Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 100

Internet Learning
More closely related to the current
project, Hartmann (2011) used the Theory
of Planned Behavior to explore whether
institutional level interventions would alter
faculty willingness to submit research
grant proposals in what had been a traditional
teaching institution. The hypotheses
grounding the case study were derived
directly from the theory and stated that a
faculty member would be more likely to
intend to write and actually submit a proposal
for funding when that individual “believes
that submitting funding proposals is
a desirable and valued behavior; sees other
similar people successfully writing and
submitting proposals; and perceives they
are able to write and submit proposals, that
obstacles can be overcome” (Hartmann,
2011, p. 48).
A number of interventions were
put in place to test the behavioral change
regarding attitudes, subjective norms, and
perceived control. For example, to change
attitudes regarding submitting research
grant proposals, interventions included
publishing a monthly newsletter and promoting
public awards and recognition. To
change perceptions of subjective norms,
interventions included welcome letters to
new faculty and department chairs emphasizing
the importance of funded research,
published college-wide statistics, and faculty
workload allocations. To change perceived
behavioral control, grant writing
workshops, how-to manuals, and tutorials
were offered to faculty along with administrative
support. The case study findings,
documented over a 10-year period, show
average annual grant proposals rising, with
indirect cost support to the college increasing
steadily. The case study concludes
that managerial interventions can impact
faculty members’ intentional behaviors to
increase their participation in submitting
sponsored research.
The Present Research
Previous research involving the Theory
of Planned Behavior supports
our expectation that the model can
be used to identify and measure faculty
members’ underlying beliefs, attitudes,
subjective norms, and perceptions of control
regarding voluntary decisions to participate
in a peer review. As such, we used
the Theory of Planned Behavior to provide
a process for eliciting faculty beliefs regarding
participating in a peer review as
we introduced an internal QM peer review
process at our institution. After the beliefs
were identified, we had faculty members,
those who volunteered to participate in a
peer review and those who did not, evaluate
the statements. Their ratings provided
the basis for revisions to our procedures
and for the development of interventions
to increase participation in a peer review,
which should subsequently improve our
online course offerings.
Method
Participants
Research participation was offered
to all faculty members who were eligible
to participate in the peer review process
during its first year of implementation (i.e.,
four semesters from Summer 2012 through
Summer 2013). To be eligible to participate
in the peer review, faculty members
must have taught at least one fully online
course on the recently-adopted learning
management system. Of these eligible faculty
members (N = 60), 19 faculty members
volunteered to participate in the peer
review process for at least one course. Of
these peer review participants, eight faculty
members also volunteered to participate
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