above limitations, the results apply directly only to students undertaking their bachelor thesis project in the specific UAS business degree program investigated. The results may, however, be at least partly relevant for any Finnish UAS bachelor’ degree program where the institutional conditions of the thesis process are similar to the degree program studied.