Peer debriefing and support. I have two individuals who I know personally that did not meet the inclusion criteria for the study but were individuals who identified as Black women and were current doctoral students in education. They provided guidance on the development of interview questions and were also people I could talk to during times when I needed to discuss the research process. These individuals were not included as study participants.
During the progression of this study, I had several opportunities to share my experiences with colleagues and friends that helped me with my own understanding and analysis of the material. The support was both formal and informal. An example of a formal support came from a colleague who was completing a qualitative dissertation and shared examples of her codebook and reflective journal with me. I discussed codes with her and she helped me to think about other ways of identifying experiences. She also talked to me about her process in her program and the struggles that I encountered during my own process. This helped me to journal about my experiences. Many people asked me about my study and, in an effort to explain my study, it helped me to clarify my thoughts and ideas.
Member checking. This included sharing data and interpretations with participants (Marshall & Rossman, 2011). Each participant was mailed the transcription of their interview and was asked to review it for accuracy. Only four participants responded to the email and all agreed with the content of the interview except one participant who offered the correct spelling of a professor’s name.
Reflexivity. Reflexivity is the ability to examine one’s self while acknowledging one’s subjectivity (Padgett, 2008). Reflexivity occurred through journaling about the research process, making notes of my thoughts as I read through interviews, advisement from my chair and committee members, as well as talking to trusted doctoral student colleagues and friends about my thoughts and experiences.
Being a Black woman that is working on her Ph.D. in Social work gave me a different perspective while conducting this study. My personal experiences, as well as stories that I had heard of other Black women Ph.D. students, shaped my beliefs about the struggles and successes of Black women in social work Ph.D. programs and their ability to complete their Ph.D. I believed that while all Ph.D. students experience isolation and loneliness, that Black women’s experience of this was heightened due to their intersecting identity of being Black and a female. I also believed that Black women fared better when they had a Black mentor/chair/advisor if they had one at all. I anticipated that participants who had a substantial amount of funding to cover their tuition, books, and fees would not be concerned about money.
It would have been difficult to hide the fact that I too was a Black woman working on her Ph.D. in social work, so I openly shared this with participants. During the interviews, when I was asked specific questions about my personal experience, I was concerned that I was oversharing. When I shared my experience it often led participants to remember examples of situations or to further elaborate on details about events they had previously spoken about. Many of the participants offered encouragement and support to me by letting me know that this was important work.
Due to my experience being so closely related to this study, I was encouraged by my a
