Using qualitative research methodology to examine women STEM faculty’s participation in entrepreneurship education programs

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) offered to faculty in universities, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Given the economic impact of research translation, EEPs have become an essential tool in academic settings to accelerate the translation of STEM research into marketable products. However, the underrepresentation of women in STEM entrepreneurship spaces is an ongoing problem that requires more investigation. EEPs provide opportunities to address gender underrepresentation in the STEM entrepreneurship space by supporting women in entrepreneurial practice. Although several EEPs programs have been created, research examining women's participation in EEPs is minimal. Furthermore, there is a need for a detailed, theoretical understanding of STEM women faculty participation in EEPs. In the presented study, we describe our ongoing project involving the development of a qualitative framework to build an understanding of the women STEM faculty's participation/non-participation in EEPs. The presented results are based on a racially diverse sample of 32 interviews conducted with women STEM faculty across the U.S. Specifically, the work presented in this poster is a detailed methodological description of the qualitative coding process performed on the data to develop the framework. Particularly, we explicate qualitative procedures such as first and second cycle coding, memoing, interrater reliability, and explanatory matrix development used in the research project to build an empirical framework for why women STEM faculty decide to participate or not participate in EEPs. We anticipate that this work will assist in developing research-based insights on fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in EEPs, as well as broader STEM spaces.