The purpose of this chapter is to describe the processes of data collection and analyses in which I engaged for the research portion of this study. I will also discuss the characteristics that define the population sample which provided information through individual interviews and focus groups. This is done in an effort to show that my research findings emerged from the data and to also demonstrate the direct link between my own researcher-generated codes and verbatim information located in the data. Detailed description is particularly important in this chapter, because a large amount of data from a variety of informational sources was collected and analyzed.
Data Collection
Information for this case study was culled from six different sources: (a)
individual interviews, (b) focus group interviews, (c) documentation, (d) archival records, (e), participant observation, and (f) direct observation. In total, I conducted 21 interviews with the president, administrators, faculty, and alumni. It should be noted that I also conducted a number of informal interviews, particularly with students, at various campus events where I engaged in participant and direct observation. Several documented items were analyzed and included everything from a white paper written by the president of PSC in 2007 to several newspaper and journal articles written about the institution dating
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back to 1987. Archival records dated as long ago as 1979 were also reviewed, along with a strategic planning document developed in 2005.
I engaged in five direct observation activities that included a classroom setting and a meeting among senior and midlevel administrators and faculty on campus. The table below depicts all of the events that I was able to directly observe:
Observation Type Event/Activity/Setting Date
Direct Press Conference - New Res Hall Thursday, August 25th
Direct Opening Convocation Thursday, August 25th
Direct Community Awards Reception Thursday, August 25th Direct Executive Council Meeting Tuesday, August 30th
Direct Dr. K's Classroom Tuesday, August 30th
Table 1: Direct Observation Settings
There are four campus events for which I observed as a participant. These events were all on campus, with the exception of the annual church picnic, which was located at an outdoor park approximately twenty minutes from campus.
Observation Type Event/Activity/Setting Date
Participant Observation
Bless the Mic/Black Male Initiative
Program: Kwame Kilpatrick Saturday, August 27th Participant Observation Church Picnic Sunday, August 29th Participant Observation Church Service Sunday, October 2 Participant Observation BU Dessert Reception Tuesday, August 30th
Table 2: Participant Observation Settings
In accordance with Yin’s (2009) suggestion for case study researchers, I
maintained both a database of materials and case study notes in an effort to stay
organized. A complete list of all analyzed documentation and archival records is located in Appendix V. Excerpts from my case study notes are presented in various sections of the findings (chapters 6 and 7) to corroborate information gathered from interviews and
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focus groups. Lastly, the details of my interviews and focus groups will be discussed more fully in the population sample section of this chapter. Before that section, I will paint a picture of the data analysis process.
Data Analysis
To initially fracture the data, I employed descriptive coding, which summarizes the topic of a passage in the data in one or two words (Saldana, 2009). Next, I used structural coding to extract data that was directly related to an aspect of my research questions. For example, this study seeks to understand the essential leadership tactics integral to PSC’s success. When a successful leadership tactic surfaced in the data, I
applied a code of the same name to it. Finally, the same process was used with emotion coding; a passage of data was coded according to the emotion either worded verbatim or perceived as such by the researcher. The following tables depict the analysis process I just described with descriptive, structural, and emotion coding. In vivo (or verbatim) quotes from the interview transcripts show the direct link between the researcher- generated code and the bare data.
159 Table 3: Descriptive Analysis
Structural In Vivo Researcher Code
Management Tactic
And so as a result, we, the college has been able to, uh, get large sums of money from some of those organizations to help, uh, young, young men and women have scholarships.
Community Partnerships Success
Tactic
Anyway, and I think that the whole business of this Bless the Mic series we’re getting a lot of, I want to say famous, but I don’t think that’s the term to use. But outstanding persons in our community coming from all across the country, you know, giving some good information for not only the students but the community itself. And most of the time in those sessions the auditorium is full. And it’s not that many students, it’s more community people. So all those kinds of things I think helps to tie the college’s community
Bless the Mic Series; community engagement
Central aspect of PSC
well, is, I think, I think Philander Smith is probably the, the size of college that young people who, especially African- Americans, who leave from small towns without the
Collegial environment
Descriptive In Vivo Researcher
Code Dr. K’s
leadership
I think one of the things a visionary leader who is, um, young enough to be willing to take risks, uh, and, but has been around long enough to know what the landscape is, especially in the HBCU world, but doesn’t let that effect his leadership style or his, uh, decision making process.
Dr. K as risk taker
Dr. K’s leadership
Uh, along with Dr. Kimbrough’s leadership and branding of the institution, uh, gave us an opportunity to come out stronger than historically the school has ever been. Uh, nationally and even state-wide. Um, the school is
repositioned, I won’t say positioned, but repositioned itself in the model that it once was fifty years ago
Branding campaign
Area for improvement
the current weakness on campus and that’s making sure we have very, uh, dedicated and fired up faculty to meet the challenges of these new students that are coming in
Challenge to PSC Dr. K’s
leadership
Yeah. The rest of them were just attrition or people leaving, but there was, he just didn’t come in and say, okay, I’m gonna fire all the cabinet members and we’re gonna start all over, so
Did not fire all cabinet members Success of
PSC
It was early on in his tenure that most of those changes happened, uh, so he had, he had a five-year run, yeah, five- year run where there was no changes in cabinet. And that helped tremendously from a consistent standpoint
Consistency with cabinet members Success of
PSC
So, to me I think it’s just a freshness with it, so you have to keep changing to be competitive and, you know, get students here and that’s my perspective, so.
