Why Minorities are Underrepresented in US Faculty Positions

In the last module (#3) we examined the appropriate qualitative methods to be used for the research. In this case, the research was to examine why minorities are underrepresented in faculty positions in colleges and universities in the United States. It was my assertion in the previous module to rationale that these minorities do not possess the necessary skills to be hired. I am not making the hypothesis that they are not educated, but in fact they are not given the exposure required and needed to make networking connections to competitive teaching positions within the colleges and universities.


The three phases discussed by Ian Baptiste involve the analysis of qualitative data and it's purpose for research. I would apply all of Baptiste's phases of data analysis with regard to the data collected in the last module.

The first phase mentioned by Baptiste is asking the researcher to define the analysis. The purpose of defining the analysis is to determine the goals of the analysis. Additionally, it is a valuable time for the researcher to determine what represents appropriate and sufficient information and how to gather, record, interpret, and relay the information in more understandable ways. This continual process begins with the initial hypothesis of the study and proceeds with the collection of data, reduction, and write-up. In regards to my own hypothesis, I would define the analysis to by determining the goal of the research. My goal would be to be able to demonstrate the defensible notion that minorities are not included in certain networks that aspire to hire college instructors. Minorities are considered "outside" the inner circle of college professor demographics and minorities experience difficulty breaking into the inner circle to be recognized as equals.
Within the first phase Baptiste mentions four different parts.