Perceived positive and negative effects of participation in student construction management competitions: a qualitative priority mixed methods study

In the discipline of construction management (CM) student competitions are well thought of and have good construction industry support. Very little published research was found however addressing these competitions. This qualitative priority, mixed methods study collected qualitative data via interviews and quantitative data via surveys to learn what the perceived positive and negative effects of competition participation are, and what differences there might be between participants and non-participants in the competitions. The quantitative data from this study compared participants and non-participants in regard to starting salaries, GPA, and frequency of employment. However it did not produce statistically significant results in relation to any of these variables. Practical significance is however reported regarding the higher average starting salary of participants. Using a grounded theory research design, the study's qualitative data produced positive and negative effects of participation. The four negative effects that emerged in coding, are reported; expectations, resources, scoring methods, and time. Time was the most strongly supported of the negative effects and presents an interesting point in this study's findings because, time emerged as a negative effect and time management emerged as a positive effect of competition participation. This study was however, focused on the positive effects of competition participation. Eleven positive effects emerged; confidence, connecting all the dots, industry involvement leadership, motivation, presentation skills, problem solving, real world experience, teamwork, and time management. Following identification of these effects in open coding, construction industry involvement was identified as the central phenomenon connecting them in axial coding. The selective coding process then identified a cyclical pattern showing a connection between the positive effects, leadership and graduate key competencies, and construction industry involvement. The cycle tells the story of the phenomenon of student construction management competitions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Authors dc:creator

• Bigelow, Ben F., author
• Gloeckner, Gene W., advisor
• Glick, Scott A., advisor
• Guggemos, Angela, committee member
• Aragon, Antonette, committee member

• competition
• undergraduate
• mixed methods

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018691

Identifier

ETDF2012500287EDUC

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/71546