INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 1

Initial Data Analysis Report

Hyejin Yoon

George Mason University

Spring, 2017

EDUC 812 001 Qualitative Methods in Educational Research

INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 2

Research site description

INTO Mason, the organization that the participants are working for, is an institution

where international students could be provided language instruction and pathway programs.

Undergraduate and Graduate Pathways are offered for international students who need English

proficiency and academic preparation, providing language classes that are focused on linguistic

aspects and various majors classes at the same time; working with 5 majors programs for

undergraduate students and 48 majors program for graduate students. The Academic English

program is designed for students who do not meet the requirement for a Pathway program to

enable them to become confident English speakers. After successfully completing this program,

students could continue their studies in Pathway programs or gain full admission into one of

Masons degree programs directly.

I assumed that classes of INTO Mason would consist of people who have different

cultural backgrounds. There might be cultural disparities between language teachers and

international students in class. In a cross-cultural setting, to communicate and understand each

other, stakeholders should be aware of cultural diversity. Especially, language teachers need to

be equipped with intercultural competence.

I observed two language classes one by one for an hour each, and interviewed two

language teachers whom I observed before for about 45 minutes each. Through observations and

interviews, I wanted to investigate their cultural awareness, intercultural competency including

their knowledge, attitudes, and skills, and their teaching capabilities to apply the theories of

intercultural competence.
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 3

Data Analysis Approach

Carspecken (1996) introduced the most fundamental analytic techniques and suggested

that the analytic procedure that researchers made speculations with regard to the meanings of

interaction recorded be repeated during an entire qualitative study. As Carspeckens (1996)

procedure of data analysis, I had read through those several times to be familiar with them,

trying to understand the holistic meanings and getting an impression of the field. Then,

taking context into consideration, in some cases there seemed to be mixed messages,

although not all of them were mixed. I conducted meaning fields by virtue of articulating the

range of meanings from the view of the first person. In order to reconstruct initial meaning, I

built up relatively low and high levels of inference. Sometimes I constructed hermeneutic

inferences by putting words describing on meaning of participants tone, hesitation and the

length of pause.
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 4

Transcription

ME: Tell me about your class. Why do you think Saudi male students left in your class?
LTA: Actually they dont have problems at their speaking. All got As on their speaking Commented [h1]: They have problems with listening,
exams, maybe one B. And then out of 12 students only 4 people passed. Two As and two Bs, reading, and writing (MI);

everyone else failed on the listening exam.

ME: Listening? Could you tell me more about your duty.
LTA: Oh, I only teach oral communications so no reading and writing were involved. Commented [h2]: I do not have responsibility for their
However, there are big exams for each chapter, of course mid-term exam do involve essay reading and writing skills (LI); I am free to criticize their lack
of abilities on reading and writing proficiency (HI)
writing. This is the skill that they are really deficient in. In this case they need to listen to
lecture and then write essay questions concerning lectures, I understand, which involves the
comprehension of the lecture, and the ability to take notes and then the ability to analyze in a
some kind of uh.. abstract way. The content of the lecture, be able to formulate serious essay
answers. And the purpose of that of courses, because say let they ready to academic classes
and then ready to go to the academic world. So the mid-term exams are very important text
with them, because they want to go onto the academic classes next semester and maintain
that they are probably not ready. And speaking they are. Not listening. Commented [h3]: I am teaching speaking skills, so this is
not my fault (HI)
[MF: If they go to the regular academic program, they would fail AND/OR They are not

good students AND/OR They do not follow her guidance AND/OR I am frustrated that

my students are not prepared for the academic classes AND/OR I dont think that they

know how important mid-term exams are for them AND/OR I dont trust on their ability

to success in the academic classes]

ME: That is quite interesting to me, because I understood that listening would be followed by
speaking.
LTA: Only for Asians. Commented [h4]: Asian students listening skills are better
than speaking ones (LI)
ME: Oh, that is only for Asians?
LTA: Not for Middle Eastern[ers]. You are studying languages and different aspects of
pronunciation, and how to teach the teachershow to teach listening I mean the speaking
.That so important in Korea. Thats why you gonna go back to Korea, because your
language so different. Speaking wise from English with the consonant clusters, the
differentiation between r and l and uh so especially especially so the ending of the
words having consonant clusters thats so different from Korean. Commented [h5]: There are differences between language
Korean and English (LI); I am a good language teacher,
ME: Um. because I can differentiate those disparities (HI)
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 5

LTA: Whereas middle Eastern language, they have all the same sounds. The only sound
different is r. They have the typical rolled r as supposed to the weird and unusual
American r. And so most of them dont even work hard to try to fix that. They are all of the
consonant clusters that they are familiar with. Commented [h6]: They have a good reason why they can
speak English fluently (LI); I do not think that they made a
ME: Oh.. got it. lot of efforts to achieve their speaking fluency (MI); I think
that they are not diligent students (HI)
LTA: So their speaking is very clear. My students have been giving PowerPoint
presentations for the last two weeks. I dont think I had to mark down anybodys
pronunciation. Maybe their grammar, maybe their fluency, but not the pronunciation. They
got As, all of that, because they say all the words. There is not a difficult for them.
[MF: They are good at speaking AND/OR Speaking English is not a matter for them

AND/OR I do not think that they made lots of efforts to be fluent speaker in English

AND/OR Thanks to the similarities between Arabic and English in pronunciation, they

can speak fluently AND/OR I do not value their speaking abilities highly, because I know

that they do not make strenuous efforts to achieve them]

ME: You are saying about their pronunciation, focusing on phonology. Tell me about more
their grammar skills. I understand Arabic has a different grammar system.
LTA: I dont think its I dont think its [as] different to[as] Korean is. You know, Korean
had the the verb at the end of a sentence. I think Arabic [is] different, a different kind of
way. For example, a lot of words they dont have any vowels. So, the word for book is
ktub. Its they have vowel insertion. So its K T something B, something like that. The
inserted vowel in the middle of the word will change the subject to the sentence, object to the
sentence, or indirect object, or some kind... So their system is different. Its a case
language. Thats why they insert those things, but I think that the sentence structure is so
different.
ME: You are right. Thats what I understood.
LTA: They also have a lot of]the\ same verbs. Tenses For example, they do have articles. Commented [h7]: Arabic and English have similar grammar
Some languages dont have articles. Right? systems (LI); They do not have a good reason why they are
not as much proficient on reading and writing as speaking
(MI); I think that they are not diligent students (HI)
[OC: She already knew that the Korean language does not have articles.]
ME: Right. (laugh together) You know that.
LTA: SoSome languages dont have he and she or her and him. So... but Arabic
does. I think there are more similarities to English than Korean does. Korean is like from
Mars in comparison to the Venus, something like that. Commented [h8]: Arabic is more like English than Korean
(LI); Given the similarity between Arabic and English, I
cannot understand why some Saudi students are leg behind
(HI)
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 6

ME: Hmm So, have you ever thought about that kind of Arabic and Koreans differences?
Now I understood that Koreans are relatively strong at reading and grammar. And Saudis
are strong at speaking. Have you ever thought about the reasons why that kind of differences
happened, focusing on cultural differences?
LTA: (Smiling) This is my first time to teach level 8. So, this is my first experience with this
level of students. For 3 years, I taught level 6. And. I am more familiar I can speak clearly
about that level than level 8. Umm Let me tell you a little story. OK ... (chuckling) I have
three students in my class right now in level 8 who havent done anything to pass the class.
They havent completed any of their homework. All the homework is online. Theyve never
submitted any of homework on-line. Umm.. two of them havent done anything about their
power point presentations. The deadline is this Friday, the deadline to submit their proposal
was yesterday. Neither of them did anything about proposal for their academic presentations.
.. (deep breathing) . (pausing almost over 3 seconds) one of them got 17% his mid-term, Commented [h9]: I was very disappointed at them (LI)
another got 30.
ME: 17?
LTA: So these students are not even trying. Right?
ME: Umm
LTA: And when they did write anything down essay, their sentence structure was horrible.
So I assumed that their co-classes are much lower than their speaking class. So long answer
to your short question is if you dont try, if you dont do your homework, if you dont come to Commented [h10]: Students should do their work hard (LI);
class prepared, if you dont respond to your teachers emails like you do, you respond to my They do not try to do their responsibilities (MI); They are
not good students (HI)
emails, hello~ (chuckling and then little pause) and all you do is show up for class, it looks to
Commented [h11]: They do not follow the rules (LI); They
me all they care about is keeping their student visa. So they have to attend class to keep their ignored me, I cannot understand their behaviors (MI); They
visa. They dont have to pass class. The two people who got As on the mid-term exam were are not good students (HI)
both women from Saudi Arabia. They are top of the class. Ive got 100 and 99 something like Commented [h12]: They do not follow the rules (LI); Their
that. intentions of registering the school are not innocent (MI);
They are bad people (HI)
[NC: The participant is teaching speaking class, so I can assume that co-classes Commented [h13]: Not all Saudi students are bad (LI); Male
means reading, writing, and listening class] Saudi students have problems, they are not good (HI)

ME: So that is not a problem of cultural thing.

