Title: Issues and Trends in the College Student Affairs Journal: A 20 Year Retrospective.
Abstract: The College Student Affairs Journal began in 1979 as The Southern College Personnel Association Journal. Throughout its existence, the journal has sought to publish solid research that informs the practitioner. As outlined in its purpose statement, the journal: focuses on concepts, practices, and research that have implications and applicability for practitioners involved in affairs work. Manuscripts based on research are welcome, if written for the practitioner. Also encouraged are updates on professional issues, how-to articles, briefs on campus programs, examinations of legislative issues, video or film reviews, dialogues and debates, literature reviews, opinion pieces, and projections of future trends (Submission guidelines, 2002). The journal is circulated to individual SACSA members and non-members, as well as colleges and libraries in all 50 states and other countries (R. Bowman, personal communication, 2002). With its emphasis on trends and issues of importance to affairs professionals both within and beyond the southern region, it provides a valuable resource for professionals in the field, as well as a venue for professionals to share their insights, practical experiences, and research in affairs. At it's 2002 mid-year meeting, the executive board of the Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SALSA) decided to increase the status of it's flagship publication, the College Student Affairs Journal from regional to national. This decision was based on the national and international distribution of the journal and a system of blind review by a panel of experts. A decision to broaden the associate editor positions to include greater national representation further solidified CSAJ as a leading journal in the affairs field (A. Marsh, personal communication, February 2002). To date there has been no content analysis has been undertaken of the journal itself. Therefore, this study was conducted to answer the following questions: 1) How has the format of the journal changed over the years?; 2) Who authors articles in the journal?; 3) What types of articles have been published?; 4) What topics and issues do the articles address?; 5) What, if any, trends are present in the content of the journal? Method Two methods were used to analyze the journal. First, all journal issues were examined to determine how the format of the journal has evolved. This included reviewing the layout, types of articles included, and editorship. Second, a qualitative method was used to analyze the content of the journal. The authors developed a coding system for categorizing articles by author demographics, type of institution the article addressed (if specific to an institutional type), methodology, and content of the articles. Each article was given codes for type of author, type of manuscript, and type of institution if they could be determined. The articles were usually assigned one or two codes for content. For example, an article focusing on the of commuter students might be coded as student characteristics and populations. Both authors read and coded articles independently, then compared their ratings. Disagreements were resolved by discussion resulting in 100% agreement. As the work progressed, additional codes were added as new categories emerged. The codes used for content were ultimately grouped into 4 categories for analysis of the data: Foundations and Values of the Profession; Organization and Administration in Student Affairs; Student Affairs Staff Roles and Characteristics; and Students. The final coding system was as follows: Authors: Administrators, Faculty, Counselors, Graduate Students, collaboration between two, and collaboration between three types; Institutional type: Public 4-year, Private 4-year, Public 2-year, or not specific to an institutional type; Article type: Position paper, Application, Historical, Survey, Quasiexperiment, True Experiment, Qualitative, Theoretical, Test Development; Content: Foundations and values of the profession: Theory (student development, organizational, counseling), Legal, Ethics, Trends (historical and future), Multicultural issues, Professional organizations, Research Organization and administration of affairs: Marketing, Funding, Personnel (hiring, supervision, evaluation, salary), and Technology Student affairs staff roles and characteristics: Roles, Characteristics, Programs, Faculty Collaboration, Enrollment Services, Crises Students: Characteristics, attitudes / values, skill development, organizations, special populations (ethnicity, age, commuters, disabled, freshmen, etc), consumerism, satisfaction, involvement, development. …
Publication Year: 2002
Publication Date: 2002-04-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 1
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot