| The purposes of the study were to provide a comprehensive picture of the nature of all master's theses conducted between 1983--2002 in the Department of Curriculum & Teaching Methods at K.S.U. by examining characteristics of each thesis; and to determine any differences and associations in the master's theses characteristics regarding majors, gender, and two time periods.;To achieve the purposes of the study, the following research questions were addressed: What are the characteristics of master's theses conducted between 1983--2002 in the Department of Curriculum & Teaching Methods at K.S.U.? Are there differences among the aggregated variables (major, gender, and time periods) in the characteristics of master's theses? Are there differences between any two of the variables (major, gender, or time periods) in the characteristics of master's theses? and Are there differences in the characteristics of master's theses regarding each of the variables (major, gender, or time periods)?;Content analysis method was utilized to analyze a total of 240 master's theses written in the department between 1983--2002. Twenty-one descriptive categories were developed to analyze these master's theses. Then, validity and reliability estimates were accomplished. The loglinear model analysis was performed in the SAS System by using the CATMOD procedure.;The study first reported the general characteristics of master's theses revealed by the descriptive categories. Then, the specific characteristics of each major, male and female, and each time period were addressed. In addition, the differences among majors, gender, and time periods in these characteristics were presented.;The results revealed that there were no significant four-factor interactions among the aggregated variables in the characteristics of master's theses. However, there were two significant three-factor interactions. The first was among time periods, gender, and sources language that theses cited, and the second was among time periods, gender, and whether supervisors were the population of interest in theses or not. Furthermore, there were a total of 37 significant two-factor interactions in the characteristics of master's theses. Recommendations for future research and for the department were presented. |
