Colorism and Student Sense-Making of Campus Climate in Higher Education

This dataset contains anonymized qualitative survey responses and interpretive research materials from an exploratory study examining how colorism shapes college students’ sense-making of campus climate, identity formation, belonging, and intra-racial differentiation within higher education contexts. Data were collected using an online Google Forms survey distributed to college students across multiple institutional settings. The dataset includes demographic items, open-ended narrative responses, reflective qualitative prompts, coded thematic materials, and digital ethnographic observations derived from publicly available online discourse. Supplementary materials include Webb IRIS analytic classifications and derived interpretive variables used to support qualitative interpretation. The study conceptualizes colorism as a multi-level meaning system operating across interpersonal, institutional, and broader sociocultural environments. The dataset is organized as a structured multi-sheet Excel workbook containing qualitative narratives, thematic coding structures, observational records, and interpretive analytic frameworks designed to support qualitative inquiry into racialized identity formation, institutional belonging, assimilation pressures, and the reproduction of Eurocentric beauty standards. Data sources incorporated into the broader study include: -qualitative survey responses, -interview-administered narratives, -coded interpretive materials, and digital ethnographic observations from publicly accessible social media discourse (e.g., TikTok and Reddit). The dataset supports exploratory qualitative analysis, thematic interpretation, and methodological illustration rather than statistical generalization or population inference. It is intended for use in qualitative research, interpretive social inquiry, higher education research, critical race studies, digital ethnography, and related interdisciplinary scholarship. All participant responses have been fully anonymized. No personally identifiable information is included. Dataset Contents This dataset, Colorism and Student Sense-Making of Campus Climate in Higher Education, includes: -Anonymized survey responses -Interview-administered qualitative narratives -Coded qualitative data -Digital ethnographic observations -Webb IRIS analytic classifications -Derived interpretive variables and thematic structures Primary analytic areas include: -Identity formation -Intra-racial dynamics -Institutional belonging -Campus climate interpretation -Colorism as a meaning system -Eurocentric beauty standards and their social effects -Assimilation pressures and racialized social experiences -Methodological Framework This dataset is accompanied by: Ray, V. (2026). Colorism as a Meaning System in Higher Education: The Webb IRIS Interpretive Qualitative Codebook (Version v1) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20256656 The accompanying codebook applies the Webb IRIS interpretive framework, which organizes qualitative meaning-making across four analytically overlapping dimensions: 1. Individual (IND) — identity formation, self-perception, and emotional interpretation 2. Relational (REL) — peer, familial, and interpersonal dynamics 3. Institutional (INST) — campus structures, educational environments, and organizational culture 4. Systemic (SYS) — broader ideological, historical, and structural systems shaping color-based hierarchy The framework is designed to support interpretive consistency across survey narratives, interview materials, and digital ethnographic discourse.