Reference

Glossary

Key instructional-design and dissertation terms used across the five modules. Hover any underlined term in a module to see the short definition; open this page for the full explanation.

Component Display Theory: Merrill's Component Display Theory (CDT) organizes learning around a matrix of content type × performance level. Each cell suggests a different combination of presentation forms — rule, example, practice, and feedback — so instruction is designed to the specific kind of knowing required, rather than a one-size-fits-all lecture.
Delimitations: Delimitations are the intentional boundaries the researcher set — population, setting, timeframe, constructs included and excluded. They are distinct from limitations, which are constraints outside the researcher's control (sample size, response rate, instrument reliability).
First Principles of Instruction: David Merrill's synthesis of instructional design research. Learning is promoted when learners engage a real-world problem and move through activation of prior knowledge, demonstration of the new skill, application with feedback, and integration into their own work. The five modules here are built on this arc.
Internal Validity: Internal validity is the degree to which a study's design rules out alternative explanations for its results. Chapter 3 must name the specific threats relevant to the design (selection, history, maturation, instrumentation, etc.) and describe how the procedures address them.
Limitations: Limitations are conditions the researcher could not control that qualify the study's conclusions — for example, a lower-than-planned response rate, self-report bias, or reliance on a single site. Chapter 5 must state limitations honestly and connect them to the strength of the recommendations.
Problem Statement: The problem statement names the specific gap — practical, theoretical, or empirical — that justifies the study. It is grounded in current literature (not opinion), narrows to something researchable, and is echoed by the purpose statement and central research question.
Purpose Statement: The purpose statement is a single, standardized sentence naming the design (qualitative/quantitative/mixed), the intent (explore/describe/compare/predict), the constructs, and the population. Committees look for it verbatim in Chapter 1 and expect it to align exactly with the problem and RQs.
Research Question: Research questions (RQs) operationalize the purpose statement into answerable, measurable questions. In Chapter 1 they must share the same essence as the problem and purpose; in Chapter 4 results must be organized by RQ (or by hypothesis, if the study is hypothesis-driven).
Rubric: A rubric names the criteria and performance levels used to score work. The STU dissertation rubric is chapter-specific: each chapter has its own set of required elements and its own definition of what 'excellent', 'acceptable', and 'needs revision' look like. Every module in this studio is calibrated to that rubric.
Synthesis: Synthesis integrates multiple sources around a common theme, agreement, tension, or gap. It is the defining move of Chapter 2. A chronological list of article summaries ('Smith found X. Jones found Y.') is not synthesis; comparing what Smith, Jones, and Patel collectively imply about a construct is.
Theoretical Framework: A theoretical framework names the theory that grounds the study — its constructs, propositions, and boundary conditions — and shows how those choices shape the problem, the research questions, the instruments, and the interpretation in Chapter 5. It is introduced in Chapter 1 and unpacked in Chapter 2.