Obtained their Ph.D. in social work within the past 5 years. This time frame was chosen after discussions with my advisor and reviewing the literature. Participants were asked this question on the demographic questionnaire (Appendix B).
Recruitment. Participants were recruited by sending the recruitment flyer (Appendix A) through emails to social work organizations such as The Graduate Association of Doctoral Education (G.A.D.E.), The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), The National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW), and the Nassau/Suffolk Association of Black Social Workers. Recruitment flyers were also posted to social media websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and shared with faculty members in the social work department at Adelphi University. A faculty member from Adelphi offered to post the recruitment flyer to three additional listservs with my approval including The Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors; Association for Community Organization and Social Administration; Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education and Social Work Policy. All email and advertisements posted included a brief description of the study and the researcher’s email and telephone contact information.
When respondents emailed me about their interest in the study, I discussed the purpose of the study (Appendix C), confidentiality agreement (Appendix D), and confirmed that they met the inclusion criteria. If they met inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study, I requested an address to mail them a copy of the confidentiality agreement. Agreements were mailed with a self -addressed stamped envelope included so that they could return it to the researcher. Once a signed copy of the confidentiality agreement was received, respondents were contacted to set up a date and time for their interview. Participants who lived in New York City and Long Island, New York were given the option of a face to face interview. Skype was offered as a second option for anyone who did not live in New York City or Long Island, NY. Some participants requested phone interviews due to their schedules during the time that they would be available to participate.
Contact was made with thirty-six (36) potential participants. Due to the number of listservs used, there was no way of knowing exactly how each respondent found out about the study. However, six of the participants were recruited for the study by faculty/staff at Adelphi University. Of the thirty-six respondents, twenty went on to participate in the study. Fourteen of the respondents did not meet the criteria. Seven of them had graduated over five years ago, six of them were current doctoral students, and one had earned her Ph.D. in education. Two respondents who had agreed to participate never returned their informed consent nor scheduled an interview.
Although national organizations shared the recruitment flyer with potential participant’s nationwide, participants primarily earned their doctorates from universities in the Northeast, Midwest, and South Regions of the U.S. When this trend was noticed, the recruitment flyer was sent directly to directors of social work Ph.D. programs on the West Coast, along with a brief description of the study and my contact information.
Of the twenty participants, I had a previous professional relationship with one of the participants as we participated in a writing group together. Of the remaining nineteen participants four of them were peers to members of my committee.
Sampling Approach. In order to understand the specific experiences of Black women who had earned their Ph.D. in social work, a specifically targeted sample was needed. Participants were recruited using a purposive sample of individuals over the age of 18 who self-i
