Integrating Participatory Methods in the Study of Equity and Inclusion

Researchers and practitioners across engineering programs have committed many resources (time, money, etc.) to understand the experiences of multiply marginalized and underrepresented (MMU) students in engineering. The methods used to capture these experiences vary: from deep, qualitative research with low numbers of participants to large-scale quantitative methods like sense-of-belonging or campus climate surveys. Critical and Black Feminist methodologies suggest that research in equity and inclusion that involve MMU students must carefully consider the impact of the research on the participant, taking care not to re-traumatize students through the experience of participation and honoring student experiences through ongoing participation and feedback loops. Equitable practices in the execution of engineering education research projects are essential to drive the positive change we envision making in the engineering culture. This paper presents a methodological innovation our research team used to study equity and inclusion in a way that was both generative for our research purposes and also responsive to the need to prevent harm. Drawing on Starr and Greisemer's theory of “boundary objects,” our semi-structured interviews and focus groups were anchored in iconographic depictions of the university, asking students to interact with the graphic through a traditional participatory urban planning method. These approaches shift the power relationships traditionally established in interview settings and allowed student participants to shape the direction of their interviews and storytelling. In this paper, we first describe the central ethical and justice challenges to soliciting and engaging BIPOC students in research about their experiences. After describing the goals of the study, we explain two key strategies that allowed us to address these challenges in our data collection: 1) Use of boundary objects to elicit participants narratives, and 2) the integration of participatory urban planning methods. We show sample data sets to explain the ways our methods provided opportunities to learn more from students, to gain a comprehensive understanding of student experiences across sites of work, and to protect students in meaningful ways.