(laughing)
LTA: I wouldnt want to use the word lazy, but (laughing) so oh, I didnt get to tell
you the story. I was thinking about this in the hallway last week, and two people were in the
booth next to me talking about financial situation. They both are accountants here [at] INTO.
And how some students dont pay their tuition on time. So I asked them, can you please tell
me if there are demographics in your situations people who dont pay their tuition on time
routinely and they described the same group as I am talking about for not passing my class.
So it seems to me there is a connection between the level of dedication and commitment to
the program, they also not paying the money. (laughing)
Commented [h14]: They are lazy (LI); The word lazy
sounds strong. I am not a bad person to use the word (MI); I
am a sensible person, but they are bad (HI)
Commented [h15]: The low sense of money is related to a
specific population, Saudi (LI)
Commented [h16]: My students who did not dedicate to
the class might not pay their tuition on time (LI); They are
selfish and they do not follow the rules (HI)
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 7

ME: Then, how could you guide students who dedicated almost the same amount of efforts to
their study, but their mid-term exam result was not enough to pass the course?
LTA: Well, this is a very important question. Actually in the hallway I was thinking about
this last week. Thats what I was thinking about. Because the purpose of the mid term grades
is what you know? Its to warn the students. If the student does not pass, if the students are
having any kind of trouble in class the mid-term is the red flag. You know.. youd better start
working harder. So in our program, if the students are not passing at mid-term, we have to
have a conference with them. So I have just finished a conference with each one by one by
one. It took me 3 hours to have these conferences with all my students. It was a lot of time. Commented [h17]: The conference is important (LI); I am
And one student in the class is a Japanese. And she also was not passing. VERY unusual. doing my best as a teacher (HI)

(with lauder voice, prolonging the word very)
ME: (laughing)
LTA: Among the Japanese students. Usually they are way[at the] top of the class. But she
wasnt passing. Since we had a mid-term conference, she completely turned around. Every
homework assignment on time. I just told her you are not gonna pass the class. Is there
anything I can help you? I am here for you. But you have to do your work or you are not
gonna pass. Every homework assignment 100%, completely turn around. She will be fine, she
will pass the class. No result with the other group. No change.
[MF: Saudi male students dont listen to me AND/OR They dont respect me AND/OR I
Commented [h18]: It is usual that Japanese students pass
the exam (LI); Usually Japanese students were good in class
(MI); the student is unusual, so she is not a good student
(HI)
Commented [h19]: Japanese students are diligent and
smart (LI); I think they are good people and I like them (HI)
Commented [h20]: Like other Japanese students, she
followed the rule (LI); There might be some reason why she
failed in mid-term exam (HI)

think they are rude AND/OR They dont follow the rule AND/OR I am disappointed at

their rude attitude AND/OR The students dont care about the school work AND/OR

They are not good students or people AND/OR This is not my fault, rather it is theirs]

ME: Even though you did same thing for them?

LTA: Same, same show them their homework, show them their test score, show them, you
know, all of the area where they havent completed assignments. And only for one case, Commented [h21]: This is not my fault (HI)
completely different result. So, I was just thinking about that. So, we have someone [on] staff
here whos from Saudi Arabia. Shes actually paid to try to intervene, so I actually
considered writing her email last night, asking you can do any help for these students. Good Commented [h22]: They might listen to a person who have
question. In the past, my OCS class, if I had a mid-term conference, and then they had mid- some cultural background (LI); There might something that I
cannot do for them; There might be something I do not
term grades submitted on patriot web which is very serious. So, its official. Almost every know about them (HI)
time they turn them around, sort of doing much better in their classes. Almost every time.
This time? Good question. (cynical laughing) I dont think they care. I actually tutored one of
them. So.. teen.. teenager, teenage boys Commented [h23]: I did all things that I could do for them
(LI); I gave them up, and that is not my fault (HI)
ME: There is no right answer, right?
 INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 8

LTA: Right. If he lived in my house, I take away his phone, you know, take away his laptop, Commented [h24]: There is nothing that I can do (LI)
take away his i-pad, right? You can do that, if someone lives in your home, but he is 18 year
old who are away from home for the first time and the land of freedom. Absolutely wonderful Commented [h25]: He should take responsibilities for his
time. Who knows what they do at night? (laughing together) own self (LI)
Commented [h26]: They are not responsible (LI)

Themes

Below are the themes I have identified after the coding:

The participant knows about cultural differences and similarities.