Stay fresh to remain competitive Area for
improvement
The one area that has not kept up, uh…academics Challenge to PSC
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exposure they need can come to Philander and cannot be lost in the shuffle of numbers. And that they can get a topnotch education in a setting that they can be successful in.
Table 4: Structural Analysis
Emotion In Vivo Researcher Code
Care And there’s been numerous of instances of that happening here on campus, where you’re able to sit down with, you know, people that are high up in charge but they’re willing to sit down and they really care about, you know, the students and what are some things they want to see implemented in their, you know, college experience really
Family-like envrionment
Overjoyed So, it’s a lot of innovative things really happening at
Philander Smith College, so I’m just overjoyed to be a part of it
PSC as innovative Sense of
belonging
Well, since I’m not a troublemaker to begin with, um, it makes me feel like I actually belong here at Philander. It makes, it creates relationships, friendships, long-time friendships and relationships. And, yeah, it just makes me feel like I am Philander Smith College. Like I have a reason for being here
Building relationships; higher purpose
Gratefulness Like, I thank God for Dr. Kimbrough and all he’s done for this institution. And like, he’s done a lot. And I haven’t even been here that long to know that he did a lot. Actually, I do a lot of reading, but, yeah.
Dr. K as key to success of PSC
Table 5: Emotion Analysis
Upon completion of this first round of coding, the second round of coding began with the sorting and reorganization of codes exemplified in the preceding three tables. The sort function in excel allowed me to organize all of the codes alphabetically so that similarly named codes were easily grouped into initial categories. Focused coding (Saldana, 2009) assisted with this process of dividing and regrouping the first round codes. Once initial categories were constructed for each campus population, axial coding was helpful in reducing the plethora of codes into major themes with subthemes that further described the properties and dimensions of each category. The major themes for each population was constructed based upon the frequency of it in first cycle coding, and
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the ability for it to be triangulated with other collected sources of information (i.e., archival records, documentation, and observation).
With exception of observation, archival records, and documentation, the major themes for each informational source are presented and extensively discussed in the findings chapters. Rather than discuss the findings from observation, archives, and documentation as distinct sections, I chose to extract information from these sources and integrate them into the campus population findings as a means of triangulation, as suggested by Yin (2009). However, the major themes from all three of these information sources are shown below:
Themes from Archives/Documentation
1. Church as Driving Force of PSC’s Organizational Identity: Philander’s affiliation with the United Methodist Church is both a central and enduring aspect of the institutional culture and identity.
a. Definition of Social Justice
2. Identity in Transition
a. Incorrect Unique Identity Claims
b. Key components of strong organizational identity
3. Back to Old Mission
a. Justification for reversing back to original PSC mission from the 30s
4. Social Justice as Driving Force of PSC’s Organizational Identity
a. Social Justice as primary identity claim
5. Success Tactics
a. Use new identity to attract students, faculty, and staff b. Community focus groups
c. Community partnerships
d. Distinct differences between current and previous presidential administration
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Themes from Observation 1. Success Tactics
a. Black Male Initiative Program b. Retention Efforts
c. Fiscal policies
2. Dr. K’s Leadership: Observational Data: Dr. K’s Class; Council Meeting
a. Student Oriented b. Upfront/Bold c. Fosters dialogue
3. Essence of PSC: Observational Data: Convocation
a. Collegial Environment b. Beacon of Growth
i. Expansion of Campus Buildings
4. Church Affiliation as Driving Force of PSC’s Organizational Identity a. Observation of Church Service
5. A Pillar to the Community
a. Community Awards Ceremony b. Bless the Mic
The processes of data analysis were cumbersome and detail oriented. In the future, use of a computer program with which to conduct analysis will likely make for a more seamless process that is also more organized. In this next and final section of this chapter I will fully describe the people to which I owe significant gratitude for supplying profound information for this research study: the participants.
Description of Population Sample
Because I conducted 21 individual interviews in addition to two focus groups, it is imperative that I present a detailed picture of the research participants, as their supplied information constitutes the bulk of my major research findings and implications. Understanding the multiple identities of the research participants provides additional
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context for the major themes constructed from each campus population. I will first describe those individuals with whom I conducted individual interviews and follow up with a discussion regarding the focus group participants. Pseudonyms (with the exception of the president) are used in lieu of real names to protect the confidentiality of the
participants.
The President.
