Supporting data for "First-Generation Undergraduate Students’ Well-being and Academic Readiness in the case of Hong Kong"

This qualitative longitudinal study aims to explore the well-being and academic readiness of first-generation undergraduates over time. The study involves two rounds of 1-hour Zoom interviews, conducted at two different time points (e.g., first and second semester of an academic year). The sampling procedure will ensure a diverse and representative sample of first-generation students while maintaining feasibility and ethical considerations.

Target population is defined with an inclusion criteria: First-generation undergraduate students (defined as students whose parents/guardians did not complete a bachelor’s degree); and enrolled full-time in a degree program at the participating institution(s). Exclusion criteria includes students who do not identify as first-generation.

Sampling strategy is by purposive sampling and snowball sampling. Purposive sampling ensures a diverse sample that reflects the heterogeneity of first-generation students in terms of, gender, ethnicity/race, socioeconomic background, academic major, year of study (e.g., freshmen, sophomores), and student status as local, mainland, or international. Snowball sampling invites participants to refer other first-generation students who meet the inclusion criteria. This will help expand the sample and include students who may not be easily reachable through institutional channels.

Since the population of first-generation students is minor in a university, sample size was aimed at 30 participants for the interviews and fifty students were recruited to join round 1 interviews. This sample size is manageable for in-depth qualitative analysis and allows for attrition in the second round. Round 1 interviews were conducted at the beginning of the academic year (e.g., September–October). Round 2 interviews were conducted at the end of the academic year (e.g., April–May). A 10% attrition rate was anticipated between the two rounds due to scheduling conflicts or withdrawal from the study. Forty-five students from round 1 continued the interview in round 2.

The data files are transcripts form both round 1 and round 2 interviews.