Debbie Miller
DATA SPECIALIST
In the position of Data Specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Methodology and Evaluation Research Core, I manage data and provide methodological support to the team. My responsibilities include:
- Acquiring, cleaning, and ensuring the quality of data;
- Merging and appending data from various sources;
- Safeguarding data with appropriate storage and access according to security requirements;
- Assisting with instrument design and data collection;
- Analyzing data from qualitative, quantitative data, and multi- or mixed-methods projects.
- Preparing reports and visualizations to effectively communicate results; and
- Providing technical assistance and training on data and methodological topics to meet the needs of the Methodology and Evaluation Research Core.
I hold a Ph.D. in Quantitative, Qualitative & Psychometric Methods and an M.S. in Survey Research and Methodology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My research experience includes studying the influence of tacit cultural knowledge on mixed methods research in South Africa. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, bicycling, and walking. I am thrilled to contribute to the success of the MERC team and our clients as a Data Specialist.
Expertise
Get to know Debbie!
What brought you to MERC?
I came to MERC because I wanted a staff research or evaluation position at UNL that would allow me to apply a broad range of methodological and methodology skills rather than a position that would require depth in one area without allowing involvement in others.
What accomplishments are you most proud of so far?
I am particularly proud of my PhD dissertation, in which I integrated detailed narrative analysis with macro flows of cultural influence from the global north on methodology in the global south, using South Africa as an instrumental case. I initially intended to construct a measurement of transcultural identity through mixed methods instrument development. However, I realized that my advisor, John Creswell, was unable to guide me on the transcultural aspect and that my dissertation needed to focus on a methodological topic itself rather than applying methodology as a means to an end. Therefore, I inverted my original topic to the theoretical framework and made my intended methodology the central phenomenon.
What topic could you talk enthusiastically about for hours?
In my free time, I am conceptually postulating and networking with neurodivergent peers around the world about the possibility that global linear culture (originating as European thought but which the US has long perpetuated and extended) may accentuate divergent manifestations, particularly for those of us who are autistic, due to its evolutionary mismatch that contrasts neurological majority with neurological minority metabolisms. I envision this as an extension of my dissertation, for which I studied the tacit cultural influence of the global north on mixed methods research in South Africa as an instrumental case of the global south. My thoughts center on Marimba Ani's (1992/2007) "Yurugu: An African-centered critique of European cultural thought and behavior," originally published by Africa World Press. Additionally, this could pertain to complexity theory.