2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As graduate students learn to become independent researchers, they have to make many decisions for the first time. A critical decision for many new qualitative scholars is how to determine a methodology for their topic. This decision can often be the most daunting stage of designing a dissertation because the alignment of methods, theoretical framework, population, research questions, and implications of those elements is essential to a productive and convincing research project. Furthermore, this alignment can be the most daunting stage of designing a dissertation. I wish to present how I adapted a methodology for my specific project. I drew from existing strategies and methods, combining ontological influences from feminist theory [1], [2] to develop a method which is rare in engineering education literature [3], [4], [5].
I present here how I investigated the origins and applications of my chosen method, then modified and adapted it to fit my study context. I conclude this paper with a demonstration of how to leverage this method. I encourage other students to consider how they could tailor methods for their own study projects.
Many qualitative methodologies have similar primary components: data collection, data analysis, and interpretive validity. I started with an exploratory survey of phenomenology, namely how to collect data and conduct phenomenological analysis [6], [7]. I focus my own research on developing definitions of the phenomenon of investigation, or what is called descriptive phenomenology. Phenomenology, particularly from Husserlian traditions, is more focused on philosophical nuances as opposed to operationalized usage of the findings. Further, most phenomenological analytic approaches are especially vague and highly contextual dependent. As such, I chose to adopt data collection from the Husserlian traditions [8], [9], and adopt analytic techniques developed by other STEM scholars [10]. Within Husserlian phenomenology there is a focus upon ‘bracketing’ or complete removal of the researcher’s personal bias to ensure validity. Given that I myself am part of my study population, I chose to forego bracketing in favor of the reflexive ‘bridling’ of another school of phenomenological inquiry, that of lifeworld research [11]. ‘Bridling’ focuses upon mitigating the researcher’s bias within the initial analytic stages while developing participant descriptions, yet then reintroduces that bias in the latter stages of analysis, particularly when the researcher is connecting findings to existing literature.
From these three components (data collection, data analysis, and bridling), I developed a detailed research design to investigate my dissertation project, drawing also from the lessons in feminist inquiry, namely how to incorporate humanizing elements to the interview process [1], [2].
I conclude with a practical example of this method. I present the data from one of my participants: how the data was collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Within this process, I am emphasizing the incorporation and influences of the research design to make this more concrete of a demonstration for the reader.
The goal of this work is to present a narrative, detailed example of how to do one of the most difficult tasks of the proposal stage of graduate school journeys: developing and tailoring a research paradigm. I hope this can allow other students to have an easier time crafting their own methodological approaches, and also present my approach as an available tool to be leveraged.