The qualitative research methodology of phenomenography has traditionally required a manual sorting and analysis of interview data. In this paper I explore a potential means of streamlining this procedure by considering a computer aided process not previously reported upon. Two methods of lexicological analysis, manual and automatic, were examined from a phenomenographical perspective and compared. It was found that the computer aided process - Leximancer - was a valid investigative tool for use in phenomenography. Using Leximancer was more efficacious than manual operation; the researcher was able to deal with large amounts of data without bias, identify a broader span of syntactic properties, increase reliability, and facilitate reproducibility. The introduction of a computer aided methodology might also encourage other qualitative researchers to engage with phenomenography.

This paper investigates the assessment and learning approaches that some first year students employ to assist them in their transition into their first year of study and extends our previous work on first year student engagement and timely academic support (Penn-Edwards & Donnison, 2011). It is situated within the First Year transition and student engagement literature and specifically speaks to concepts of learning within that body of literature. In this paper we argue that while students are in the transitional period of their studies, the use of assessment as a motivator for learning (surface approach) is valid first year pedagogy and forms an initial learning stage in the student's progress towards being lifelong learners.

Facebook status updates provided the data for a study about the transition learning experiences of 1st-year university students. Strict ethical guidelines were proposed by the PhD researcher from the outset of the study. Anonymity was considered important for the approved ethical clearance for both the university and the participants. Phenomenography was adopted and adapted for the study because it both conceptually and methodologically managed anonymity as well as questions of authenticity. An ethical dilemma arose during the research because the archival parameters were expanded by the researcher to allow the collection of data from the participants' network. Questions of consent in an online space and how to report findings, which included data from people unaware of their involvement in the research, needed to be considered.

The need for a redefinition of first year experience in higher education is advocated with the aid of two models, which, although focused on a sample of Australian pre‐service teaching students, is proposed as generalisable across the first year. Introduction to the mores of higher education is generally supported by teaching institutions during Orientation days and into the first few weeks of study on the assumption that students are then prepared for academic study. Institutions have invested significantly in providing a range of resources and services to support this process but their effectiveness relies on their timely and appropriate use by students. It is proposed that first year students' transition be identified as the FYST, a unique and important experience and the first of a series of transitions that occur throughout tertiary study. It is also argued that student engagement should be explicitly linked to critical points in the academic programme. Student teacher focus group feedback suggests that Timely, Individualised, and Prioritised Survival [TIPS] support may be key to aiding students' transition to higher education and valuable to student retention.

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