In December, MISM students Alex Spruill and Peter Garrow attended ICIS (International Conference on Information Systems) held in Munich, Germany. This conference, “the most prestigious gathering of information systems academics and research-oriented practitioners in the world”[1], is a place to present new research and network with other IS professionals.
Alex and Peter presented research with Dr. Mark Keith and Dr. Greg Anderson to a group focused on educational research called SIGEd. Their research examines retention of women in the IS program, including the effects of creative self-efficacy and retention in IS 303.
After reviewing the existing literature, the team identified a lack of research on female students in IS programs. They surveyed IS 303 students with a special focus on exploring where women turn for support when experiencing difficulty in the course.
This is a pertinent topic in universities because of the ratio of men to women that apply for IS programs. This field of study explores how it is possible to have more diversity in IS programs. Greater diversity of thought leads to more creativity and better results because of differing perspectives. It is important that all students with a passion for IS feel like they have the opportunity to succeed.
Student retention in introductory IS courses is crucial to increasing gender diversity in the IS programs. “This research focuses on why students drop out from IS programs and how to provide actionable feedback to improve student retention, particularly among female students. In particular, as students have more confidence in their ability to solve business problems with IS solutions, they are more likely to remain in IS courses.” Research indicates that confidence increased in students seeking help, however, “women were less likely to seek help in general.”[2]
Dr. Greg Anderson stated, “doing research allows you to target a specific idea that can have a broader effect.” He explained that both Alex and Peter “have a passion for making a difference… [and] they bring a perspective that faculty don’t see.” It is a unique experience for master level students to be able to work so closely with professors on research and present to some of the top IS professionals in the world.
Alex Spruill, a second-year MISM student explained, “I’m planning on applying to PhD programs and starting a PhD program next fall so I took [the conference] as a good opportunity to network… and talk to those professors I want to work with. …I met with potential future advisors for PhD programs and it gave me the opportunity to put a face to the name on my resume/application.” She also claimed, “I never thought that I was smart enough to be here” but through her hard work and the mentorship of faculty, she has had countless experiences and opportunities to pursue a PhD.
Alex has always had a desire to be in academia. She became interested when she participated in a SONA study in the business school and found out that the IS program has a pre-PhD track. She began researching by reaching out to professors and expressing her interest. She started as a research assistant a semester before the IS core and has been involved ever since.
Peter Garrow, another second-year MISM student explained, “One thing that has helped me throughout this whole process is being more aware of differences in gender, where stigmas need to be avoided, and the research to back up these claims. It’s not just a good idea, but it actually needs to be dealt with if we want to have a balanced gender ratio in our program.”
Not only did this research bring awareness about how to retain women in IS programs around the world, but Alex and Peter also had an amazing hands-on experience with research and publishing. “I was surrounded by these people that were so well-educated, but the fact that they were looking to me to answer these questions was humbling. It was also crazy to think that my education at BYU has been able to give me these opportunities.”
“It was amazing to see the quality of research we were able to do, but that was mostly because professors guided us to the right things and really helped us along the way. There was another masters student that came up to us afterwards and [told us that] it was crazy that we weren’t even PhD students and we were presenting at this [conference].”
Peter and Alex spent their time listening and networking at the conference and seeing sites such as the Christmas markets in Germany. They will both graduate in April forging different paths with amazing experiences under their belts.
[1] “International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS).” AIS ELibrary, Association for Information Systems, aisel.aisnet.org/icis/.
[2] Garrow, Peter; Anderson, Greg; Keith, Mark J.; and Spruill, Alexandra N., “STUDENT RETENTION IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS MAJORS: THE ROLE OF CREATIVE SELF-EFFICACY” (2019). Proceedings of the 2019 AIS SIGED International Conference on Information Systems Education and Research. 10.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/siged2019/10