Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the research was to examine the function and application of delimitations—what the researcher includes and excludes in a study—in the dissertation process. The aim was to map the delimitations process to improve research, rigor and relevance of findings, and doctoral completion rates using a formalized and standardized approach applied flexibly. Background: All research is bounded whether formally defined or not. Unlike limitations, which are issues which the researcher addressed after the completion of a study and cannot control, delimitations are what a researcher includes and excludes to make a project manageable and focused on the research question. Yet, there was no research identified which specifically discussed delimitations. Researching the structure and utility of delimitations in educational administration dissertations provided a systematic analysis of the formation of the scope and boundary of research in doctoral studies. Methodology: The structure of delimitations in dissertations were examined using descriptive quantitative statistics and a qualitative thematic analysis from 28 universities. The first stage included delimitations from 30 dissertations. Triangulation was conducted using the findings with a training set of delimitations in 15 dissertations with a rubric generated from the primary sample. Contribution: The thematic analysis presented a description and interpretation of the nature of delimitations and a systematic framework to improve the research process in dissertations. Mapping the delimitations process gave a detailed portrait of internal and external characteristics which could aid doctoral students in completing the dissertation. Doctoral attrition rates, poorly completed dissertations, and lack of relevance or applicability of results need remedied. Furthermore, the delimitations rubric provided a systematic method to focus communities of learners around a common goal. Findings: Findings suggested doctoral students used delimitations haphazardly and lacked a systematic application to research. Three major themes emerged from the delimitations sections: rituals, equifinality, and pragmatism. Topics within delimitations sections centered around two axes: the internal topics of sampling procedures and factors/variables and external topics of research design and conceptual/theoretical framework. Recommendations for Practitioners: Poorly understood and developed delimitations negatively impacted findings in dissertations, completion rates, and future research skills of doctoral students. By applying delimitations to a design of research framework in a community of learners, doctoral students and dissertation chairs could improve the dissertation completion process and improve research results using a Delimitations Evaluation Rubric. Recommendation for Researchers: Developing a rules-based process with a formalized and standardized process could give researchers a way to evaluate and plan the dissertation process. Developing and applying rubrics to delimitations could serve as a conduit to effective mentoring, feedback, and empowerment. Impact on Society: Improving doctoral completion rates in a timely manner would be beneficial to students’ long-term and personal interests. A well-defined delimitations process could improve the dissertation, and strengthened dissertations could add to the research base. Future Research: Delimitations are listed in one section, but the scope and boundaries are often fragmented and disjointed throughout a dissertation. By examining complete dissertations for delimitations, there could be further insight. Expanding rubrics as a tool to build a community of learners could develop a holistic approach to doctoral education.

Thematic analysis is a methodology with wide use in content analysis and field work through interviews, observations, and focus groups. Despite popularity with researchers, there are several questions and problems with the methodology. There was an absence in exploration and explanation of the methods and hidden steps in thematic analysis. Using a case study with a thematic analysis of the methods of thematic analysis and an autoethnography, issues and concerns were examined across a broad sample of articles published using thematic analysis. Seven major problems permeate thematic analysis research, and recommendations to improve thematic analysis and all qualitative research are presented.

Little is known about monkeypox public concerns since its widespread emergence in many countries. Tweets in Germany were examined in the first three months of COVID-19 and monkeypox to examine concerns and issues raised by the public. Understanding views and positions of the public could help to shape future public health campaigns. Few qualitative studies reviewed large datasets, and the results provide the first instance of the public thinking comparing COVID-19 and monkeypox. We retrieved 15,936 tweets from Germany using query words related to both epidemics in the first three months of each one. A sequential explanatory mixed methods research joined a machine learning approach with thematic analysis using a novel rapid tweet analysis protocol. In COVID-19 tweets, there was the selfing construct or feeling part of the emerging narrative of the spread and response. In contrast, during monkeypox, the public considered othering after the fatigue of the COVID-19 response, or an impersonal feeling toward the disease. During monkeypox, coherence and reconceptualization of new and competing information produced a customer rather than a consumer/producer model. Public healthcare policy should reconsider a one-size-fits-all model during information campaigns and produce a strategic approach embedded within a customer model to educate the public about preventative measures and updates. A multidisciplinary approach could prevent and minimize mis/disinformation.

National organizations in the United States issued policy proposals for returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative review, using the constant comparison model, examined six policies from different organizations. The policies operate on the notion of a progressive curriculum, with the values of equity, access, and adaptations driving the planning process. There are five variables national policies utilize to operationalize the progressive curriculum and values: organizing, staffing, scheduling, envisioning, and vulnerabilities. A case study using an individual school district examined the impact on learning within the framework of the policies. Recommendations to improve online and remote learning follow.

Education research touches on most every problem and issue in schooling today, with novel pronouncements and recommendations to fix all which ails. Despite the proliferation of research and training, educational research is often haphazard, contradictory, and irrelevant. Translating research results often produces little gains or negative results. Lacking a grounding in history and systematic methods and methodologies, reliability and validity suffer as well as applicability beyond the research phase. Problems with quantitative, qualitative, and theory are examined in an interdisciplinary framework. Eroding myths, developing a historical frame of reference, and connecting novel findings to precedents could improve research findings and utility. Recommendations give a path forward to developing a systematic, clinical research basis.