A real report from the trenches of a PhD dissertation: Exploring the inherent "messiness" of engineering education research through an audit trail

Abstract

Research publications show the clean, tidy version of the research process; however, the actual research process is rarely "neat" or "clean". This paper will expose the "messiness" I encountered during my qualitative, dissertation research. I present my research process as an audit trail outlining the decisions I made while developing and implementing my study of a group of undergraduate students working on a cross-disciplinary team. My goal in presenting an audit trail of my research is to present my work as a specific example to assist those just beginning their qualitative research journey. I want to make qualitative work more accessible to a broad audience while communicating the trustworthiness of my work through a detailed account of my research process. Individual readers may find that certain aspects of my research experience resonate more than others. I encourage you, the reader, to take what is useful, and consider if and how it might help advance your own research.