The participant is imposing her own cultural values on others

Table 1

Quote Low Inference Mid/High Inference Theme

Asian students The participant knows

listening skills about cultural
Only for Asians
are better than differences and
speaking ones. similarities
Speaking wise from English
with the consonant clusters, There are
the differentiation between r differences I am a good language The participant knows
and l and uh so especially between the teacher, because I can about cultural
especially so the ending of Korean and differentiate those differences and
the words having consonant English disparities similarities
clusters thats so different languages
from Korean.

They have a The participant knows

The only sound different is
good reason why about cultural
r. They have the typical
they can speak differences and
rolled r as supposed to the
English fluently similarities
weird and unusual American
r. And so most of them dont I do not think that they
even work hard to try to fix made a lot of efforts to The participant is
that. They are all of the achieve their speaking imposing her own
consonant clusters that they fluency; I think that cultural values on
are familiar with. they are not diligent others
students
 INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 9

The participant knows

They are good at about cultural
speaking differences and
They got As, all of that, similarities
because they say all the I do not value their
words. There is not a difficult speaking abilities The participant is
for them highly, because I imposing her own
know that they do not cultural values on
make strenuous efforts others
to achieve them
Arabic and
They also have a lot of same English have
verbs. Tenses For example, similar grammar The participant knows
they do have articles. Some systems about cultural
languages dont have articles. differences and
But Korean is far similarities
Some languages dont have different from
he and she or her and English
him. So... but Arabic does. I
They do not have a
think there are more
good reason why they
similarities to English than The participant is
are not as much
Korean does. Korean is like proficient on reading imposing her own
from Mars in comparison to and writing as cultural values on
the Venus, something like speaking; I think that others
that. they are not diligent
students
Neither of them did anything
The participant is
about proposal for their I was very
imposing her own
academic presentations. .. disappointed at
cultural values on
(deep breathing) . (pausing them
others
almost over 3 seconds)

if you dont try, if you dont

They do not try to do
do your homework, if you
their responsibilities;
dont come to class prepared, Students should The participant is
They are not good
if you dont respond to your do their work
imposing her own
hard; They do students; They ignored
teachers emails like you do, cultural values on
not try to do their me, I cannot
you respond to my emails, others
responsibilities understand their
hello~ (chuckling and then
behaviors; Their
little pause) and all you do is
intentions of
show up for class, it looks to
 INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT
me all they care about is
keeping their student visa
The two people who got
As on the mid-term exam
were both women from students are bad;
Saudi Arabia. They are
top of the class. Ive got
students are good
100 and 99 something like
that.
So I asked them, can you
please tell me if there are
demographics in your
situations people who dont
pay their tuition on time
routinely and they described
the same group as I am
talking about for not passing
my class. So it seems to me
there is a connection between
the level of dedication and
commitment to the program,
they also not paying the
money. (laughing)
And one student in the class is
a Japanese. And she also was
not passing. VERY unusual.
Among the Japanese students.
Usually they are way top of
the class. But she wasnt
passing. Since we had a mid-
term conference, she
completely turned around.
No result with the other
group. No change
10
registering the school
are not innocent
Not all Saudi Male Saudi students The participant is
have problems, they imposing her own
Female Saudi are not good students cultural values on
and not motivated others
The low sense of
money is related
to a specific
population, They are selfish and The participant is
Saudi; My they do not follow the imposing her own
students who did rules; They are not cultural values on
not dedicate to good students others
the class might
or pay their
tuition on time
It is usual that Usually Japanese The participant is
Japanese students were good in imposing her own
students pass the class; the Japanese cultural values on
exam; student is exceptional. others
Like other The participant is
There might be some
Japanese imposing her own
reason why she failed
students, she cultural values on
in mid-term exam
followed the rule others
Saudi male
students dont The participant is
listen to me; They are not good imposing her own
They do not
students or people cultural values on
respect me; They
do not follow the others
rule
 INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 11

we have someone on staff

There might be
here whos from Saudi They might listen
something that I The participant is using
Arabia. Shes actually paid to to a person who
cannot do for them; various approaches to
try to intervene, so I actually has the same
There might be student from different
considered writing her email cultural
something I do not cultures
last night, asking you can do background
know about them
any help for these students

Table 1
Quote Low Inference Mid/High Inference Theme
Asian students The participant knows
listening skills about cultural
Only for Asians
are better than differences and
speaking ones. similarities
Speaking wise from English
with the consonant clusters,
There are
the differentiation between r I am a good language The participant knows
differences
and l and uh so especially teacher, because I can about cultural
between
especially so the ending of differentiate those differences and
language Korean
the words having consonant disparities similarities
and English
clusters thats so different
from Korean.

