Data collection and analysis

During the fieldwork, I collected three main types of data:

1) Field notes from participation in the schools and from walking around in Birmingham and Madrid

2) Interview transcripts and notes

68

Combining these types of data I was able to compare and cross-check information, verify findings and assure reliability – a process most often referred to as triangulation (Bryman 2008:379).

In ethnographic research, data collection and analysis is an on-going and dialectic process. It takes place at different stages, and as described by Taylor and Bogdan (1984), it can be seen to include three processes: 1) the on-going discovery of emerging themes which guides further data collection, 2) the coding of data and creation of typologies, and 3) the contextualisation of findings (p.130). In my research the three main types of data: field notes, interview transcripts and secondary literature were used at all three stages.

The field notes were regularly reviewed during the fieldwork and prompted both new questions to be asked in interviews and new areas to observe in the field. After the fieldwork had ended, the notes were carefully re-read and written up on computer. They were coded in a process of open coding (Corbin and Strauss 2008:195) and entered into NVivo as free nodes (Gibbs 2002:31). Some of the field notes related to the methodological process and have been used for this chapter. Others were empirical notes, which have been used to contextualise the analysis and triangulate the findings.

The interview transcripts and notes were similarly reviewed during the fieldworks and informed the development of the data collection. They were coded and entered into NVivo as free nodes. In addition to breaking up the interview transcripts into different codes/nodes, the transcripts were however, also kept parallel in their original format in order not to miss the context of the whole conversation, in which the quotes were said. When relevant, contextual information about the participants or the interview situation has been included in the analysis.

Following the initial open coding of the field notes and interview transcripts, the themes discovered were further analysed, mainly using the techniques of comparing and

69

asking questions (Corbin and Strauss 2008:69-78). I carefully compared the content of each code/node and considered differences and similarities in what the young people said and did. Simultaneously, I began to ask questions to the data, exploring the meanings that the young people gave to different concepts and searching for explanations as to why differences and similarities might exist. Along with the themes and concepts, brought up by the young people themselves, these comparisons and questions have shaped the structure of the analysis chapters.

Concepts do not always travel easily and in comparative cross-national research, language is therefore something to be particularly aware of (Mangen 1999:111-113). Acknowledging this, all interview transcripts were coded in their original language. It was only during the writing up process that I translated the Spanish interview quotations, and all efforts were made to translate them as accurately as possible. In some cases, Spanish expressions have remained untranslated because of the difficulties in finding parallel expressions. Some of the quotations are furthermore not completely grammatically correct, but reflect the way they were said originally in Spanish. For references, all original quotations can be found in the endnotes. In all the interviews, words that appear in brackets have been added by me to facilitate understanding.

To supplement my observations and interviews, a vast amount of secondary literature was collected before, during and after the fieldwork. Reports and statistics were found in local or university libraries, and relevant parts were copied and filed. Newspaper articles were cut out of papers and accessed through the Internet from newspapers (mainly El País and The Guardian) and more specialised magazines (e.g. Si, se puede, Magisnet). In addition, I gathered a significant amount of informal material at the schools, for example handouts given to students in class and lesson plans. All these documents were read and notes were taken of relevant points. Similar to the data collected through observations and

70

interviews, the secondary literature was used to prompt conversations and questions during the fieldworks, and to make me aware of concepts and typologies used in the two settings. Most importantly though, the secondary documents were invaluable in the process of getting to know and comparing the two national and local field contexts.

2.5. Summary

This chapter has described the research design and the methods applied in the project. It has illustrated how research contexts present limitations and possibilities for the application of methods and it has discussed the methodological choices made throughout the project as a result. Finally, it has considered issues of reflexivity and described the process of data- analysis. The aim of the chapter has thus been to make the research process as transparent as possible and to make explicit the relationship between my research questions and the particular methodological design or practice, including a detailed description of how the application of each method was shaped by the contexts in which the research took place.

71