Researcher Bias...

Surprisingly, I found it difficult to define my biases as a researcher. The thing is, I know I have many biases...and I can note them pretty clearly. So why was it so difficult to define them for this qualitative study?

Anyway, here is what I have come up with so far...though it is certainly considered to be a work in progress:

I am Mexican American, and I grew up in a predominantly white environment. My first “real” opportunity to live and learn in a more diverse community was as an undergraduate at Pepperdine University, were I earned a BA in Organizational Psychology and experienced rich growth, academically, spiritually, and intellectually. Upon graduation, I began working in admission, where I was confronted with the disheartening reality of the roadblocks to access and equity in higher education as experienced by historically underrepresented students. Through my continued exposure to such inequity, my research interests in the area of access, equity, and campus climate for diversity at faith-based institutions were born. I am particularly in interested in learning about the experiences of underrepresented students, faculty, and staff at predominantly white faith-based institutions. 

When engaged in the research process, I abandon my role as an administrator at my alma mater and embody my role as a doctoral student at Azusa Pacific University, a faith-based institution in Southern California. As a woman, a student, and a person of color, I felt the participants felt comfortable sharing their experiences with me. For many, it seemed therapeutic to share some of their more trying experiences and feelings of vulnerability.