Data analysis

The data arising from: the documentary, contextual materials; discussion groups, service provider, stakeholder and service user interviews; and the research diary provided a source of full, rich materials for analysis. When the stage was reached to start detailed exploration, these data were initially classified into three ‘sets’, making it easier to manage and document, identify and work with, and draw upon to develop the required analytical frameworks.

‘Data set 1’ consisted of the policy documentation from the local authority, along with contextual and demographic material for the Bristol City area (as described in section 3.4).

‘Data set 2’ comprised the service provider and stakeholder interviews supplemented by materials relating to delivery of services which were collected during fieldwork, for example, brochures advertising childcare services available, and diary field notes.

‘Data set 3’ consisted of the transcript data from the single mother service user interviews.

Table 1: Data sets for analysis

3.7.1 Developing key search words

Firstly, data sets 1-3 combined to form an initial 'sample set', and reviewed at a high level to create a list of key search terms. These were based on services most identified as important to single mothers (as identified by the literature review, service users themselves, service providers and stakeholders).

3.7.2 Content analysis

Data set 1 was evaluated separately, combining manual and electronic searches to locate information relating to internal mechanisms for delivery of the Duty. This was used to create a description of ‘Bristol City Council’s operational structure’, which informed the contextualised exploration of ‘Delivering the Duty’ in section

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5.2 and, using Hepple’s ‘triangular relationship’³³⁰ as an analytical framework, the evaluation of BCC’s processes in section 6.2.

3.7.3 Service user data – thematic analysis

Early stages of analysis commenced in the field as some themes emerged, for example, service users appeared to have different service needs according to the 'stage' they had reached following a split from a partner. As fieldwork progressed, the emerging data fed into ongoing collection and analysis in an iterative way allowing me to refocus if necessary³³¹, for example, evidence of social isolation amongst service users helped with the decision to use Facebook as an additional means of recruitment as it became apparent that such isolation led to reliance on the internet and social media for social interaction. Alongside this, some additional ideas and themes were developed by drawing on the service provider and stakeholder interviews³³².

A set of key words and themes emerged, and these were added to and used iteratively as an analytical tool to develop understanding of where single mothers might access services, but also which organisations and service delivery mechanisms were part of the local authority offering and therefore covered by the Equality Duty.

On completion of the fieldwork, this developed set of themes was used to carry out a comprehensive thematic analysis on the data collected from service users – Data set 3: to identify the service need priorities and concerns of single mothers, ie, whether, how and when they access those services; the barriers they face to using these (for example, financial, travel, informational); and the strategies they use to meet any gaps in having their needs met (such as the personal networks they rely on). The thematic analysis served two purposes: firstly, to develop a set of findings on the experiences of single mothers using services within the context of the study, and secondly, to create a matrix of key words which would be used to analyse policy materials (ie, data set 1), helping to understand where a single mother’s needs might fit within the mechanisms and structures relating to the Duty.

330 Hepple (2013), ibid.

331 Corbin, J. and Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of Qualitative Research (3^rd edition). London: Sage;

Charmaz, K. (1995), Grounded Theory, in Smith, J., Harre, R. van Langenhove, L. Rethinking Methods in Psychology, London: Sage.

332 Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: thematic analysis and code development. London: Sage Publications.

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Analysis of the interviews produced a set of dominant themes, within which I identified a series of social structures described by the service user participants.

Iterative analysis allowed me to develop headings and start to categorise these based on Giddens’ concept that such structures can either enable or constrain the thoughts and actions of social actors. This, then, provided an initial ‘grouping’

from which I was able to develop emergent categories and organise the qualitative findings under the headings presented in chapter 4.

3.7.4 Stakeholder interviews – thematic analysis

Alongside the development of an analytical framework for service user data, key themes were recorded as these arose in the stakeholder and service provider interviews and throughout the data collection process. A similar process was used as that for the service user interviews.

3.7.5 Process of analysis

Policy documents were read and categorised, with details stored in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for easy retrieval and interrogation.

