The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 1 - 14

Kirsten Kennedy

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The	 purpose	 of	 this	 study	 was	 to	 explore	 what	motivated	selected	tenured/tenure-track	 faculty	 members	 at	 research-extensive	 institutions	 to	 participate	 or	 stop	 participating	 in	 RLCs.	 Specifically,	 the	 following	 questions	 guided	this	exploration: 1) To what extent did participants’ capability beliefs contribute to or detract from their motivation to participate in RLCs? 2) To what extent did participants’ context beliefs contribute to or detract from their motivation to participate in RLCs?

public,	 research-extensive)	 and	 size	 (27,00041,000	students),	with	RLCs	that	were	similar	 in	 age	 and	 structure.	 The	 institutions	 were	 located	 in	 the	 Midwest	 and	 the	 Northeast.	 The	on-campus	housing	capacity	ranged	from	 6,000	to	12,500	undergraduate	beds,	and	the	 number	of	RLCs	ranged	from	6	to	24.	

Participant Selection
I	 selected	 participants	 using	 purposeful	 sampling	 strategies	 (Bogdan	 &	 Biklen,	 1998).	 After	 securing	 Institutional	 Review	 Board	 approval	from	each	research	site,	the	local	professional	responsible	for	faculty	recruitment	into	 RLC	 activities	 provided	 the	 names	 of	 current	 and	 former	 tenured/tenure-track	 faculty	 participants	 in	 RLCs.	 I	 also	 used	 snowball	 sampling	(Bogdan	&	Biklen)	to	identify	additional	 participants.	 	 Among	the	30	tenured/tenure-track	faculty	 members	who	agreed	to	be	interviewed,	9	were	 women	and	21	were	men.	None	self-identified	as	 a	person	of	color.	Two	were	international	faculty.	 Twenty-four	 of	 the	 faculty	 members	 were	 currently	participating	in	out-of-class	activities	with	 students	through	RLCs,	and	6	had	formerly	participated.	At	the	time	of	the	interviews,	2	of	the	 individuals	in	this	study	were	tenure-track	assistant	professors,	8	were	tenured	associate	professors,	and	20	were	tenured	full	professors.	

RESEARCH DESIGN
I	used	the	instrumental	case	study	approach	to	 frame	 this	 research.	 Case	 studies	 are	 considered	to	be	“bounded	systems”	(Creswell,	1998,	 p.	 112)	 and	 typically	 seek	 to	 answer	 “why”	 and	“how”	questions,	but	they	do	not	require	 control	 over	 behavior	 or	 events	 (Yin,	 2003).	 I	 selected	 three	 research-extensive	 universities	with	RLCs	similar	in	age	and	structure	as	 data	 collection	 sites.	 Comparisons	 were	 not	 made	 between	 institutions	 or	 cases;	 instead,	 the	 purpose	 was	 to	 collect	 enough	 data	 from	 current	and	past	faculty	to	make	comparisons	 among	 their	 participation	 status	 within	 the	 context	of	the	tenure	and	promotion	system.	

Data Collection
To	gain	an	“understanding	[of	a	participant’s]	 experience”	 (Silverman,	 2000,	 p.	 90),	 I	 conducted	 interviews	 at	 each	 of	 the	 campuses.	 Interviews	 ranged	 in	 length	 from	 30	 to	 105	 minutes.	Campus	cultures	varied	among	institutions,	and	each	faculty	member’s	reasons	for	 getting	involved	in	RLCs	were	different.	Thus,	 a	semi-structured	interview	protocol	was	most	

Institutional Context
This	study	was	conducted	at	institutions	where	 RLCs	 contained	 structured	 opportunities	 for	 faculty	involvement	beyond	simply	eating	with	 students	in	a	residential	dining	hall.	The	three	 institutions	were	similar	in	institutional	characteristics	 (land	 grant,	 predominantly	 White,	

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THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 1
