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This section of the Sense-Making Web site includes dissertations and theses that have used, critiqued, or engaged Sense-Making Methodology or the issues and problematics to which Sense-Making Methodology has been applied. In some cases, a copy of the questionnaire or instrument the author used for data collection is included in the Instrument section of this site.
The list presented here is theoretically inclusive rather than exclusive. Some of the projects were implemented entirely within the parameters of Sense-Making Methodology, while others combine approaches; some include only a few elements from the body of Sense-Making’s philosophic assumptions and methods, while others incorporate the entire methodological architecture.
It is impossible to track all dissertations and theses that have used Sense-Making. Readers wishing to have works added to this list should email Dervin at: dervin.1@osu.edu. In an effort to minimize the amount of time needed to add new submissions to this page—and maximize your chances of inclusion—please model your submission closely to the materials provided below.
Atwood, R. A. (1980). A test of race versus situational movement state in predicting information-seeking and use. Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Brendlinger, N. H. (1990). Influence of research methods on policy development: Comparison of a survey and a Sense-Making study about Texans and AIDS (immune deficiency). Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. Advisor, Pamela J. Shoemaker.
Cheuk, W-Y, B. (1999). A qualitative study in information seeking and use in the professional workplace context: Using the Sense-Making approach. Doctoral dissertation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Advisor, Schubert Foo.
Chumer, M. (2002). Towards an understanding of user-centeredness within information technology diffusion: A self-ethnography. Doctoral dissertation, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ. Advisor, Ronald E. Rice.
Clark, K. D. (1995). A communication-as-procedure perspective: An ethnographic and Sense-Making study of a women’s spirituality group. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Davis-Mendelow, S. (1998). Bridging the gap: Exploring the information needs and information use of front-line child protection intake workers. Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto. Advisor, Rob MacFadden.
Dewdney, P. H. (1986). The effects of training reference librarians in interview skills: A field experiment. Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto. Advisor, Catherine Ross.
Dresang, E. T. (1981). Communication conditions and media influence on attitudes an information uses: The effects of library materials selected in response to student interests about mainstreaming and disabilities. Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Advisor, Margaret E. Monroe.
Dworkin, M. A. (1987). Making sense of television news: Situation, context, and psychology of the audience experience. Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Ellen, D. (2000). Telecentres and the provision of community based access to electronic information in everyday life. Doctoral dissertation, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK. Supervisors, Shelagh Fisher, Francis Johnson, and Jonathon Willson.
Foreman-Wernet, L. (2002). Transcending discourse stereotypes: Audience sense-making of elite and mass culture. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Fraser, B. P. (1987). The diffusion of innovations: A comparison of a Sense-Making and traditional approach in a study of channel use and homophily. Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Harpring, J. E. (1994). Information-seeking by pregnant, drug-addicted women: An application of the Sense-Making approach. Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University. Advisor, C. Edward Wotring.
Higgins, J. W. (1994). Tracing the vision: A study of community volunteer producers, public access cable television, and empowerment. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Huesca, R. T. (1994). Reconceptualizing Latin American theories of alternative communication and media practice: An ethnography of Bolivian tin miners’ radio. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Jenkins, L. R. (2004). Designing systems that make sense: What designers say about their communication with users during the usability testing cycle. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Linderman, A. L. (1997). The deaf story: Themes of culture and coping. Doctoral dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary. Advisor, Charles H. Kraft.
Litty, J. M. (2002). Audience, relevance, sound: Meaning structures and structuring meaning in public radio journalism. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Morris, R. (2001). Online tables of contents for books: The user’s perspective. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan. Advisor, Joan Durrance.
Murphy, A. P. (1996). The meaning of wilderness (landscape, aesthetics, solitude). Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Rosanne W. Fortner.
Nestor-Baker, N. S. (1999). Tacit knowledge in the superintendency: An exploratory analysis. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Wayne Hoy.
Nilan, M. S. (1985). Structural constraints and situational information seeking respondents: A test of two predictors in a Sense-Making context. Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Olsson, M. R. (2003). The construction of the meaning and significance of an 'author' among information behaviour researchers. A social constructivist approach. Doctoral dissertation, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Advisors, Susan Edwards and Ross Todd.
Rajendram, C. P. (1997). Critical pedagogy and the absent learner in media education. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Rice-Lively, M. L. (1996). Sense-making in networked learning environments. Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. Advisor, Philip Doty.
Rich, R. S. (1990). How young adults use radio: A situational perspective. Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. Advisor, August E. Grant.
Romanello, S. J. (2003). Natural vs. social scientists' perceptions of uncertainty in discussions of global climate change: A study using Sense-Making Methodology. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisors, Rosanne Fortner and Brenda Dervin.
Schaefer, D. J. (2001). Dynamics of electronic public spheres: Verbing online participation. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Shields, V. R. (1994). The constructing, maintaining, and negotiating of gender identities in the process of decoding gender advertisements. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Strimer, P. M. (1994). A Sense-Making study of the praxis of the Third Avenue community: Toward a procedural understanding. Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University. Advisor, Brenda Dervin.
Teekman, E. C. (1997). Reflective thinking in nursing practice. Master’s thesis, Massey University, Palmerstown North, New Zealand. Advisors, Julie Boddy and Brenda Dervin.
Tidline, T. J. (2003). Making sense of art as information. Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Advisor, Elizabeth Hearne.
Vodeb, G. (2003). Študij uporabnikov in organizacija referalne dejavnosti [User studies and organization of reference services]. Master’s thesis, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Advisors, Jure Dimec and Jože Urbanija.