Once the fieldwork was completed and the notes/transcripts typed and agreed by the participants, all texts were read through several times for an overall view and to identify emerging themes and patterns including similarities, contradictions, gaps and exceptions³³³ which included consideration of the prevalence of particular concerns and the language in use³³⁴. Nvivo 10 software was also used to organise the data and conduct word searches to develop a growing framework including a set of key words and themes which provided a structured way to break down and interrogate the data further. This made it more manageable, allowing development of a set of inductive themes and categorisations. Interview notes/transcripts were broken down into sections for analysis as well as read in their entirety to allow reflection on any narrative and sequence of events, to understand how these might contribute to the developing analysis. Thus, I was able to develop a more intricate understanding of the women's perspectives, with the aim of finding ‘links’ and recognising where single mothers’ experiences might interact with service delivery mechanisms. For example, one set of council minutes where the closure of a children's centre was debated showed that the Equality Duty was one of the factors which enabled it to remain open. Linked to

333 Charmaz (1995), ibid; Denzin and Lincoln, ibid, p. 514.

334 Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis. London: Sage; Cameron, D. and Panovic, I. (2014.).

Working with Written Discourse, London: Sage.

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this, one of the single mother service users I interviewed discussed her local children's centre - which was one of those saved by the Duty - and the positive impact it had on her own and her children's lives.

3.7.6 Illustrative examples

To build a critique of how policy was applied within the context of the Duty, I developed two ‘illustrative examples’. These involved the process of implementing policy changes relating to budget cuts that had potential impact on children’s centres and a play-park in the city. These examples were selected according to a number of criteria.

The first criterion was to identify issues which had arisen during discussions with single mother participants and also reflected concerns raised by the service delivery and stakeholder organisations during fieldwork. Secondly, these decisions had corresponding EIAs which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative data and had some complexity in the decision-making factors. This also included information from sources external to the Council, such as detailed responses to public consultation; and internal processes, for instance, feedback from internal scrutiny activities which allowed me to comment on inter- and extra- organisational processes. Finally, to ensure a good range of issues were covered one example used (around children’s centres) was a policy decision with city-wide impact, and another a smaller-scale, more straightforward issue focussed on one facility. Combined, these provided a rich set of material to develop the examples and build an understanding of the interactions which took place relating to the Duty. Furthermore, the emerging analysis was then available to feed into a discussion on activities relating to the Duty and reflexive law in chapter 6.

Once the ‘illustrative examples’ were selected, the EIA documents were used as a starting point for understanding the background to each decision and to identify the processes that BCC had undergone in paying ‘due regard’ to the needs of those with protected characteristics. All data sets were revisited and searched manually for any mention of a) children's centres and, b) Hengrove and other play-parks to identify and select a small sub-set of policy documents and transcripts which would be useful to add context and supporting evidence to the illustrative example discussions³³⁵. These were then reviewed to obtain empirical evidence (for instance, quotations relating to the role of these services from single mother

335 Each document used for this part of the analysis is referenced separately under the illustrative example descriptions in section 5.3.

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service users) and to identify some of the structural and agential practices which constituted policy-making processes.

A framework based on Giddens’ ‘structuration theory’ was then developed as an analytical structure and the material coded thematically according to Giddens' categories of rules and resources³³⁶, using pre-set themes in contrast to the to the emergent development of codes and themes used for analysis of the interviews, etc. Finally, these were searched for any recurring topics that were closely related to the exercise of individual agency, which might allow closer inspection of the role of local actors (including service users).

This analysis provided rich materials for discussion around the role of structure and agency, and a basis for analysis which could be aligned with and feed into both 'Hepple's triangle' and the discussion on the Duty and reflexive legislation presented in chapter 6.

This section has described in detail the rationale and methods behind this qualitative, socio-legal study. In particular, the aims were to identify ways in which the Duty can deliver social change and how this might impact on the lives of single mothers. In order to make any bias visible, and to develop this work as a reflexive learning exercise, the final section contains a review of some key issues which arose in the course of my enquiry.