This chapter includes descriptions of the study design, sample, setting, procedures, data collection methods, and data analysis of the research study. The data collection instrument used in the study will be described. The research questions and hypotheses from Chapter One will be repeated in this chapter.
Introduction
Incivility is a growing problem in nursing education and in higher education campuses and classrooms. What is still largely unknown is whether or not incivility is more prevalent in
nursing education than in other disciplines. The purpose of this causal comparative study is to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of student and faculty incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) among the three academic majors of nursing, education, and business in a large public university as measured by the Incivility in Higher Education survey to determine if perceptions of incivility are higher among nursing students. The study is framed by Heider’s attribution theory, which focuses on how social perceivers seek to understand and interpret events or the behaviors of self and others by attributing causality (Heider, 1958). Undergraduate upperclassmen students from the disciplines of nursing, education, and business were asked to participate in a survey that inquired about their understanding of incivility, their perceptions of its occurrence within their programs, and their perceptions of how often the behaviors occur. The present study adds to the body of knowledge about the prevalence of incivility in higher education, and specifically in nursing education, by determining if there are differences in the disciplines. The results of the study will help college administrators and faculty address incivility within higher education and serves as a foundation for further study to identify the characteristics of students and faculty
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within specific disciplines that may impact the level of incivility. Additionally, findings from the study can form the basis for further research to identify possible specific antecedents that may contribute to the existence of incivility in specific disciplines within higher education.
Design
A causal comparative research design was used to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of student and faculty incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) among the three academic disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by the Incivility in Higher Education survey. A causal comparative design was chosen because the researcher did not manipulate the independent variable but looked for variations between naturally occurring groups to find differences in student perceptions of incivility among the groups (Gall et al., 2007). In causal comparative studies, the independent variables are measured in categories (Gall et al., 2007). The independent variable in this study is discipline of study (nursing, education, and business) and is measured as categories. The dependent variable is students’ perceptions of student and faculty incivility and is operationally defined as upperclassmen students’ perceptions of student and faculty incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) which includes rude, discourteous behavior, speech or attitudes that are condescending, and disrespectful or
potentially violent verbal and non-verbal behaviors (Clark et al., 2009; Gallo, 2012). In causal comparative studies, randomization is not always possible, but attempts are made to reach homogeneity between the groups (Rovai et al., 2013). Homogeneity in this study is assumed by using only undergraduate upperclassmen students in their baccalaureate programs in the same university and was tested with Levene’s test for equality of error variances (Pallant, 2010).
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Data collection in this study utilized the quantitative Incivility in Higher Education survey. The survey, which is available from the survey designer, was administered to the
participants in a one-time event, using an online survey method. The survey was available to the students for a two-week period during the spring semester.
Research Question and Hypotheses
The overarching research question that drove this study was:
RQ1: Is there a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen
students’ perceptions of student and faculty incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) among the three academic disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by the Incivility in Higher Education survey?
Hypotheses
The research question addresses the students’ perceptions of incivility among three disciplines. The construct of incivility is made up of the components of disruptive and threatening behaviors. The hypotheses for the research question are listed below.
H1: There is a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of overall student incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education Survey.
H2: There is a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of overall faculty incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education survey.
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H3: There is a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of how often student disruptive behaviors occur among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education survey.
H4: There is a statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of how often faculty disruptive behaviors occur among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education survey.
H5: There is a significantly significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of how often student threatening behaviors occur among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education survey.
H6: There is a significantly significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of how often faculty threatening behaviors occur among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education survey.
The null hypotheses are as follows:
H01: There is no statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen students’ perceptions of overall student incivility (disruptive and threatening behaviors) among the disciplines of nursing, education, and business at a large public university as measured by an aggregated score of the Incivility in Higher Education Survey.
H02: There is no statistically significant difference in undergraduate upperclassmen