Ph.D. Candidate · Educational Research & Evaluation · Ohio University

Turning research into Tools that Serve students and citizens.

I'm Bismark, a mixed-methods educational researcher, an Assistant Managing Editor at Taylor & Francis, and the founder of civic-technology platforms that make education and governance more transparent in Ghana.

View my work Download CV ↓ Explore the data
2029
Ph.D. (in progress)
7
Journal articles
1
Book (in review)
6
Conference talks
3
Platforms built
Bismark Wiafe Bimpong
Accra ⇄ Athens, OH
Scholar · Builder
FOCUS / 01

AI in Education

How generative AI tools reshape academic research, writing, and student support in higher education.

FOCUS / 02

Mixed-Methods Evaluation

Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed designs, from phenomenology to IRT and Monte Carlo simulation.

FOCUS / 03

Civic Technology

Building platforms that put accountability and transparency data directly in citizens' hands.

FOCUS / 04

Student Success & Belonging

The experiences of African and international students, advising, retention, and sense of belonging.

About
Bismark on the Ohio University campus

From a classroom in Ghana to Educational Research and Evaluation in the United States.

I began as a teacher and head teacher in Ghana, where I led curriculum design, mentored students, and, through Lead for Ghana, secured a grant for 37 laptops and a library renovation at a rural basic school (Kedzi). That work convinced me that education and good information change lives.

Today I'm a doctoral candidate in Educational Research & Evaluation at Ohio University, where my research interest includes investigating the role of AI in enhancing academic research and student support. I served as Assistant Managing Editor of the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (Taylor & Francis) and advise 100+ exploratory students at University College.

My first book, Between Two Worlds: African International Students in U.S. Higher Education, an autoethnographic account with 9 contributors across 5 institutions, is currently under review with Routledge.

Alongside research, I build civic technology, turning the same evidence-first mindset into tools people can actually use.

2022–2029
Ph.D., Educational Research & EvaluationOhio University, Athens, OH
2022–2024
M.A., College Student Personnel (Higher Education)Ohio University
2015–2019
B.A., Psychology & SociologyUniversity of Ghana, Accra
Selected work

Research dashboards & Civic platforms

A few things I've built where data meets the public: an interactive research dashboard, civic-technology platforms for Ghana, and a game that teaches civic life by letting you play it.

Interactive · R / Shiny

An interactive dashboard that brings my research data to life, letting reviewers and collaborators explore analyses and visualizations directly in the browser.

RShinyData VizMixed Methods
Open dashboard ↗
Civic Tech · React / Supabase

CivicConnect Ghana

A civic-engagement platform connecting citizens with government through issue reporting, transparency dashboards, and MP-accountability scoring to close Ghana's governance information gap.

ReactSupabaseAccountabilityOffline-first
View project ↗
Civic Tech · React / Supabase

CivicTransit GH

An online booking platform for Ghana's public transport. Riders reserve a seat and pay before they travel instead of queueing at the station, making inter-city trips easier to plan and navigate.

ReactSupabaseMobilityOnline booking
View project ↗
Serious game · Unity / WebGL

CivicQuest Ghana

A browser-based civic-education game I designed and built. Players take on everyday scenarios of citizenship in Ghana, learning how governance, rights, and civic responsibility work by playing through them rather than reading about them.

UnityWebGLGame-based learningCivic education
Play the game ↗

Also built: TRIO Mentor Training Module · ICF Church Ohio

Research & data

Evidence, visualized

I work across the quantitative–qualitative divide. Below are illustrative visualizations in the style of my studies.

AI writing-tool adoption in higher education

Faculty vs. students across four dimensions

// Illustrative, based on themes from Bimpong, Atsise & Owusu (2024), EAJIT

Sense of belonging, before vs. during COVID-19

African international students, by dimension

// Illustrative, in the style of the M.A. belonging study

Public sentiment toward a civic institution

Sentiment analysis of citizen feedback (Ghana)

// Illustrative, sentiment analysis pipeline used in civic-tech work

Scholarly output by year

Articles, blogs & conference presentations

// Compiled from CV, 2023–2026

Thematic analysis, international students' lived experience

Themes by coded reference frequency

Financial precarity & strategy38 refs
tuition waiverside incomeremittancesbudgeting
Belonging & isolation31 refs
communityhomesicknessfaculty support
AI as academic support27 refs
writing toolschatbotstrustintegrity
Navigating identity & values19 refs
cultural adjustmentfaithshifting views
// Illustrative coding structure, replace with your NVivo/Atlas.ti output

Empathic-somatic phenomenology

How a digital experience is felt, not just observed

My phenomenological work treats lived, embodied experience as data, pairing what participants say with what they feel to surface meaning that surveys miss.

