2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Refining the LITES Codebook Using a Discussion and Consensus-based Approach

Presented at Conversations about Qualitative and Mixed Methods II

This methods full paper builds on recent work operationalizing engineering intuition by refining the Leveraging Intuition Towards Engineering Solutions (LITES) codebook. The LITES codebook identifies engineering intuition as an expert problem-solving skill used by practitioners. The original LITES codebook provided a structured starting point to capture engineering intuition use. Continued application of the codebook revealed coding discrepancies when used by coders outside the research team (new coders). These discrepancies highlighted the need to refine the original codebook to improve code clarity and maximize its utility for scholars beyond the research team. The purpose of this work was to refine the original codebook and examine the reliability of the refined codebook. The work was conducted in two phases. The first phase used a discussion-and-consensus approach, in which new coders compared and discussed their coding with experienced coders from the original research team. These discussions informed revisions to the code definition and coding instructions, provided examples for each code, and resulted in added notes to the application. The second phase examined the reliability of the refined LITES codebook using Cohen’s Kappa. Results showed an overall improvement in the refined codebook's reliability. The findings demonstrate that a structured discussion and consensus-based approach can improve code clarity and support more consistent application of codebooks beyond the original research team.

Authors

Anu Singh The Ohio State University [biography]

Anu Singh is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Engineering, with a specialization in Engineering Education Research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research focuses on engineering students' critical thinking skills, argumentation, and epistemological beliefs, with the goal of supporting their development of competencies that extend beyond technical expertise.
Dr. Elif Miskioglu Bucknell University [biography]

Dr. Elif Miskioglu is a mid-career engineering education scholar and educator. She holds a B.S. ˘
in Chemical Engineering (with Genetics minor) from Iowa State University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in
Chemical Engineering from Ohio State University. Her early Ph.D. work focused on the development of
bacterial biosensors capable of screening pesticides for specifically targeting the malaria vector mosquito,
Anopheles gambiae. As a result, her diverse background also includes experience in infectious disease
and epidemiology, providing crucial exposure to the broader context of engineering problems and their
subsequent solutions. These diverse experiences and a growing passion for improving engineering education prompted Dr. Miskioglu to change her career path and become a scholar of engineering education. ˘
As an educator, she is committed to challenging her students to uncover new perspectives and dig deeper
into the context of the societal problems engineering is intended to solve. As a scholar, she seeks to not
only contribute original theoretical research to the field, but work to bridge the theory-to-practice gap in
engineering education by serving as an ambassador for empirically driven educational
practices.
Dr. Kaela M Martin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2359-6332 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott [biography]

Kaela Martin is an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott Campus. She graduated from Purdue University with a PhD in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Her research interests in engineering education include developing classroom interventions that improve student learning, designing experiences to further the development of students from novices to experts, and creating engaging classroom experiences.
Dr. Adam R Carberry http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0041-7060 The Ohio State University [biography]

Dr. Adam R. Carberry is Professor and Chair in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University (OSU). He earned a B.S. in Materials Science Engineering from Alfred University, and received his M.S. and Ph.D., both from Tufts University, in Chemistry and Engineering Education respectively. He recently joined OSU after having served as an Associate Professor in The Polytechnic School within Arizona State University’s Fulton Schools of Engineering (FSE) where he was the Graduate Program Chair for the Engineering Education Systems & Design (EESD) Ph.D. Program. He is currently a Deputy Editor for the Journal of Engineering Education and co-maintains the Engineering Education Community Resource wiki. Additional career highlights include serving as Chair of the Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN), visiting École Nationale Supérieure des Mines in Rabat, Morocco as a Fulbright Specialist, receiving an FSE Top 5% Teaching Award, receiving an ASEE Educational Research and Methods Division Apprentice Faculty Award, receiving a Frontiers in Education New Faculty Award, and being named an ASEE Fellow.

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