The Methodological Complexities of Conducting an Ethnography on Black Deaf Female College Students Using Intersectionality and Critical Race Grounded Theories

Background and Purpose: The voices and experiences of women of color with disabilities have been devalued, misinterpreted, or omitted within institutional settings. The purpose of this study is to outline the process of a Black female hearing social work researcher conducting research on the lived experiences of Black deaf female college students. Exploring lived experiences refers to the embodiment of an individual’s daily life experiences and interactions (Letherby 2003, Creswell 2007, Marshall and Rossman 2011). This research study is interested in the interplay of intersectionality and identity. Intersectional research and analysis breaks out of the boundaries of traditional student research by exploring the complexities of the lived experience that rarely fall into neat categories and by situating individuals within the structures of power and oppression that influence the lived experience (Jones 2009).

Methods: The participants were twenty-five women who self-identified as Black or African American and d/Deaf or hard of hearing and were enrolled in an American university were invited to participate in the study.

The following research questions were developed from the literature in this area and helped shape the research methodology and analysis:

• What are the experiences of Black D/deaf female college students on campus?
• What happens when the constructions of Blackness and Deafness intersect?
• What are the intersecting identities of Black Deaf women?

This study uses a mixture of qualitative methods including campus observations, four focus group discussions and fifteen life history interviews to demonstrate how standpoint epistemologies recognize women of color as holders and creators of knowledge. Some of the women participated in both a focus group and an individual interview, while others participated in either a focus group interview or an individual interview.

Results: The following themes arose from the analysis of the data: 1) Identity is intersectional: the importance of being a Black deaf woman; 2) The experiences of Black D/deaf female college students; and 3) When gender, Blackness and deafness intersect. However, in this presentation, I mainly focus on my experiences designing and conducting an ethnographic research study with the primary objective of exploring the lived experiences of Black deaf female college students; for the purpose of promoting deeper appreciation of difference and the effects of oppression as experienced through intersectional marginalized identities.

Conclusions and Implications: Intersectionality and critical race grounded theories provide an appropriate lens for qualitative research in social work that aims to be inclusive and anti-oppressive.