James Croteau, Donna Talbot, Teresa

¶ … James Croteau, Donna Talbot, Teresa Lance, and Nancy Evans. The researchers considered the question; how does the existence of a combination of privileged and oppressed statuses affect an individual's multicultural experiences and understandings? This exploratory, qualitative study employed a theoretical framework from Miles and Huberman (cited in Croteau, Talbot, Lance, & Evans, 2002, p.241) which posited, "Every individual belongs to multiple social and cultural groups," membership in these groups, provide the individual with social privileges or with social oppression.

The authors employed purposive sampling to identify data rich cases. They mailed information packages to members of three National Association of Student Personnel Administrators networks associated with "diversity and multicultural issues." Equal numbers of individuals were selected from mailing list to produce the initial sample of 187. Forty-two persons responded favorably, and 18 selected for interviews.

Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted in pairs for all but two of the 18 participants. The interviews generated thick descriptions. The data were analyzed using a 5-step system of multiple layers of researcher coding and categorizing of the qualitative data. The researchers identified patterns and themes individually and then in groups came to consensual agreement on the coding and themes. The data were also assessed in two stages using qualitative software. Additionally, competent persons external to the study, invited to audit the themes and categories for consistency and robustness.

These findings were considered by the researchers to be the dominant themes derived from the data analysis. The researchers determined that "the weight, recognition, or value" of an individual's privilege status affects similar traits in their oppressed status. They also determined that individuals displayed sensitivity to oppression in other groups because of their experiences with oppression.

The methodology employed by the researchers appeared to be in harmony with the data required to answer the research question. However, an ethnographic design using participant observation could have been employed, to escape the problem of participants and the interviewers not fully understanding "interplay." The need for extensive explanations of interplay may have biased the data. An ethnographic design would provide an opportunity to observe the behaviour in situ hence avoiding that impediment (Kalof, Dan, & Dietz 2008).

The sample design introduced biases into the study resulting in the omission of categories of individuals germane to the study. An example of this failing is that all the women in the study were white and heterosexual. This sampling weakness would limit the transferability of the study to other populations (Marshall, 1996). Additionally the implementation of some form of triangulation would assist in improving the trustworthiness of the study (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996).