Bridging Equity and Methodology: Applying Quantitative Ethnography to Examine Cultural Capital and Physics Identity Among Graduate Students in Bridge Programs

As physics education researchers work to address issues of inequity within our field, it is essential to develop and apply methodological tools that support equity-oriented research. In this presentation, we explore quantitative ethnography as a promising approach to centering the lived experiences of marginalized populations while maintaining statistical rigor. Specifically, we delve into the coding decision-making process, emphasizing strategies to preserve participant narratives and mitigate bias in data interpretation. This method enables researchers to bridge qualitative insights with quantitative validation, providing a robust framework for investigating and advocating for equity in physics education. To illustrate this approach, we discuss our coding process application using data from a study examining the cultural capital of physics graduate students in bridge programs.