Qualitative Methods for Gender Research

Deborah RubinCultural Practice, LLC

IFPRI Gender Brown Bag SeriesWashington, D.C.

April 22, 2014

What do you see, sex or gender?

Sex– the “facts” of biology,

especially related to reproductive potential

– said to be universal and unchanging

– Male/Female – But… 5 sexes?

Hermaphroditism

Gender– sociocultural meaning

associated with biological facts

– changes over time and in different contexts

– Man/Woman– A third gender? Omani

Xanith

The concept of "gender" permits biological capacity and social roles to be analytically

separable and to acknowledge that change is possible

Biology imposes limits on what people can do, but when we feel the need we usually try to overcome them at times all too recklessly. Bareskinned, we live in the arctic; wingless we fly; we live underwater without benefit of gills. In view of [this] ingenuity…. it might seem odd that scientists call on sometimes quite subtle hypothetical differences between women and men to explain gender inequalities and that research into sex differences arouses so much scientific and public interest. We must recognize that differences among people are of interest only if they are correlated with differences in power.

(Ruth Hubbard1990:72)

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• Positivist perspective: reality exists and can be studied

• Common view: Qualitative methods help “to check, qualify, and enrich the findings from the more established [read here “quantitative”] analytical approaches.”

• Qualitative approaches can provide insight into:– peoples’ perceptions and their observed practices: the why and

the how– process; change over time– “rich description” such as the multiple meanings associated with

terms and behaviors– the individual’s point of view, a reminder that people are “active

participants in constructing their own future” (Booth et al. 2006)– the constraints of everyday life

Why Qualitative Methods?

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Vision for Mixed Methods Approach

Initial qual interviews Quant pretest

Quant survey & analysisIndepth qual interviews

Ground truthing

A sequenced interactive approach

of qualitative and quantitative methods

and analysis

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• Make visible women’s life experiences

• Differentiate men’s and women’s views

• Understand “outliers,” noncompliance, multiple meanings

• Allows for responses not limited by precoding

Why Qualitative Methods for Gender Research?

Data Collection Methods: Interviews

Key Informant Interviews

Group Interviews

Focus Group Discussions

Interview Principles

A conversation with a purposeUse a questionnaireExpress ignoranceOne question at a timeLet the interviewee finish talking…

Asking Questionsqualitative ≠ haphazard

but can beStructured/Semistructured/Unstructured

Discrete or Open-ended questions

Descriptive questions (broad, general) and allow people to describe their experiences and their daily activities, e.g., “Tell me about a typical day.” Structural questions explore responses to descriptive questions. They are used to understand how the respondent organizes knowledge.

Avoid asking the informant questions that make him or her do the analytical work for you. Instead of asking, “What do you mean that it is “too hard” to find workers at planting time?” you might ask, “What efforts did you take to find workers at planting time?” or “Give me an example of what you did to find workers.”

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Key Informant Interviews

Who are Key Informants?– They have specialized

knowledge– They represent larger

group– They are influential – They are gatekeepers

Beware sample bias

– Dominant narratives– Too many men– Too many wealthier or

higher status women (e.g., chiefs’ wives, lead farmers, married women only, etc.)

Group Interviews

Extractive processAll members are encouraged to participate; easiest with more homogeneous groupsCan be structured, semi-structured, or open-ended interview scheduleCan accommodate about 15 people

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Value Chain Group Interview

Purpose: To understand the activities of men and women in the value chain

Task Women Men

Preparing the land X XXXXX**

Planting XXXXX** Input use XX XXXXWeeding XXXXX** XX

Harvesting XXX XXXPost-harvest activities (sorting, grading, shelling, packing)

XXXXXXX

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A Special Type of Group Interview:

Focus Group DiscussionsHistorically, the FGD was used to test specific positions or findings with a defined group (think shampoo):

1) What are your experiences with [selected topic]? 2) What are the challenges to changing people attitudes about

[selected topic]? 3) What actions can be taken to address [selected topic]?

• Allows individuals to hear from other participants in the group in a way that creates new ideas and sometimes influences previously held opinions.

• The goal of the focus group is to see which views are more widely held and to clarify their meaning.

“Gender Filters Knowledge”

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Context: • Women and men interviewees may respond differently

to women or men interviewers. • Married women/men may respond differently when

interviewed alone or with spouse (or other family members)

Content: • Gendered access to information means different

respondents may tell different stories – both may be correct.

Data Analysis ProcessThe art of interpretation:

“From field notes to filed notes”Data reduction– Compilation– Cleaning– Coding

Data display– Charts, tables, figures,

mapsVerification and conclusions

Reflexive processDescribing tacit knowledgeSearching for patternsAccounting for the researcherCreating the narrative

Guiding Principles

Acknowledge complexityBe analytical Collect sex-disaggregated dataDeconstruct gender stereotypesExamine gender perceptions and belief

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Suggested ReferencesBernard, H. Russell 2006 Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and

Quantitative Approaches. 4th Ed. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.Booth, David, Melissa Leach, and Alison Tierney 2006 “Experiencing Poverty in Africa:

Perspectives from Anthropology,” Q2 Working Paper No. 25. Toronto: University of Toronto.

Denzin, N.K. and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds) 1994 Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Fausto-Sterling, Anne 1993 "The Five Sexes," The Sciences, 33: 20-25, April/May.Rubin, D. and C. Manfre 2012 “Promoting Gender-equitable Agricultural Value Chains:

Issues, Opportunities, and Next Steps.” In A. Quisumbing, R. Meinzen-Dick, T. Raney, A. Croppenstedt, J. A. Behrman, and A. Peterman (eds.) Gender in Agriculture and Food Security: Closing the Knowledge Gap. Springer.

Rubin, Deborah, Cristina Manfre, and Kara Nichols-Barrett 2009 Promoting Gender Equitable Opportunities for Agricultural Value Chain. Washington D.C.: USAID.

Wikan, Unni 1977 "Man Becomes Woman: Transsexualism in Oman as a Key to Gender Roles," Man 12 (2): 304-319.