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Papers by Erin Breitenbach

International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Writing an argument is an essential skill for doctoral students in achieving academic and occupat... more Writing an argument is an essential skill for doctoral students in achieving academic and occupational success. Writing an argument effectively requires the ability to use correct writing mechanics, but doctoral students may tend to think their writing mechanics are better than they are, and their ability to write an argument effectively may be compromised as a result. At one university, this gap between student perceptions of their ability to write and their writing performance appeared to exist. A study was conducted to determine whether there was a mismatch between perceived writing self-efficacy and writing performance. Study results showed that higher perceived writing self-efficacy seems to be associated with certain mechanical writing errors, including wordiness and inaccurate grammar. Knowing this mismatch between writing self-efficacy and writing performance may exist is important (a) for students in terms of their awareness, and (b) for tertiary educators to better target ...

International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2019

Aim/Purpose: This qualitative case-study explores how a doctoral student’s family influences the ... more Aim/Purpose: This qualitative case-study explores how a doctoral student’s family influences the doctoral student’s success from the perspective of doctoral students who were enrolled in an online doctoral program. Background: Previous research has shown that family can significantly influence doctoral student success; however, it is not clear what is meant by family nor what the details of the influence of family look like from the perspective of the doctoral student. Methodology: A qualitative case-study method was used. More than 500 former students enrolled in an online doctoral program were emailed a web-based survey that elicited information about who they considered to be in their family, how they thought their relationship with their family changed while they were a doctoral student, and how much they thought their family understood what it means to be a doctoral student. One hundred thirty-three (24%) former students participated in the study. Qualitative data were analyzed...

International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2019

Aim/Purpose: New models of curriculum and instruction are needed to help increase completion rate... more Aim/Purpose: New models of curriculum and instruction are needed to help increase completion rates of doctoral programs, as only about half of all students who begin doctoral programs complete them. This paper presents preliminary results of an evaluation of a promising new model called the Ewing Model© where the culminating projects of a doctoral program is completed in a series of five sequential courses with a cohort. Background: The Ewing Model©, a new model for completing a doctoral research project (DRP) in an online Doctor of Education (EdD) program, was implemented and evaluated for two predictors of doctoral program completion – social connectedness and usefulness of the curriculum and instruction. Previous research has shown these are salient factors predicting doctoral student success. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, quantitative study. An online survey of students who were in the midst of taking one of five sequential DRP courses was emailed in the middle of a t...

Human Resources for Health, 2018

Background: Historically, in an effort to evaluate and manage the rising cost of healthcare emplo... more Background: Historically, in an effort to evaluate and manage the rising cost of healthcare employers assess the direct cost burden via medical health claims and measures that yield clear data. Health related indirect costs are harder to measure and are often left out of the comprehensive overview of health expenses to an employer. Presenteeism, which is commonly referred to as an employee at work who has impaired productivity due to health considerations, has been identified as an indirect but relevant factor influencing productivity and human capitol. The current study evaluated presenteeism among employees of a large United States health care system that operates in six locations over a four-year period and estimated loss productivity due to poor health and its potential economic burden. Methods: The Health-Related Productivity Loss Instrument (HPLI) was included as part of an online Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) administered to employees of a large United States health care system across six locations. A total of 58 299 HRAs from 22 893 employees were completed and analyzed; 7959 employees completed the HRA each year for 4 years. The prevalence of 22 specific health conditions and their effects on productivity areas (quantity of work, quality of work, work not done, and concentration) were measured. The estimated daily productivity loss per person, annual cost per person, and annual company costs were calculated for each condition by fitting marginal models using generalized estimating equations. Intra-participant agreement in reported productivity loss across time was evaluated using κ statistics for each condition. Results: The health conditions rated highest in prevalence were allergies and hypertension (high blood pressure). The conditions with the highest estimated daily productivity loss and annual cost per person were chronic back pain, mental illness, general anxiety, migraines or severe headaches, neck pain, and depression. Allergies and migraines or severe headaches had the highest estimated annual company cost. Most health conditions had at least fair intraparticipant agreement (κ ≥ 0.40) on reported daily productivity loss. Conclusions: Results from the current study suggested a variety of health conditions contributed to daily productivity loss and resulted in additional annual estimated costs for the health care system. To improve the productivity and wellbeing of their workforce, employers should consider presenteeism data when planning comprehensive wellness initiatives to curb productivity loss and increase employee health and well-being during working hours.

Journal of Academic Ethics, 2016

This purpose of this qualitative study was to gather detailed information about student perceptio... more This purpose of this qualitative study was to gather detailed information about student perceptions of self-plagiarism and the perceived effectiveness of a brief self-plagiarism video tutorial. Semi-structured interviews (n = 7) were conducted and health sciences doctoral students were queried regarding their knowledge and perceptions of self-plagiarism. The population for this study was new doctoral students, as well as students who had committed self-plagiarism during the semester. Overall, participants reported a specific self-plagiarism intervention was more helpful in preventing self-plagiarism than a traditional plagiarism intervention and that the intervention should be included in initial program orientation. Overwhelmingly, students did not believe self-plagiarism was a serious academic offense and think they own their intellectual property and unpublished works.

International Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Writing an argument is an essential skill for doctoral students in achieving academic and occupat... more Writing an argument is an essential skill for doctoral students in achieving academic and occupational success. Writing an argument effectively requires the ability to use correct writing mechanics, but doctoral students may tend to think their writing mechanics are better than they are, and their ability to write an argument effectively may be compromised as a result. At one university, this gap between student perceptions of their ability to write and their writing performance appeared to exist. A study was conducted to determine whether there was a mismatch between perceived writing self-efficacy and writing performance. Study results showed that higher perceived writing self-efficacy seems to be associated with certain mechanical writing errors, including wordiness and inaccurate grammar. Knowing this mismatch between writing self-efficacy and writing performance may exist is important (a) for students in terms of their awareness, and (b) for tertiary educators to better target ...

International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2019

Aim/Purpose: This qualitative case-study explores how a doctoral student’s family influences the ... more Aim/Purpose: This qualitative case-study explores how a doctoral student’s family influences the doctoral student’s success from the perspective of doctoral students who were enrolled in an online doctoral program. Background: Previous research has shown that family can significantly influence doctoral student success; however, it is not clear what is meant by family nor what the details of the influence of family look like from the perspective of the doctoral student. Methodology: A qualitative case-study method was used. More than 500 former students enrolled in an online doctoral program were emailed a web-based survey that elicited information about who they considered to be in their family, how they thought their relationship with their family changed while they were a doctoral student, and how much they thought their family understood what it means to be a doctoral student. One hundred thirty-three (24%) former students participated in the study. Qualitative data were analyzed...

International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2019

Aim/Purpose: New models of curriculum and instruction are needed to help increase completion rate... more Aim/Purpose: New models of curriculum and instruction are needed to help increase completion rates of doctoral programs, as only about half of all students who begin doctoral programs complete them. This paper presents preliminary results of an evaluation of a promising new model called the Ewing Model© where the culminating projects of a doctoral program is completed in a series of five sequential courses with a cohort. Background: The Ewing Model©, a new model for completing a doctoral research project (DRP) in an online Doctor of Education (EdD) program, was implemented and evaluated for two predictors of doctoral program completion – social connectedness and usefulness of the curriculum and instruction. Previous research has shown these are salient factors predicting doctoral student success. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, quantitative study. An online survey of students who were in the midst of taking one of five sequential DRP courses was emailed in the middle of a t...

Human Resources for Health, 2018

Background: Historically, in an effort to evaluate and manage the rising cost of healthcare emplo... more Background: Historically, in an effort to evaluate and manage the rising cost of healthcare employers assess the direct cost burden via medical health claims and measures that yield clear data. Health related indirect costs are harder to measure and are often left out of the comprehensive overview of health expenses to an employer. Presenteeism, which is commonly referred to as an employee at work who has impaired productivity due to health considerations, has been identified as an indirect but relevant factor influencing productivity and human capitol. The current study evaluated presenteeism among employees of a large United States health care system that operates in six locations over a four-year period and estimated loss productivity due to poor health and its potential economic burden. Methods: The Health-Related Productivity Loss Instrument (HPLI) was included as part of an online Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) administered to employees of a large United States health care system across six locations. A total of 58 299 HRAs from 22 893 employees were completed and analyzed; 7959 employees completed the HRA each year for 4 years. The prevalence of 22 specific health conditions and their effects on productivity areas (quantity of work, quality of work, work not done, and concentration) were measured. The estimated daily productivity loss per person, annual cost per person, and annual company costs were calculated for each condition by fitting marginal models using generalized estimating equations. Intra-participant agreement in reported productivity loss across time was evaluated using κ statistics for each condition. Results: The health conditions rated highest in prevalence were allergies and hypertension (high blood pressure). The conditions with the highest estimated daily productivity loss and annual cost per person were chronic back pain, mental illness, general anxiety, migraines or severe headaches, neck pain, and depression. Allergies and migraines or severe headaches had the highest estimated annual company cost. Most health conditions had at least fair intraparticipant agreement (κ ≥ 0.40) on reported daily productivity loss. Conclusions: Results from the current study suggested a variety of health conditions contributed to daily productivity loss and resulted in additional annual estimated costs for the health care system. To improve the productivity and wellbeing of their workforce, employers should consider presenteeism data when planning comprehensive wellness initiatives to curb productivity loss and increase employee health and well-being during working hours.

Journal of Academic Ethics, 2016

This purpose of this qualitative study was to gather detailed information about student perceptio... more This purpose of this qualitative study was to gather detailed information about student perceptions of self-plagiarism and the perceived effectiveness of a brief self-plagiarism video tutorial. Semi-structured interviews (n = 7) were conducted and health sciences doctoral students were queried regarding their knowledge and perceptions of self-plagiarism. The population for this study was new doctoral students, as well as students who had committed self-plagiarism during the semester. Overall, participants reported a specific self-plagiarism intervention was more helpful in preventing self-plagiarism than a traditional plagiarism intervention and that the intervention should be included in initial program orientation. Overwhelmingly, students did not believe self-plagiarism was a serious academic offense and think they own their intellectual property and unpublished works.