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Qualitative Phase: “Qualitative data analysis involves organizing, accounting

for and explaining the data; in short, making sense of data in terms of the participants’ definitions of the situation, noting patterns, themes, categories and regularities” (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007, p. 461). Qualitative data analysis is a continuous process that includes constant reflection on the data, analytical questions asking, and memos keeping throughout the research (Creswell, 2003). During the research process, I kept memos for my research diary (Appendix VI). This action is important because it helps me reflect on my own feelings, thoughts, and attitudes toward the study and its questions during the research process. A qualitative data analysis needs tremendous attention to continuous digging into the deeper and more concealed meanings of the opened-ended data collected from questioning the research participants within the special socio-cultural contexts of the study. Qualitative data usually are rich, elaborate, and detailed with information collected from smaller numbers of

objects than quantitative data (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007). Therefore, such collected data generically transcribe, code, and detail the special

experiences of each individual case, in order to extract the main themes, issues, and codes that assist in the formulation of crucial theoretical perspectives or constructs. Reflexivity, analytical memos, returning to the original research questions, and re-reading the raw data also benefit the data analysis. In this study, I used the voice recorders to gather all of the vocal information from the interviews. Memos regarding the main themes of the interview information and reflection about the collected interview data were also continually kept. During the interview process, I tried to dig into the deeper or concealed meaning of the

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information released by the interview participants. After doing the interviews, the audio interview information was then transcribed into textual information for further data analysis. Sometimes I encountered problems understanding the accents of the interview participants when I transcribed the audio data. I overcame the relevant problems through replaying the voice recorder and repeatedly listening to the audio information. The data analysis of this research followed the procedures of analyses focused on meaning. Coding and

categorizing all of the interview transcripts were the first steps employed in the data analysis. I began by adding keywords to an interview text in order to identify the interview statements. The coding procedure can be seen through the sample of a coded interview transcript in Appendix VIII. I then organized the identified statements and counted the frequency of similar statements from all of the interview texts.

Analyses focusing on meaning, analyses focusing on language, and general analyses are the three main modes of interview analysis mentioned by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009). In this research, analysis focusing on meaning is the main mode for the qualitative data analysis. Meaning coding, meaning

condensation, and meaning interpretation are the three procedures in analyses focusing on meaning. They can be used to structure the interview information, to focus the meanings of patterns shown in a comparatively short space, and to investigate the implied meaning of the data collected. Coding and categorizing are the initial approaches used by researchers to analyze interview texts. Coding refers to adding one or more keywords to a text for further identification of a statement. Categorization means a more organized conceptualization of declarations and allows for quantification. After meaning coding and

categorizing, meaning condensation is then implemented. Meaning

condensation means to abridge the meaning stated by interviewees into more concise expressions or concepts so that the main themes of what is described are rephrased in few words. The final procedure of analyses focusing on meaning is meaning interpretation of interview texts. Meaning interpretation aims to interpret interview texts more deeply and critically, not only to organize the obvious meanings of statements. Generally speaking, meaning

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interpretation recontextualizes the statements from the interview texts.

Categorization and condensation tend to reduce the text but interpretations tend to expand the text with the outcome that more words are used than the original statements interpreted (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). In this empirical study, after coding and categorizing the interview texts, I then condensed the main themes of the meanings into shorter descriptions or expressions. I also interpreted the findings from the deeper and more critical viewpoints in addition to structuring the clear and apparent meanings of the interview statements. The interview findings are presented and reported in chapters 4 and 5 of this research.

Quantitative Phase: A quantitative statistical data analysis method was used through a computer software: Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS). Descriptive statistical data were then used to represent research findings from the collected data. According to Cohen, Manion, and Morrison (2007),

“[d]escriptive statistics do exactly what they say: they describe and present data, for example, in terms of summary frequencies … Such statistics make no

inferences or predictions, they simply report what has been found, in a variety of ways” (p. 503-504). Therefore, descriptive statistical data in this research show the distribution of different reasons motivating study abroad and the situation of academic, socio-cultural, and overall experiences and adjustment of the

research participants.