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CHAPTER FIVE: Summary

Through out the period of time I have been conducting my data collection, analysis and writing my dissertation I have been taking notes and reflecting on the process that I have followed, the major milestones and obstacles I have faced.

I started my dissertation research at a time when I was working as an administrator in the field of distance education. Thus I began my research with an issue that related to that field. My interest was not so much in the Distance education as the way that DE fit into the everyday strategies that people use to manage their affairs. My interest was more in the application of the grounded theory method and I simply needed a substantive area wherein to start gathering data. Consistent with the grounded theory method I began gathering data by interviewing people who in front of me and those people at the time were people engaged in DE. I asked them simply to describe their experience with DE.

Again, consistent with the GTM I began my analysis as soon as I completed the first interview and by the third interview a pattern began to form. It appeared that people used DE to accomplish educational goals in a format that was convenient and cost effective but other reasons seemed to be involved as well. Whether they were inclined toward DE because of their personality structure or discovered practical and personal advantages to pursuing education at distance wasn't immediately clear. After analysis of the sixth interview of this type the pattern of KYD was apparent. At that point, my interview strategy shifted to people who were not directly involved as students of distance education. Many of these people were peripherally involved in education. My research question shifted as well to get at the concept of interest. The question was still broad and open ended but it asked people to relate to the idea of KYD. The data collected at this stage was compared to earlier data to begin to round out the theoretical concept of KYD. At the same time I began to collect data from other sources including media, literature, other publications. Some data was collected from collegial conversations with others who were familiar with the GTM and the analysis of basic patterns of social behavior. Thus far the theory of KYD has emerged through at least three distinct levels of conceptual abstraction. I expect, consistent with previous experience reported with theories extracted with this method that there will be additional reformulations as the implication and precepts are tested against further experience.

It has been a very rewarding and life changing experience. The moment when the core variable emerged for me was quite remarkable. In addition to the development and presentation of the theory of KYD three future directions are suggested by this dissertation process. -How the theory of KYD will hold up as social patterns change with the increasing use of the internet and social networks. Our understanding of distance as a concept has changed profoundly with the introduction of communication systems that allow instantaneous, multimedia communication with people in all parts of the world. -How GTM will be used to analyze and generate new theories about basic social processes. The internet is an emergent phenomenon and many of the theories of basic social processes are being challenged and there is an urgent need for more and better theories. - The wiki format used to disseminate my dissertation is rapidly becoming part of new academic publishing practices as scholars and institutions discover the incredible efficiencies offer by open access, self-archiving repositories of knowledge. Traditional print media publishing is likely to continue in its decline in usage because of the unweildy, costly and extremely slow response to new knowledge. Electonic mediums are quickly becoming the standard. The publishing model of proprietary electronic formats will be challenged by the open accesss, self archiving model. The resources and effort saved by these transitions will be reinvested in research and discovery and will allow the academic community to respond to changing world circumstances in a timely fashion that will be the measure of the utility of new knowledge. Because of the exponential rate of change in communication systems the mechanisms that are used to study, theorize and direct action will require the most responsive and effective system.

Application of KYD in institutional consulting using a Action science approach. This is an illustration of espoused theory and theory in use. KYD exemplifies a Theory-in-use and could be used to unblock intransigent groups such as those described by McDonagh and Coglan