Graduation Semester and Year

2018

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

Social Work

First Advisor

Richard Hoefer

Abstract

This thesis explores Master of Social Work students’ Behavioral Intent (BI) to use Excel using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Technology Usage (UTAUT) as a theoretical framework. Excel was selected as a proxy measure of students’ overall readiness for data-intensive professional tasks, including fundraising, outcome tracking and reporting, and assorted administrative and research activities. A survey was adapted from the original UTAUT to measure students’ BI to use Excel, as well as four theorized constructs which were hypothesized to explain BI. The survey was then distributed to a sample of students. Fifty-eight complete responses were received and analyzed using scripts written in the R programming language. The five measured constructs were tested for reliability using Cronbach’s α and one was discarded after it was found to lack sufficient internal consistency. Significant relationships between the three remaining exogenous constructs and BI were evaluated individually with bivariate regressions and collectively with a multivariable regression. The results of those regressions suggest that the constructs collectively can explain 64% of the variation in the subpopulation’s BI, with student expectations about the utility of the software for their careers (Performance Expectancy) being the strongest predictor of BI. Despite methodological limitations, the results of this study highlight potential paths forward for research into strategies for improving student readiness in an increasingly data-driven professional world.

Keywords

Data collection, Social work, UTAUT, Unified Theory of Acceptance and Technology Usage

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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