They have a The participant knows

The only sound different is
good reason why about cultural
r. They have the typical
they can speak differences and
rolled r as supposed to the
English fluently similarities
weird and unusual American
r. And so most of them dont I do not think that they
even work hard to try to fix made a lot of effort to The participant is
that. They are all of the achieve their speaking imposing her own
consonant clusters that they fluency; I think that cultural values on
are familiar with. they are not diligent others
students
The participant knows
They are good at about cultural
They got As, all of that,
speaking differences and
because they say all the
similarities
words. There is not a difficult
for them I do not value their
The participant is
speaking abilities
imposing her own
highly, because I
 INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT
They also have a lot of same
verbs. Tenses For example,
they do have articles. Some
languages dont have articles.
Some languages dont have
he and she or her and
him. So... but Arabic does. I
think there are more
similarities to English than
Korean does. Korean is like
from Mars in comparison to
the Venus, something like
that.
Neither of them did anything
about proposal for their
academic presentations. ..
(deep breathing) . (pausing
almost over 3 seconds)
if you dont try, if you dont
do your homework, if you
dont come to class prepared,
if you dont respond to your
teachers emails like you do,
you respond to my emails,
hello~ (chuckling and then
little pause) and all you do is
show up for class, it looks to
me all they care about is
keeping their student visa
The two people who got
As on the mid-term exam
were both women from
Saudi Arabia. They are
top of the class. Ive got
12
know that they do not cultural values on
make strenuous efforts others
to achieve them
Arabic and
English have
The participant knows
similar grammar
about cultural
systems
differences and
But Korean is far similarities
different from
English
They do not have a
good reason why they The participant is
are not as proficient on
imposing her own
reading and writing as
cultural values on
speaking; I think that
they are not diligent others
students
The participant is
I was very
imposing her own
disappointed at
cultural values on
them
others
They do not try to do
their responsibilities;
They are not good
Students should students; They ignored The participant is
do their work
me, I cannot imposing her own
hard; They do
understand their cultural values on
not try to do their
responsibilities behaviors; Their others
intentions of
registering the school
are not innocent
Not all Saudi The participant is
students are bad; Male Saudi students
imposing her own
have problems, they
Female Saudi cultural values on
are not good
students are good others
 INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT
100 and 99 something like
that.
So I asked them, can you
please tell me if there are
demographics in your
situations people who dont
pay their tuition on time
routinely and they described
the same group as I am
talking about for not passing
my class. So it seems to me
there is a connection between
the level of dedication and
commitment to the program,
they also not paying the
money. (laughing)
And one student in the class is
a Japanese. And she also was
not passing. VERY unusual.
Among the Japanese students.
Usually they are way top of
the class. But she wasnt
passing. Since we had a mid-
term conference, she
completely turned around.
No result with the other
group. No change
The purpose of this research was to explore the intercultural competence of teachers who
were working for a language institution, INTO Mason as language teachers. Two observation
13
The low sense of
money is related
to a specific
population, They are selfish and The participant is
Saudi; My they do not follow the imposing her own
students who did rules; They are not cultural values on
not dedicate to good students others
the class might
not pay their
tuition on time
It is usual that Usually Japanese The participant is
Japanese students were good in imposing her own
students pass the class; the Japanese cultural values on
exam student is exceptional others
Like other The participant is
There might be some
Japanese imposing her own
reason why she failed
students, she cultural values on
in mid-term exam
followed the rule others
Saudi male
students dont The participant is
listen to me; They are not good imposing her own
They do not
students or people cultural values on
respect me; They
do not follow the others
rule
Preliminary Interpretation/ Findings
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 14

and two interviews were designed to examine aspects of intercultural competence in two

participants. For initial data analysis, I selected one interview transcript. The preliminary

findings of this data analysis are presented according to the two overarching research questions

as follows:

How does the participant know about intercultural competence?

