Hispanic/Latino student Community Cultural Wealth, social networks, and career development at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater: A methods and data compendium to the report by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA)

This Methods and Data Compendium accompanies the Networks and Cultural Assets (NCA) Project report on Hispanic/Latino undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and provides a comprehensive account of the study’s design, measures, and analytic procedures. Using a parallel mixed-methods case study approach, the research integrates survey data (n = 129) and semi-structured interviews (n = 20) to examine students’ Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), academic and career social support networks, institutional engagement, and career development processes. The compendium details the development and validation of CCW subscales, ego-centered network measures, and student outcome indicators such as sense of belonging and work volition, alongside descriptive, correlational, cluster, and regression analyses. By documenting sampling procedures, instrument construction, variable operationalization, and quantitative and qualitative analytic strategies, the compendium offers methodological transparency and a resource for educators and researchers seeking asset-based, empirically grounded insights into Latina/o students’ cultural strengths, relational networks, and pathways through college toward career aspirations.