Using graphic elicitation to explore community college transfer student identity, development, and engagement

The focus of this paper is to illustrate the use of graphic elicitation, in the form of a relational map, to explore community college transfer student (CCTS) identity, development, and engagement at four-year institutions. Using graphic elicitation illuminated aspects of CCTSs that they may not have been able to otherwise verbalize, and was used in combination with interview questions designed to capture participants' development and engagement, investigating how they made meaning of their institutional experiences. A constructivist grounded theory approach was applied, given the lack of available literature pertaining to CCTSs in these areas. This paper draws upon and contributes to the current graphic elicitation literature and provides a detailed outline of the study’s research design and thorough justification of the use of a relational map. The interview questions and relational maps worked in tandem to uncover theoretical themes that contributed to findings. The study's methodological approach, design using graphic elicitation, and limitations are discussed in addition to potential future research using graphic elicitation techniques.