How does the participant react cultural differences?

Research question one: How does the participant know about intercultural competence?

Interculturally competent language teachers are equipped with knowledge regarding

culture per se; what culture is and how influential culture is in our lives. Also, they should

contact other cultures not only frequently but also variously. In addition, a good understanding

of ones own culture and general traits of other cultures is required for them to help students to

recognize and understand similarities and differences between cultures. Also, teachers need to

know stereotypes that students possess and know how to address these in class. Teachers who

have intercultural competency know various ways to select pertinent learning content, activities

and teaching materials.

The participant had Master degree majoring in TESOL (Teaching English to Speaker of

Other Languages). She said that she had learned about the roles of culture in the process of

language learning and she emphasized the importance of teaching culture in language classes.

The participants responded to the research question one. She perceived the concept of

intercultural competence as an ability to interact successfully with others from different cultures

and as knowledge concerning other cultures, especially she focused on Big c culture such as

holidays, arts, and university environments.

Research question two: How does the participant react to cultural differences?
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 15

Teachers should be sensitive to the fact that they need to value cultural dimensions in

language learning. Also, language teachers should willingly take account of students

convictions about and attitudes toward different cultures and deal with pupils stereotypes in

class.

The findings suggest that the respondent was favorably disposed toward teaching

intercultural competence in her language classes and she seemed to be opened toward different

cultures. However, she could not understand a specific group of pupils unique culture, Saudi

male students underestimating females, so that she concluded that they were rude and lazy by

simply imposing her own cultural value.

Quality and Validity Techniques

In order to avoid a researchers bias which is a potential threat to the validity of data and

uncertainty, there are important and effective strategies that can help researchers establish high

qualitative research trustworthiness. Koro-Ljungberg (2010) addressed how validity can be

established with researchers responsibility and in the process of decision-making, saying

responsible researchers could strive for ongoing and disruptive dialogues with study

participants and collaborative communities thus opening spaces for themselves and others to

challenge the authorities of oppressors, to allow margins to speak and to dislocate decolonizing

privilege (p. 608). Therefore, among many approaches to construct trustworthiness, I allowed

the interpretations of two groups of people, my peers and the participant. To examine if my

theoretical interpretations fit the data, I employed the peer-debriefing technique by discussing the

interpretations with my two peers. Also, to investigate if the degree that I accurately portrayed

the meanings given by the participant, I obtained participants feedback.

INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 16

Reflection

After transcribing all my recordings, I began to code and built meaning fields. At the

phase of setting up the interview questions, I already had generic research questions and several

themes that I expected to find out; participants intercultural knowledge, attitude, and skills. On

the one hand, the participants knowledge aspect of intercultural competence was quite overt, so

that I could relatively easily compartmentalized it with the low-inference coding. On the other

hand, the participant demonstrated her attitudes in a subtle way, because she tried to hide her

negative feeling regarding cultural differences by using moderate languages and expressions.

Hence, I spent more time to catch the extrapolating meanings with the mid- or high-inference

coding. Although it was a time-consuming work, it was interesting to me at the same time due to

the pleasure of discovery.

Thanks to the peer-debriefing technique, I had opportunities to reify the distinctions

between mid-inference and high-inference: my peers helped me grasp the difference between

them. Also, through the member-checking, I could be confident about my coding work. I

selected the several parts of the transcription which looked too complicated to catch the authentic

meaning or I wanted to clarify whether the way I interpreted was appropriate or not. Then, I

called for discussing my coding works with the participant to see if she wanted me to modify so

that I represented what she initially wanted to say. However, even though there were some

portions related to her attitudes toward her Saudi male students that I wanted to have member-

checking, I could not. It was because, based on my interpretations, her attitude of intercultural

competence did not seem to be fully developed. At his point, I come to consider a deeply ethical

issue.
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 17

To sum up, the data analysis process required a lot of energy and was completed after a

long time. It was definitely a rigorous work. However, through the meticulous process, I could

develop my analytic attitudes and skills with which researchers should be equipped. Moreover, I

had a chance to have the ethical consideration by confronting the most fundamental ethical issue,

which was not harming participants psychologically during the conduct of research.
INITIAL DATA ANALYSIS REPORT 18

Reference

Carspecken, P. F. (1996). Critical ethnography in educational research: A theoretical and

practical guide. New York: Routledge.

Koro-Ljungberg, M. (2010). Validity, Responsibility, and Apora. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(8),

603-610.