Data analysis process

All the interviews were audiotape recorded, which allowed the researcher to ‘concentrate on the topic and the dynamics of the interview’ (Kvale, 2007: 93). The process of transcribing can only take place if the interview was recorded and fortunately, none of the research participants declined the researcher’s request to record the interview. Although personally transcribing the interviews can help ‘to secure the many details relevant to [the researcher’s] specific analysis’ (Kvale 2007: 95), the researcher’s language barriers would not permit it. Where possible, the

29 _{‘Sustainable Development Goals’ http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-}

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researcher transcribed interviews that were conducted in English. However, since the bulk of the interviews were conducted in Akan dialects (Twi, Wassa Twi and Fante), the Ghanaian research assistant (RA) who translated during the interviews was hired to transcribe simultaneously. It is common for some meaning to be lost in the process, because ‘oral conversations and written texts are linguistically quite different discources’ (Kvale, 2007:100). But the accompanying notes made by the researcher helped to record certain words, body language used, and observations made during each of the interviews.

Research, whether it is qualitative or quantitative is not completely immune to error and bias because it is conducted by human beings who ‘make mistakes and get things wrong’ (Norris, 1997: 173). Nonetheless, validity in this research study were maximised through a process of triangulation which incorporated semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observations. Given the fact that the interviews were conducted in a foreign language – with the aid of a research assistant – issues surrounding interpretive validity (Miles and Huberman, 1989) were significantly reduced by ongoing confirmation of participant’s position at the end of each interview to ensure their view was captured accurately, this was also supported by observations of body language during the interview, which were recorded in the field diary.

Moreover, the researcher kept a reflexive journal, which was used to recorded progressive subjectivity (Miles and Huberman, 1989) from the beginning to the end of the study. This is especially helpful given the fact that ‘no enquirer engages in an inquiry with a blank mind, a tabula rasa (ibid: 238) This small excerpt from a diary entry is a perfect example of how thought processes developed, and these entries helped to capture emerging themes that had not necessarily been visited in the literature review:

The education system is not constructed to be sympathetic to families that are vulnerable. Lack of access to books, uniforms, school fees are all barriers to accessing education. Yet, children are sent home, caned (corporal punishment). It is expected of these children to excel in a mediocre environment because politicians and other ‘big men’ managed to juggle poverty, work and education and make it. In fact, politicians I spoke to almost glorified their childhoods and somehow got me thinking that they considered poor people

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lazy and/or not resourceful, because they had gone through a similar journey and ‘got out’. Is that perhaps why child labour is not given that much priority?? 30

Since this thesis was inspired by a desire to explore the relationship between policy discourse and target audiences, that is, adults and children engaged in ASM, the data analysis was guided by a ‘discourse analysis’ approach. In particular, it was stimulated by an interest in the way policy and donor reports used language to influence and dominate the narrative on child labour, particularly the WFCL. While reading the transcripts, the researcher identified and refined important concepts and themes that emerged frequently, and then examined the relationships between them. The latter allowed the researcher ‘to move from simple description of the people and settings to explanations of why things happened as they did with those people in that setting’ (Schutt, 2012: 330).

A discourse analysis was used to interpret the data in this particular research study because it aimed to identify and track the powerful discourse on childhood and labour over time, and how it had influenced policy and programming. Furthermore, it explores how language ‘in the form of talk and text both constructs and simultaneously reproduces and/or changes the social world rather than using it as a means to reveal the world as a social phenomenon’ (Saunders et al., 2012: 577). The nature of the research question itself suggests that it wanted to find out how child labour has been diagnosed and why the local interpretation of childhood and labour has been marginalised in the dominant policy discourse (Grbich, 2007). Consequently, Chapters 4- 6 analyse the language used in three key policies, C138, C182 and UNCRC – which are identified as the blueprints for the child labour elimination agenda – and how it compares with community-level interpretations of children’s presence in the ASM sector. Thus, it facilitated the process of unpacking the meaning of childhood as well as people’s perspectives on child labour in ASM and its perceived impact on education in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality.

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Once the data was transcribed, the researcher read them twice to familiarise herself with the content and to highlight some interesting themes and ideas that were frequently emerging. This process did not take long because the researcher had throughout the data collection process reflected on the obvious similarities between communities, words or phrases that were used repetitively to describe concepts like adulthood (ɔ’panyin), poverty (menii sika) or artisanal mining (galamsey). Once the transcripts were read and some initial notes were taken, all the scripts were fed into the NVivo data analysis software and a word cloud was formed to capture the 100 most frequently occurring words (Figure 3.4). Using this word cloud as a springboard, the researcher read around these frequently occurring words and referred back to the research objectives at every opportunity to see if a narrative was forming.

Figure 3.4 NVivo - 100 most frequently occurring words.

Despite its suitability for this research study, as a method, discourse analysis has flaws (Jensen, 2008). One of the key issues with conducting discourse analysis is that it is a subjective method and as a result, interpretations will vary significantly based on the researcher – who does not come to the research study with an empty mind. As explained earlier however, the process of validity was ensured by confirming interpretations with other empirical studies conducted in similar environments and by having an ongoing process of data analysis which started during

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the data collection period (Creswell and Creswell, 2018). Thus, while the study is exploratory and not seeking to be generalised, it can be replicated to a certain extent.

It is important to highlight here that the aim of this research study was not to test existing theories on child labour. Despite being a huge development issue, child labour in sub-Saharan Africa has been largely overlooked in the business and management discipline. Although the study nuances ideas from earlier work by Hilson (2008; 2010a; 2012a) and Hilson and Maconachie (2016), the

attempt to explore the child labour phenomenon in ASM through an interdisciplinary lens, specifically in part from business and management and development studies angles, places it in a unique position. Given the increased interest in responsible sourcing and sustainability in business, findings from this research study could create a paradigm shift for corporations and financial institutions keen to understand the ethical implications of their economic decisions and policies.