3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.2. Research Characterization
In order to answer the research problem statement "How can the annual and temporal analysis of the Brazilian Higher Education (HEIs) Census and other public official databases generate new knowledge and deliver strategic information to ensure the accomplishment of Higher Education Institutions core mission?”, this research will be divided into the following phases:
3.2.1. The Exploratory Phase
The Exploratory Phase considers the analysis of the public data delivered by the INEP and the IBGE under different perspectives: a) temporal, as it will consider the periods from 2008 till 2015, depending on the case; b) longitudinal, when the same group of Higher Education Institutions will be analyzed under the temporal timeline; c) cross-sectional, as it will consider all selected variables or different groups of them, depending on the study which will be conducted.
The exploratory studies use descriptive statistics as a data analyzing method and will contribute to a better understanding of the context of Private Brazilian Higher Education Institutions comparing their supply and demand conditions, concerning the classroom and e-learning courses, and to investigate some special topics, along the studied period.
Data Analyse Methods
Descriptive statistics Self-Organizing Maps (SOM)
Data Collection Methods
Official databases: Higher Education Census, Demographic Census.
Research Characterization
Exploratory Phase Knowledge Generation Phase
Research Approach:
Quantitative
Research Design : Type of Theory
Middle-Range theories Inductive Interpretivism (Epistemological) Constructionism (Ontological)
Objective
To explore the Brazilian Higher Education offical databases to generate new knowledge.
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Information Management
The studies, which will be developed under this category, are:
3.2.1.1. An exploratory and descriptive study, of quantitative nature, which will aim to assess the general context of Private Brazilian Higher Education Institutions comparing their supply and demand conditions. It will adopt an inductive and exploratory methodological approach through the longitudinal and temporal analysis of data provided by the Higher Education Census, between the years of 2008 and 2013, and the Demographic Census of 2010, in order to map its scenario. It shall enable higher education institutions (HEI) to identify new target groups as potential entrants, enhance the discussion of forms and mechanisms of governance models, and deliver strategic information.
3.2.1.2. An exploratory and descriptive study, of quantitative nature, based on an inductive research strategy, to map the MOOCs offered by Coursera and Veduca portals, and the ones delivered by the higher education institutions (HEIs). Moreover, to compare the evolution of a different category of online courses, other than MOOCS: the accredited online undergraduate courses offered by HEIs, through the longitudinal analysis of data from the Higher Education Census, between the years 2008 and 2013. It shall enable us to map the supply of MOOCs in Brazil.
3.2.1.3. An exploratory and descriptive study, of quantitative nature and strategy of inductive research, to identify the main areas of knowledge that prevail against the present offer conditions in the country, in both modalities of courses, and their relationship with the subject of Digital Humanities.
3.2.1.4. An exploratory and descriptive study, of quantitative nature, to present the most important concepts involving the globalization, internationalization, and mobility in light of its interpretation by the Brazilian Higher Education System, to visualize the scenery of the internationalization among the HEIs, their students and professors and its evolution through the 2014-2015 period.
3.2.1.5. An exploratory, descriptive and inductive study through the temporal analysis of data provided by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), between the years of 2010 and 2015, to map the offering conditions and to give an overview of all Education Graduate Courses offered in the country.
3.2.2. The Knowledge Generation Phase
The Knowledge Generation Phase will take into account the results from the exploratory phase. It will consider the public and official data delivered by INEP and IBGE, into the same temporal, longitudinal and cross-sectional perspectives, considering some previous-selected variables, which will be presented in section 3.5.
The Knowledge Generation Phase will use the Self-Organizing Maps (SOM), which is a neural network, as a data analyze method, to explore and identify unknown and hidden
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patterns across huge volumes of data. The SOM method will be better explained in subchapter 3.6.The studies that will be developed under this category are:
3.2.2.1. A study with an inductive approach through a quantitative research strategy focusing on knowledge discovery among data from Brazilian Higher Education Census – HEIs, undergraduate courses, professors, and students, from 2010 to 2015, to explore hidden patterns in the data and to contribute to advance the RBV Theory.
3.2.2.2. A study which focuses on the temporal analysis of all undergraduate courses provided by the Higher Education Institutions in Brazil, along the period of 2010 to 2015, to identify if there is a group of institutions which stands out in a specific area of knowledge, the so-called niche institutions; and, if so, to evaluate their courses’ quality considering the Undergraduate Courses Index (IGC). This study aims to contribute to a more prospective and strategic view concerning the offer conditions of the Higher Education Institutions.
3.2.2.3. A study that focuses on the analyze of the professors’ and students data from the Brazilian Higher Education Census to visualize their profiles, based on the OECD main areas of preference, dependence on financial funding, genre and academic status (entrant, enrolled and undergraduate).
Figure 3 indicates the studies which were developed considering the Higher Education Census from 2008 to 2015, their phases (if exploratory or knowledge generation) and their interconnectedness.
Fig. 3 Phases of the Research
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