WIP: A Case for Disaggregating Demographic Data

Matthew Bahnson; Cheryl Cass; Heather Lee Perkins; Marissa A. Tsugawa-Nieves; Adam Kirn

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: Works in Progress I
Tagged Division: Educational Research and Methods
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--31245
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/31245
Download Count: 411

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Paper Authors

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Matthew Bahnson North Carolina State University orcid.org/0000-0002-0134-0125

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Matthew Bahnson is a doctoral student at North Carolina State University in Applied Social and Community Psychology. His research interests include engineering identity, diversity, bias, stereotypes, and STEM education. He works with Dr. Cheryl Cass at NCSU.

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Heather Lee Perkins North Carolina State University orcid.org/0000-0002-8757-0545

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Heather entered the Applied Social and Community Psychology program in the fall of 2014, after completing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. She has participated in various research projects examining the interaction between stereotypes and science interest and confidence, their influence upon womens’ performance in school and the workplace, and their presence in the media and consequences for viewers. Her primary research interest is science identity, STEM education, and participation in online communities.

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Marissa A. Tsugawa-Nieves University of Nevada, Reno orcid.org/0000-0001-6009-8810

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Marissa Tsugawa is a graduate research assistant studying at the University of Nevada, Reno in the PRiDE Research Group. She is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Engineering Education. She expects to graduate May of 2019. Her research interests include student development of identity and motivation in graduate engineering environments and understanding creativity in engineering design processes.

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Adam Kirn University of Nevada, Reno orcid.org/0000-0001-6344-5072

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Adam Kirn is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at University of Nevada, Reno. His research focuses on the interactions between engineering cultures, student motivation, and their learning experiences. His projects involve the study of student perceptions, beliefs and attitudes towards becoming engineers, their problem solving processes, and cultural fit. His education includes a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a M.S. in Bioengineering and Ph.D. in Engineering and Science Education from Clemson University.

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Cheryl Cass North Carolina State University

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Cheryl Cass is a teaching associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University where she has served as the Director of Undergraduate Programs since 2011. Her research focuses on the intersection of science and engineering identity in post-secondary and graduate level programs.

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Abstract

This Work In Progress paper (WIP) presents data to support the argument that researchers need to guard against an assumption of homogeneity in demographic groups. As research in engineering education is conducted, differences between demographic groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, etc.) are often noted as meaningful moderators of outcomes. However, we argue demographic groups must be disaggregated or separated into smaller subgroups to uncover distinctions that would otherwise go unnoticed (e.g., the difference between female international students and female domestic students). We hypothesize that disaggregation of traditionally studied demographic groups will promote a more nuanced understanding of the experiences of smaller subsets of students. Therefore, this research is guided by the question, “How can we disaggregate engineering graduate student demographic data to quantitatively evaluate identity development in understudied groups?”

This work is part of a larger mixed-methods study in which we are examining the experiences of engineering graduate students in the context of identity and motivation frameworks. In this paper, we will utilize data from a large national survey of engineering graduate students to demonstrate examples of meaningful disaggregation of demographic groups. The survey instrument, which contains Likert-type measures of graduate students’ future-time perspectives, identity-based motivations, identities, and academic experiences, was piloted at two institutions (large southeastern and large western), garnering nearly 350 responses. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to uncover the factor structures of the items as well as to assist in the item cutting process and achieve a 15 minute survey. The survey is being deployed nationally to a representative sample of engineering students based on state, program type (e.g., electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.) and program size (i.e., number of Ph.Ds awarded per year). We expect to collect at least 5000 student responses by early 2018.

With the anticipated large sample size, we will be able to explore demographic groups that have traditionally been aggregated due to relatively small populations of these students and small sample sizes. In particular, will use an intersectional lens to explore the differences in experiences of racial/ethnic groups, women, and LGBTQ students. Intersectionality is the concept that minority identities multiply identity-focused experiences and will highlight the ways demographic groups need to be disaggregated. Differences in race/ethnicity, gender and sexual identity -- or combinations of the three -- change the experiences and perceptions of students. For example, a Latina lesbian has meaningfully different experiences compared to a heterosexual Latina, who in-turn has different experiences from a heterosexual White woman. Results of this work will demonstrate the need for researchers to look beyond traditionally defined demographics for meaningful differences in experiences in graduate engineering education. These differences can be used to improve recruitment and retention efforts by providing additional background for current programs. Future research can utilize the highlighted differences within demographic groups to identify new directions for research into recruitment and retention of engineering graduate students.

Citation
Format

Bahnson, M., & Perkins, H. L., & Tsugawa-Nieves, M. A., & Kirn, A., & Cass, C. (2018, June), WIP: A Case for Disaggregating Demographic Data Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--31245

TY - CPAPER
AB - This Work In Progress paper (WIP) presents data to support the argument that researchers need to guard against an assumption of homogeneity in demographic groups. As research in engineering education is conducted, differences between demographic groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, etc.) are often noted as meaningful moderators of outcomes. However, we argue demographic groups must be disaggregated or separated into smaller subgroups to uncover distinctions that would otherwise go unnoticed (e.g., the difference between female international students and female domestic students). We hypothesize that disaggregation of traditionally studied demographic groups will promote a more nuanced understanding of the experiences of smaller subsets of students. Therefore, this research is guided by the question, “How can we disaggregate engineering graduate student demographic data to quantitatively evaluate identity development in understudied groups?”

This work is part of a larger mixed-methods study in which we are examining the experiences of engineering graduate students in the context of identity and motivation frameworks. In this paper, we will utilize data from a large national survey of engineering graduate students to demonstrate examples of meaningful disaggregation of demographic groups. The survey instrument, which contains Likert-type measures of graduate students’ future-time perspectives, identity-based motivations, identities, and academic experiences, was piloted at two institutions (large southeastern and large western), garnering nearly 350 responses. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to uncover the factor structures of the items as well as to assist in the item cutting process and achieve a 15 minute survey. The survey is being deployed nationally to a representative sample of engineering students based on state, program type (e.g., electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.) and program size (i.e., number of Ph.Ds awarded per year). We expect to collect at least 5000 student responses by early 2018.

With the anticipated large sample size, we will be able to explore demographic groups that have traditionally been aggregated due to relatively small populations of these students and small sample sizes. In particular, will use an intersectional lens to explore the differences in experiences of racial/ethnic groups, women, and LGBTQ students. Intersectionality is the concept that minority identities multiply identity-focused experiences and will highlight the ways demographic groups need to be disaggregated. Differences in race/ethnicity, gender and sexual identity -- or combinations of the three -- change the experiences and perceptions of students. For example, a Latina lesbian has meaningfully different experiences compared to a heterosexual Latina, who in-turn has different experiences from a heterosexual White woman. Results of this work will demonstrate the need for researchers to look beyond traditionally defined demographics for meaningful differences in experiences in graduate engineering education. These differences can be used to improve recruitment and retention efforts by providing additional background for current programs. Future research can utilize the highlighted differences within demographic groups to identify new directions for research into recruitment and retention of engineering graduate students.

AU - Matthew Bahnson
AU - Heather Lee Perkins
AU - Marissa A. Tsugawa-Nieves
AU - Adam Kirn
AU - Cheryl Cass
CY - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA - 2018/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - WIP: A Case for Disaggregating Demographic Data
UR - https://peer.asee.org/31245
DO - 10.18260/1-2--31245
ER -