This study used citation analysis in conjunction with a subjective rubric with five criteria deemed valid by a majority of committee chairs at the writers' institution to assess the quality of 144 dissertation reference lists from a non-traditional program. Criteria included the breadth of resources; the depth of the literature review as shown through the citing of critical historical and theoretical works; depth as demonstrated through the scholarliness of citations chosen; currency; and relevancy. The results were then compared with citations from 59 dissertation reference lists purposively selected from a list of 10 traditional institutions. This social-constructive theory-based approach ascertained that there was no statistically significant difference between traditional or non-traditional scores for any criteria except breadth of resources which measures the number and variety of citation sources. In contrast, the constructivist theoretical approach establishes statistically significant differences in 11 of 17 variables.

y d g e s ' Navy -N A S A Joint I n s t i t u t r of Aeronautics Department of Aeronautics a n d Astronautics Naval P o s t g r a d u a t e School, Monterey, CA a n d Fluid Mechanics I.aborat,ory, Fluid Dynamics Research Blanch NASA Ames R.esearcli Center M o f f r t t Field, CA Abstract 1. Introdirctiorr

He has lead First Robotics efforts at the University for several years and has spearheaded the introduction of Lego and Vex robotics competitions for younger students.

He has served as the evaluator on the teacher PD institutes described here. Jan DeWaters, Clarkson University Ms. DeWaters is a PhD candidate in the Environmental Science and Engineering program at Clarkson University. Her research focuses on assessing and improving energy literacy among middle and high school students.

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