Background to the issues on methodology

The methodological issues within research of this nature therefore included the lack of controls for race, gender, socio-economic status (SES), type of absence, age of the child and additional considerations such as the duration of the absence and the availability of surrogates (other adult carers, step­ parents), and the reason for absence. In short, even the more reliable and

methodologically sound studies were often not comparing like with like. The expectation that contemporary research on fatherhood will stand up to the demands of scientific enquiry is appropriately high, yet it is an awesome expectation of a research area as relatively young as the study of fathering in the multi-racial British context.

2.2.1 Quantitative vs. qualitative methods

The debate as to whether a research area such as this should be advanced using qualitative or quantitative methods should more accurately focus on the acceptability or creditability of these different approaches to science as a whole as well as about the specific type of data being sought and analysed. Rawson (1999) argued that the quantitative paradigm is largely considered to be the one that is most closely aligned to ‘normal’ science. It makes broad claims of ‘objectivity’. However, it can also become a pseudo-scientific process when the quantification of human experience becomes insensitive to cultural and historical ideologies. The use of the survey method, for example, has received extensive criticism for its naïve approach in describing the phenomenon of individual fathering behaviour and its impact on the development of the child. McKee (1982) was one of its most forceful critics. She highlighted the double-edged sword of the survey methodology’s attempts at squeezing the square peg of quantitative data on fathering behaviour into the round hole of the qualitative framework that examines its relevance and impact with greater sensitivity. This series of Studies is a first attempt to smooth the corners of this square peg, so that at least it can slowly wedge itself into the appropriately ‘all-round’, 360° hole that represents the

psychological manifestations of fathering, in the multi-racial/cultural/ethnic British context.

McKee (1982) also highlighted, however, the limitations of qualitative approaches such as interviewing techniques for its lack of validity and reliability. Although the use of self-report has made some important contributions to this research area (see Snarey, 1993) the researcher’s ‘egocentric’ interpretation of the material gained through the use of interview techniques can often distort the information received from the participants. In addition to this, the usefulness of this methodology is embedded in its ability to draw upon grounded theory, which is virtually non-existent for an area as young and as culturally-embedded as the study of black fathering in Britain. Connor (1986) further highlighted the difficulties of qualitative research in his report on the attitudes and aspirations of young black fathers. The main weaknesses of the qualitative approaches were that they were crucially susceptible to issues of a lack of reliability and validity. In short, the findings and conclusions are often not generalisable. One of Britain’s foremost writers on the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research (Silverman, 1993), warns a word of caution about the use of qualitative methods that become a search for differences rather than cultural sensitivity. For this very reason, the ‘ethnomethodological’ approach has been preferred when examining potential differences between the culture(s) of people from different races. However, this too has its limitations in that it is impossible for a researcher to truly clear their mind of all the prejudices of prior reading and ultimately of their own experience. Silverman (1993) notes his “discomfort” with research that:

“....(uses) data-extracts which support the researcher’s argument without any proof that contrary evidence has been reviewed. Alternatively, the attempt to downplay such issues of validity and reliability in research (as either inappropriate or politically incorrect) and to replace them with other criteria like the ‘authenticity’ with which we have reproduced ‘experience’, fp.ix).

What we are potentially left with is an approach that attempts to straddle the opposing viewpoints. Doherty et al (1998) for example, suggested that a more useful conceptual framework is to look at the interdependent experiences of father, child, mother (co-parent) and the context as a model for contemporary research into ‘responsible’ (generative) fathering.

As a first and truly virgin attempt to explore the relevance of black fathering behaviour to the lives of their children, this series of studies relies on the quantitative paradigm that examined the outcomes for children as described by a range of psychological measures of academic, social, emotional and personal development such as self-esteem. Annexed to this is the argument that the practical reality of analysing influences on academic development that are largely measured using quantitative methods such as standardised tests precludes quantitative statistical analysis. By far, the majority of research into the outcomes of father-absent children has been conducted using the quantitative paradigm. In addition to this, the theory of generative fathering, and specifically black generative fathering lacks an empirical research basis. This series of Studies aims to provide an aperture through which to view developing ideas about the relevance of this concept to the manifestations of black fathering in the British context.

This series of Studies further aims to cross-examine the contextual factors that presented themselves in the multi-racial sample - namely family structure

- that might exert an influence not only on child development, but also on fathering behaviour. Stereotypically, for many South Asian families this would mean that the extended family structure is more on display, whereas for the African/Caribbean groups it is arguably the lone-mother family structure that is more pervasive. However, the cultural-variant theoretical model underpinning this research would posit that the African/Caribbean groups adapt their family arrangements to protect the child from the potential adverse outcomes of poor and otherwise inadequate fathering behaviour.

2.3 How should we select the variables that measure psychological