The methods section provides an overview of the research design, description and rationale, data collection, and analysis. The study employed a mixed research
methodology: Phase 1 quantitative (Thesis) and a Phase 2 qualitative (Dissertation), which interrogates the deeper narratives to be identified as constructs behind negative stereotypes about Black women. The significance of the research is also studied, along with a summary of the methods and the determinant factors related to the analysis. Phases 1 and 2 were submitted for approval and implementation of human subjects by the
Institutional Research Review Board (IRRB) at National Louis University in Chicago, Illinois.
Participants. The target populations to participate in the study were Black women living in the United States, irrespective of their nationality. The respondents include 78 Black women from ages 18 to 75. Participants were recruited to ensure that the data collected was culturally applicable for Black women. The participants were informed that, by completing the questionnaire, they were providing consent for the study. They were also told that a commitment of approximately 10 minutes was required to complete the questionnaire(s). The confidentiality statement was also included with the informed consent, stating that all data collected on the survey would be recorded anonymously and that the research would be reported as cumulative data. The solicitation for participation included corresponding contact information for the researcher and faculty advisors. Recruitment and Data Collection. Before collecting the data, a request to conduct the study was approved by the Institutional Research Review Board (IRRB) at National
Louis University. Once the study was approved, the researcher posted a solicitation announcement survey (see Appendix A) and protocol for participants on the researcher’s Facebook and LinkedIn social media platforms. Close contacts with the researcher were also invited to post the announcement on their social media sites. Additionally, the researcher reached out to acquaintances, those known through her educational and professional connections, and extended social circle. For example,
those who participated in the study were asked to pass the survey link to other Black women who fit the criteria and who may like to participate.
Procedures. The quantitative measures were collected in an online survey created in Survey Monkey. Participants were asked to complete a demographic form (see Appendix B), including but not limited to identifying their gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, occupation, educational level, geographic location, title, salary, employment, marital and parental status. This information was used in conjunction with questions from four instruments: (1) The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992); (2) The Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale (GRMS; Lewis & Neville, 2015); (3) Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (REMS; Nadal, 2011) were combined to provide a broad view of the different forms of microaggressions that Black women encounter; and (4) Psychological Empowerment scale developed by (Spreitzer, 1995). The measures included were consistent with study aims to expand our understanding of how negative stereotypes continue to impact Black Women's lives across disciplines
adversely. Three principal components are measured and analyzed. They are: Ethnic Identity, Microaggressions and Black Women's Psychological
Empowerment. Both independent and dependent variables utilized reliable and valid self-reporting appraisal tools. The results were applied to understand the connection between negative stereotypes, Black women's identity and self-efficacy and
microaggressions. Additionally, the scales were analyzed to determine Black women's internalized self-perception and identity. The MEIN has an established corresponding reliability alphas coefficient of .86, .93, and .88.
Ethnic Identity. The dependent variable, Ethnic identity variable was measured using The Multigroup Ethnic Identity scale (MEIM; Phinney, 1992). The MEIM refers to a person's sense of belonging to an ethnic group and the part of one's thinking,
perceptions, feelings, and behavior that is due to ethnic group membership, and in which one claims individual heritage (Phinney, 1996). Additionally, Phinney conceives that ethnic identity is different from personal identity. However, one or both may influence each other. Ethnic Identity has four primary components: (1) Ethnic awareness, is based on understanding one's group and the group of others; (2) Ethnic self-identification, is recognized as the labels used by one's own group; (3) Ethnic attitudes, represents feelings about one's group and the group of others; and (4) Ethnic behaviors, refers to behavior patterns that are specific to an ethnic group.
The Multigroup Ethnic Identity scale has been revised several times. The current scale consists of 12-items and measures three components of ethnic identity 1)
affirmation and belonging, 2) ethnic identity achievement, and 3) ethnic behaviors (Phinney, 1992).
Microaggressions. The Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale (GRMS) and Racial and Ethnic Microaggression Scale (REMS) were combined to determine the degree to which microaggressions are expressed toward Black women. The GRMS is a 25-item self-reporting instrument designed to assess the frequency and stress appraisal of Black women's persistent confrontation with gendered microaggressions. It is described as "subtle and everyday verbal, behavioral, and environmental expressions of oppression based on the intersection of one's race (Lewis, 2013). The GRMS is designed to evaluate Black women's experience across four domains: a) Assumptions of Beauty and Sexual Objectification; (b) Silenced and Marginalized; (c) Strong Black Woman Stereotype; and (d) Angry Black Woman Stereotype.
The REMS is a 45-item scale consisting of statements involving experiences with racial and ethnic microaggressions. REMS provide a broader framework to assess the different intersectional forms of microaggressions that Black women encounter in their lives. REMS explore six domains a) Assumptions of Inferiority, b) Second-Class Citizen and Assumption of Criminality, c) Micro invalidations, d) Eroticization and Assumptions of Similarity, e) Environmental Microaggressions, and f) Workplace and School
Microaggressions. REMS provide a broader framework to assess the different intersectional forms of microaggressions that Black women encounter in their lives.
For both GRMS and REMS, the participants were instructed to report the
frequency in which they had experienced forms of racial microaggressions within the last six months. Using a 5-point Linkert scale: 1 = Very frequently and 5 = Never
Psychological Empowerment. The Psychological Empowerment Scale (PES) developed by (Spritzer, 1995) measures the four dimensions of psychological
empowerment. They are, (a) meaning, (b) competence (c) self-determination, and (d) impact. All four dimensions are necessary for psychological empowerment to occur. The scale contains three items for each of the four sub-dimensions of psychological
empowerment. For example, (a) meaning: 'The work I do is meaningful to me' (b) competence: 'I have mastered the skills necessary for my job' (c) self-determination: I have significant autonomy in determining how to do my job' and (d) impact: 'I have a great deal of control over what happens in my department'.
The objective of designing a Black Women's Psychological Empowerment scale is to help Black women become economically and socially strong by way of (1)
Increasing access to the job market; (2) Improve entrepreneurship; (3) Increase of average household income; (4) Increase Social awareness; (5) improve feelings of self- worth and value; and (6) Feel empowered. The data will be analyzed and utilized for the overall empowerment of Black women in areas of personal, educational, economic, social, psychological and political empowerment. The means and standard deviations of the four domains of psychological empowerment were calculated as: meaning (M = 6.08, SD = .85), competence (M = 5.77, SD = .96), self-determination (M = 5.33, SD = 1.22),
and impact (M = 4.20, SD = 1.53). Using a 5-point Likert scale: 1 = Strongly Agree to 5 = Strongly Disagree.