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Chapter 4: Findings
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to obtain
insight into the lived
experiences of minoritized students in HyFlex courses in the United States. One specific aim of
this study was to better understand ways HyFlex teaching and learning can help practitioners
increase student equity in postsecondary undergraduate courses. Findings have been drawn from
accounts participants gave about their lived experiences and what they identified as contributing
factors to the quality of their HyFlex education. This chapter is organized into three major
sections: (a) overview of the
data analysis process, (b) overview of participant demographic and
background information and vignettes for each participant, and (c) research findings and themes.
Three main themes emerged from the interview data: (a) the Indigenous experience in HyFlex,
(b) motherhood in HyFlex, and (c) disability in HyFlex. The chapter ends with a summary of the
themes and concluding thoughts.
Data Analysis and Instrumentation
Through a series of phenomenological interviews with 10 participants, I aimed to address
the overarching question: What are the challenges and benefits
of HyFlex learning for
minoritized college students? Additionally, I sought to investigate the following subquestions:
(a) How does minoritization by race, gender, language, or disability status affect the experiences
of students in HyFlex courses?; (b) What, if any, issues of equity do minoritized students report
from their HyFlex experience?; (c) What are the reasons minoritized students cite for enrolling in
HyFlex courses?; and (d) When
given a choice, how do minoritized students prefer to participate
in HyFlex learning, and why?
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To
avoid Type III errors, the kind of errors that result when the researcher asks the wrong
questions during the phenomenological interviews and data analysis process (Salkind, 2010), I
initiated the preliminary phase of the data analysis by ensuring the research questions and
interview protocol (i.e., the research instrument) were in alignment with the purpose of this
study. The research questions were designed using the limited empirical work
I had found at the
time of writing the research proposal, including the original literature review,
the chosen
theoretical framework, and procedural recommendations from research literature (Aslam &
Emmanuel, 2010; Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Creswell & Poth, 2018). The interview protocol
questions were written in agreement with the research questions and
adjusted as needed to align
with the purpose of the study. As part of my process, I also tested the protocol instrument with
two doctoral students who volunteered to help me vet the interview protocol questions. This
protocol instrument was also vetted by obtaining approval from my dissertation committee chair.
Table 3 demonstrates how the research questions and interview protocol questions intersect and
align to support the purpose of the study.