Dr. K, also known to some as ‘hip-hop prez’ is the well renowned president of
PSC. Officially, I conducted four documented, recorded interviews with him. But we spent a significant amount of time doing informal interviews during various campus events and meals (to which he treated me) off campus. In his early 40s, Dr. K is one of the youngest African American men to ever become president of an institution of higher education. He is tall, dynamic, (he is able to garner significant laughter and engagement in his speeches and as an instructor) and surprisingly introverted. He quickly explained that he can “turn it on” when he has to, but that he is naturally a laid-back, low-key
person.
He is married with two young children under the age of six. His smile is very big and it reveals a keen authenticity that also comes through in his voice, which is just barely tinged with a southern accent. He worked in higher education in student activities and a variety of other functional areas for 14 years before embarking on his presidential tenure at PSC. The four individual interviews, coupled with numerous informal
interviews lead me to describe the president as bold, upfront, engaging, personable, and empowering. These traits are further exemplified in the findings chapters.
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Administrators.
The administration at Philander Smith College is a driving force of the
institutional operations, policies, and programs. Of all the populations I interviewed, I gathered the most data from formal, informal, and focus group interviews with
administrators. I individually interviewed four administrators (one of them twice) to gain insight into PSC’s organizational identity from an administration perspective. All of them
were hired by Dr. K and have worked for the institution for as short as 6 months to as long as 5 years. The commitment and enthusiasm the administrators have for PSC was infectious and made the process of interviewing both enlightening and enjoyable. The following table depicts the characteristics of the administrators:
Type Name
Years at PSC
Functional
Area Gender Race/ethnicity
Admin Interview (2) Tameka 5 Special Events Female Multiracial Admin Interview Chance 3 Development Male Black Admin Interview Shari 1 Marketing Female Black Admin Interview Terrell 6 months Social Justice Male Black
Table 6: Interviewed Administrators
Faculty.
The faculty at PSC represented a cross section of multiple identities in a variety of ways. First, two of the faculty members I interviewed were also alumni of the institution. One graduated in 2000 while the other graduated in 1962. Faculty members were one of two campus populations that could provide a perspective characterized by longevity, which also provided an opportunity to gain insight into aspects of the institution prior to Dr. K’s arrival. The differences were quite stark, and are further explained in the
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administrator in the Office of the Social Justice initiative. So the information from faculty members represents more than just a faculty perspective because dimensions of their experiences as former students and administrators also surfaced during the interviews. I conducted four individual faculty interviews with three people. The characteristics of interviewed faculty members are outlined below.
Type Name
Years at PSC
Functional
Area Gender Race/ethnicity
Faculty Interview
(2) John 6 Political Sci Male Black
Faculty Interview Ray 20+ Political Sci Male Black Faculty Interview Louise 20+ Humanities Female White
Table 7: Interviewed Faculty
Alumni.
PSC alumni had a longevity component to the information extracted from their interviews as well. The youngest alumnus I interviewed graduated in 2000; I happened to spontaneously interview him because we met in a cab from the airport when I was
making my second trip to PSC. In an effort to investigate the true communal nature of PSC, I asked John, a faculty member I interviewed whether he knew this gentleman, because they graduated the same year. Not only did John know him, but they were also fraternity brothers. This was the most authentic and natural example of PSC’s tight knit
community, and this was a major finding from the alumni: the family-like environment that is so well fostered at PSC. Below is more information regarding the four interviews I conducted with four different alumni.
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Type Name Graduated Profession Gender Race/ethnicity
Alumni Interview Tyson 1959
Retired
Principal Male Black Alumni Interview Jean 1971 Reverend Female Black Alumni Interview Sal 2000 Entrepreneur Male Black Alumni Interview Yolanda 1975
Higher
Education Female Black
Table 8: Interviewed Alumni
Students.
Heralded as the prioritized reason behind the vibrancy and active engagement pervasive to PSC culture, the students are a major defining factor of PSC’s organizational identity. A major limitation of this study, which is discussed at length in the final
chapter, is that I was only able to officially interview three students. Timing and coordination proved difficult for scheduling a focus group, which is largely due to the fact that I was only at the PSC campus twice for one week the first time and 4 days the second. However, the information received from four interviews (I conducted two with one student) in addition to numerous informal interviews with students at campus events provided ample data with which to construct major themes. Informational characteristics regarding the students I interviewed are below in Table 9.
Type Name
Year at
PSC Campus Engagement Gender Race
Student Interview Tammy 3rd Church Choir Female Black Student Interview
(2) David 2nd
SGA/Interfaith
Council Male Black
Student Interview Andrew 3rd SGA President Male Multiracial
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Focus groups: Administration and faculty.
Two focus groups were conducted with administrators and faculty members, with 5 and 2 participants respectively. While two people is not considered enough for a focus group (Stewart, Shamdasani, & Rook, 2007), I still treat it as such because it lasted for nearly two hours and there was a significant amount of rich information gathered that did not take the form of an individual interview. The administration focus group lasted for approximately one hour and there was considerably poignant garnered data from it as well. The characteristics of the focus group participants are below in Tables 11 and 12.
Type Name
Years at
PSC Functional Area Gender Race
Admin Focus Group Kelly 5.5 Advancement Male White