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Going qualitative: Identifying and challenging barriers while exploring the lives of Iraqi refugees in Helsinki and Rome
M.Pol.Sc. Vanja La Vecchia-Mikkola,
Tutkija, Helsingin yliopisto
MONIKULTTUURISUUDEN KOHTAAMINEN YHTEISKUNTATUTKIMUKSESSA
University of Turku 20.10.2011
Outline
Info about my study
how to do comparative research with qualitative data, what should be taken into account then etc.
Research question
Info about my study
Comparative study:- Two sub-national units: the cities (RM and HKI) - Two ethinc groups: Iraqi Arabs and Iraqi Kurds
Constructivist Grounded theory (Charmaz 2004) Categories and theory constructed by the researcher and the respondents.
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Negotiating the access: positioning the self into the fields
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TRUST
The trust as ongoing process
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Sources and selection of my sample
4 different sources for selecting my sample
Diverse Key informants as gatekeepers Snowball sampling approach
Characteristics of the interviewed Iraqis:
a) Kurdish and Arab Iraqis settled in Finland and Italy for minimum period of 2 years at least up to 30 years. b) Iraqis networking with other Iraqis (from Iraq or /and other countries)c) Iraqis who could be at least 15 years old when they left Iraq
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Qualitative Data Collection Techniques
48 Semi-structured interviews (24 in Finland + 24 in Italy)
Interviews were preceded by a social mapping exercise (e.g. pilot interviews; Fieldwork). This was used
as a basis to identify key ethnic populations, groups for interview and also to gain initial insight into local
dynamics of transnationalism and integration processes.
What to take into account when doing the interviews:
- Ethical principles: confidentiality/privacy/anonymity
- it is a process of learning
- To develop empathy with interviewees. Interviews as forms of conversation (Kvale 1996)
- To avoid rude transition, while making the conversation rolling (Esterberg 2002)
- to be unobtrusive, in order not to impose one's own influence on the interviewee (e.g. avoiding prompt
questions)
- Sensitivity as a dual state (Skeggs 1995)
Participant Observations Fieldwork was based in two fieldsites representing different
patterns of refugee settlement
- Rome: with a history of dispersal and do-it-yourself settlement
- Helsinki: with a history of structural and well-established settlement.
What to take into account when doing fieldwork:
- Access -> not simply a matter of physical presence Trust: Getting trust and developing
relationships (Hammersley & Atkinson 1983).
- Equal relationship between the ‘researcher’ and the ‘respondents’
- Doing research ‘with people’ rather than ‘on them’ (Korac 2003)
- Visibility
- Compromise
Contextualized problems
What to consider Possible solutions
Language differences, communication difficulties
Identify key features of the language barrier and its impact and solve it
Interpreters/face to face
Cultural factors Ethnic groups are not homogeneousAvoid categorizationRecognize difference
Foster communication
External factorsTime and space when entering into the
research setting Be aware of time and
space coordinates
Sensitivity: Torture, trauma, health
problems
-Be aware of the impact of the environment for the interview process
-interview process
-Observe the person for signs of anxiety, discomfort
-let the person choose the place she/he finds more
comfortable-explore details only if
necessary-Do not be afraid of silence
-Prepare yourself/Be encouraging/ improve
safety/stop the interview
Sensitivity
Problems arising from the post-access group experience /or interviews process from the researcher’s perspective
How I solved possible emerging problems
Ethnography is also a really
intensive process and may also be an emotive experience (Skeggs
1995). It’s a certainty that sensitive topics may arise more
spontaneously during qualitative research studies, when people are able to express their feelings with
more freedom (Lee, 1993; Dickson-Swift, et al. 2008, Liamputtong,
2007)
-anxiety-insomnia-tiredness
-sense of guilt- fear -sense of violatation of the researcher’s personal security
Temporarily avoid such circumstances, take control of the grief and bring it to a solution because disruptive situation might also have a negative impact on my data collection/ Stop with the interviews
Minimized, managed or mitigated them (Lee 1993: 16).
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Grounded theory provides general questions and helps to develop further questions specific to the research problem and emerging analysis.
Grounded theory helps you to keep your research:
handy resourceful Exciting!
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Coding qualitative data
Coding is one of the key operations in qualitative study analysis. It usually refers to the process of
sorting out and labeling grounded data (Charmaz 2004);
A process of condensing the bulk of our data into analyzable units by creating categories with and
from our data ( Coffey & Atkinson 1996:26)
When I started coding?
1. I started with the a sort of pre-coding phase with my pilot interviews. This early pre-coding
phase allowed me to better outline my research plan’, to organize a more structured
research plan for applying for funding as well as to systematize my future interview
guideline. Moreover, the early coding, followed by fieldwork memo, allowed me to
distinguish first important information on my respondents, in terms of used key words or
ethnic diversity’s variance.
2. During the interviews collections: existing literatures reviews addressing refugees’ perspective
of return and integration
3. Line-by-line coding and constant comparison (Charmaz 2004)
Compare data with data - Statement with statement; Story with story; Incident with incident .
Then compare code with code (Charmaz 2004). Code the second interview with the first interview in
mind. Code subsequent interviews (or data from other sources) with the emerging theory in mind.
Transformation of coded data into meaningful data .
When coding is achieved, data have to be interrogated and explored to generate meanings and
interpretations (Coffey & Atkinson 1996). Note that certain amount of info may be loss (Coffey & Atkinson
1996)
Saturation
In collecting and interpreting data about a particular category, in time you reach a point of diminishing
returns. Eventually your interviews add nothing to what you already know about a category, its properties,
and its relationship to the core category.
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Core category (or more) will be found to emerge with high frequency
of mention, and to be connected to many of the other categories
which are emerging. However, when it is clear that one category is
mentioned with high frequency and is well connected to other
categories, it is safe to adopt this as the core category.
Grounded theory researchers collect data and analyze in simultaneously from the initial phases of the research (Charmaz, 2002, p.675)
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Critiques of the Grounded theory
- Specify theory at bids
- Theoretical sampling takes time
- Coding breaks up narrative flows of data
- - Realists VS constructivist Glaser / Strauss & Corbin VS Charmaz
Categories and concepts lie in the data; they spontaneously emerge when
researching VS categories are constructed through the interaction