The screen was right there, but I felt a thousand miles from anyone who understood me.illustrative participant voice, belonging study
When the AI explained it, I could finally breathe and write.illustrative participant voice, AI-support study
// Illustrative excerpts demonstrating method, not verbatim study data
Publications & presentations

Selected scholarship

Under
review
Between Two Worlds: African international students in U.S. higher education, an autoethnographic accountBook
Bimpong, B. W., Routledge (under review). 15 chapters · 9 contributors across 5 institutions.
2026
"We truly appreciate the tuition waiver": Financial strategies among African international graduate students in higher educationArticle
Bimpong, B. W., Dwamenaa, A., & Agorsor, E., Journal of College and Character, 27(1), 79–97.
2026
Using games to facilitate conflict management skill development in resident assistants: A design-based studyArticle
Owusu, F., & Bimpong, B. W., Journal of College and Character, 1–21.
2025
The evolution of African international students' perspectives on homosexuality after enrolling in U.S. research universitiesArticle
Bimpong, B. W., & Owusu, F., International Journal of Educational Development, 114, 103230. · LGBT Center Student Award
2025
Using phenomenology to investigate digital experience: An empathic-somatic approachArticle
Bimpong, B. W., Bimpong, W. K., & Kwakye, M. E., Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 38(1), 14.
2024
Exploring the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools in teaching and learning: Faculty and students' perspectives in higher educationArticle
Bimpong, B. W., Atsise, P., & Owusu, F., East African Journal of Information Technology, 7(1), 380–393.
2024
The uncertainties of student affairs professionals in the age of artificial intelligenceArticle
Owusu, F., & Bimpong, B. W., East African Journal of Education Studies.
2023
Challenges facing African international students at research universities in the United StatesArticle
Bimpong, B., Journal of Education and Teaching Methods, 2(4), 1–16.
In the field
Bismark presenting research at a conference

Researcher, editor, educator.

Assistant Managing Editor, JSARPJournal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, Taylor & Francis · 2024–present
Graduate Assistant for Academic Advising, University CollegeOhio University · advising 100+ undecided/exploratory students · 2025–present
Graduate & Teaching AssistantHonors Tutorial College & OU Engagement Lab · advised 100+ honors students, co-taught first-year seminars · 2022–2024
First-Year Experience Instructor (UC 1900)Ohio University · designed & taught a belonging-focused course for 20 students · 2023
National Service, Civic EducationNational Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana · citizen education on governance, voting & anti-corruption · 2019–2020
Lead for GhanaSecured a grant for 37 laptops & a library renovation, Kedzi AME Zion Basic School · 2019–2022
Head Teacher, Edge Montessori School, GhanaLed a team of educators, designed curriculum, ran yearly enrolment & retention analysis · 2016–2019
Recognition & service

Awards, editorial & peer-review work

Awards & honors
  • LGBT Center Student Award, for the article on African international students' evolving perspectives on homosexuality · 2025
  • Full Tuition Scholarship, Ohio University · 2022–present
  • Competitive Travel Grants, Ohio University, for conference presentations · 2023, 2024, 2025
University service
  • Graduate Committee Member, Ohio University Research Council (OURC) · reviewed research proposals & grants · 2023–2025
Editorial & peer review
  • Assistant Managing Editor, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (Taylor & Francis) · 2024–present
  • Peer reviewer, JSARP · NAFSA (GLSR) · AERA · Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Learning Journal · Springer (3 journals, with certificates)
Languages
English, professional workingTwi, native
Toolkit

Methods & Tools

Research methods
QualitativeQuantitativeMixed methodsPhenomenologyAutoethnographyDesign-based research
Advanced quantitative
Item Response TheoryMonte Carlo simulationPsychometrics & assessmentData visualizationStatistics
Software & data tools
R / RStudio (mirt, psych)SPSSJamoviJASPNVivoPower BIGephiCommunalyticDataWrapperVS Code
Building
ReactSupabaseShinyAI for analytics & viz
Let's connect

Open to research collaboration, fellowships & civic-tech projects.

Whether it's mixed-methods research, AI in education, or building tools that serve the public, I'd love to hear from you.

Download CV ↓ LinkedIn Google Scholar Research Dashboard