NSF Award
2403932
Although the benefit of qualitative research and design methods is clear in social sciences and other fields, little is known about the need and impact of adding qualitative methods training for engineering students and professionals. The curriculum for undergraduate engineering students is heavily focused on developing quantitative skills that are inherent to the engineering discipline. Engineering professionals may need to expand their expertise and training to also include qualitative methods based on the interdisciplinary and evolving workplace. This project will introduce qualitative methods training into an existing engineering curriculum so that students acquire both quantitative and qualitative skills (i.e., "mixed methods"). This mixed methods approach may better prepare engineering professionals for interdisciplinary work. This research initiation proposal will include human-centered design (HCD) as an example. Qualitative methods, such as ethnography and interviews, can capture the complexity and preserve the context of the work environment within which a product that follows an HCD process is implemented. Quantitative methods, in addition to allowing for precise measurement and structured design principles, also allow for the manipulation of experimental conditions and measurement of dependent variables in a controlled setting. Thus, an ideal HCD process is a mixed-methods approach that leverages the advantages of both qualitative and quantitative methods and integrates them. This research will help enable future engineers to more systematically craft designs to better meet the needs of a wide diversity of clients. This project aligns with the National Science Foundation's Professional Formation of Engineers initiative; expanding engineering students' training to better prepare them for interdisciplinary work will contribute to creating and supporting an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for future engineers. <br/><br/>This project will investigate the potential benefit of a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative methods) to engineering design within the realm of HCD. This research is guided by three questions: (1) What are current mixed methods scenarios that are used in the practicing engineering community? (2) What is the impact of introducing qualitative methods training for engineering students using the HCD example? (3) What mixed-methods models can be developed using an HCD process? Investigating these questions has the potential to substantially advance our knowledge for preparing engineers as interdisciplinary professionals. Activities for the proposed research will include an assessment of rich and relevant mixed methods scenarios in the practicing engineering community. We will build from the relevant literature to understand specific problems and context, and the extent to which qualitative methods are helpful. We will then perform an experiment to understand what differences the inclusion of qualitative methods instruction has on engineering students' design solutions to HCD problems. We will then develop plans to weave qualitative methods training into the existing engineering curriculum, initially, within the University of Louisville's Department of Industrial Engineering. This work will engender future research that will formalize qualitative methods training for engineering students to equip them as mixed-methods professionals to engage in interdisciplinary endeavors. We will work with regional industry partners on using the results of this project to strengthen the application of qualitative methods in the practicing engineering community. Findings from this project can be used to develop a mixed methods workshop for engineering professionals, as well as other engineering educators for teaching purposes.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
