What Were the Top Research Trends of 2020?

The global COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected the ways all of us worked, learned and related in 2020. Many of our offices and classrooms were transitioned into our homes and online, and our connections with friends and family went virtually…well, virtual.

These issues and concerns also impacted the kinds of topics that interested students and researchers around the world. In looking at ProQuest’s most accessed dissertations and theses in 2020, we weren’t surprised to see most of the titles related to education, leadership, organizational management, technology and health care– or some combination thereof.

The top-most accessed title was Social Media and Self-Evaluation: The Examination of Social Media Use on Identity, Social Comparison, and Self-Esteem in Young Female Adults by Dr. Michelle Solomon (William James College). Given the increased amount of time spent on our devices and the reduction in person-to-person interaction over the past year, the influence of social media was more powerful than ever in our lives. Solomon’s study explores how engaging on these platforms impacts the ways we think about ourselves and others.

The second-most accessed title was Student Retention at the Community College: Meeting Students' Needs by Dr. Jill Jacobs-Biden (University of Delaware), US First Lady Elect. Along with concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on community colleges, curiosity about Dr. Biden’s research was likely stoked by viral backlash to a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed that criticized her use of the honorific.

Below is the complete list of most access doctoral dissertations from 2020. We suspect many of them will continue to be relevant in research and learning into this year.

1. 1. Social Media and Self-Evaluation: The Examination of Social Media Use on Identity, Social Comparison, and Self-Esteem in Young Female Adults
      Author: Solomon, Michelle
      Subject: Clinical Psychology
      Pubno: 10188962 
   2. Student Retention at the Community College: Meeting students' needs 
      Author: Jacobs-Biden, Jill
      Subject: Community college education
      Pubno: 3247570
   3. Why Did You Stay?: A Case Study of Male Student Persistence in Technical College 
      Author: Froehlich-Mueller, Kerry
      Subject: Community college education
      Pubno: 10680855
   4. A Correlational Study on Interactive Technology Use and Student Persistence In eLearning Classes at an Online University 
      Author: Edwards, Carol T.
      Subject: Information Technology
      Pubno: 10641768
   5. Leadership Style and Leadership Education: A Phenomenological Study of Nurse Leader and Frontline Charge Nurse Perceptions of Leadership Style and Leadership Education in Hospitals
      Author: Smith, Candace S.
      Subject: Educational Philosophy
      Pubno: 10690015
   6. How High School Students' Perceptions of Their Teacher-Student Relationships Relate to Their Academic Achievement 
      Author: Short, Lori A.
      Subject: Secondary Education
      Pubno: 10638662
   7. Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction at a Fast Food Hamburger Chain: The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty 
      Author: Kabir, Jahangir M.
      Subject: Business Administration
      Pubno: 10169573
   8. Organizational Change Readiness: Effects of Organizational Structure and Leadership Communication in Organizational Change 
      Author: Krishnan, Rajesh R.
      Subject: Management
      Pubno: 10791024
   9. Factors that Influence Successful Organizational Change in Corporations: Examination of Change Management, Employees' Reaction to Change, and Change Outcomes 
      Author: Roberts, Augustus Dee
      Subject: Management
      Pubno: 10746805
   10. Content Analysis of the Theory Base Used in the Conference Proceedings of the Association of Educational Communications and Technologies 
       Author: Flynt, Peggy R.
       Subject: Education
       Pubno: 10635947
   11. Social Media and the College Student Journey: An Examination of How Social Media Use Impacts Social Capital and Affects College Choice, Access, and Transition 
       Author: Horvath-Plyman, Melissa
       Subject: Communication
       Pubno: 10937367
   12. Rage and Social Media: The Effect of Social Media on Perceptions of Racism, Stress Appraisal, and Anger Expression Among Young African American Adults 
       Author: Maxwell, Morgan Lindsey
       Subject: Social Psychology
       Pubno: 10120165
   13. The Effects of Watson's Theory of Human Caring on the Nurse Perception and Utilization of Caring Attributes and the Impact on Nurse Communication 
       Author: McMillan, Mary Owens
       Subject: Nursing
       Pubno: 10274624
   14. Organizational Behavior: Perceptions Analysis of Micro and Macro Organizational Behavior in an Organizational Setting 
       Author: Delich, Joshua T.
       Subject: Organizational Behavior
       Pubno: 10075919
   15. Blended Technology Rich Instruction Verses Blended Computer Managed Instruction in 8th Grade Digital Literacy Instruction 
       Author: Puccetti, Gregory Peter
       Subject: Educational Technology
       Pubno: 10149966
   16. Application of Jean Watson's Theory of Transpersonal Caring in Nurses Practicing in a Pain Center 
       Author: Hubert, Patricia Malone
       Subject: Nursing
       Pubno: 10933489
   17. A Quantitative Study of Grit as a Predictor of Online Course Success at a Suburban Michigan Community College 
       Author: Climer, Steven L.
       Subject: Higher Education
       Pubno: 10682242
   18. The K-12 Service-Learning Standards and Fourth Grade Students' Math Achievement: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Georgia 
       Author: Clark, Tanner
       Subject: Elementary Education
       Pubno: 10743197
   19. Managing Marketing Mix and Communications in a Digital Era: The Role of Traditional and New Media in a Multichannel Environment 
       Author: Kumar, Ashish
       Subject: Marketing
       Pubno: 3541126
   20. A Study of the Relationship Between Skill Variety and High Internal Work Motivation, Task Identity and High Internal Work Motivation, Task Significance and High Internal Work Motivation, Autonomy and High Internal Work Motivation, and Intrinsic Job Feedback and High Internal Work Motivation in the Manufacturing arena
       Author: Robbins, Jay Thomas
       Subject: Management
       Pubno: 9968179
   21. An Assessment of Dropout Rates of Former Youth Ministry Participants in Conservative Southern Baptist Megachurches 
       Author: Shields, James Brandon
       Subject: Social Sciences Education
       Pubno: 3356773
   22. Cognitive Effects on the Neurophysiology and Biomechanics of Stroke Recovery 
       Author: Diamond, Solomon Gilbert
       Subject: Biomedical Engineering
       Pubno: 3117980
   23. Exploring Online Community Among Rural Medical Education Students: A Case Study 
       Author: Palmer, Ryan Tyler
       Subject: Health Education
       Pubno: 3594744
   24. A Quantitative Study of the Relationship between Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Violence Training to Reduce Stress and Attrition 
       Author: Tucker, Angela
       Subject: Teacher Education
       Pubno: 10746978
   25. Implications of a Social Media Course for Adolescent Social Media Usage
       Author: Johnson, Nneka A.
       Subject: Education
       Pubno: 10261934

See the full list of most accessed dissertations and theses per month in 2020!