The study involved three forms of data collection:
➤ Surveys with Aftercare Workers about the
circumstances of 65 young people;
➤ Interviews with eight young people (who
were also included in the surveys above);
➤ Interviews with eight Aftercare Workers
from the North Dublin area. Surveys with Aftercare Workers
The survey collected information about the circumstances of young people aged 17-18 years who were receiving aftercare supports. After obtaining approval for the study by management in the HSE Dublin North East, the EPIC Research Officer met with eight Aftercare Workers in North Dublin. During these meetings the EPIC Research Officer went through the survey with each Aftercare Worker and filled in one survey for each young person on the Aftercare Worker’s caseload who met the age criteria. The aim of the survey was to gather data on various aspects of young people’s circumstances, e.g. accommodation, education, health, as well as their care placement history. The survey data was collected at two points in time: May/June 2010 (Round 1) and again in December 2010/January 2011 (Round 2). In Round 2,
information was gathered on all 65 young people.11
A similar questionnaire was used in both rounds.12
Therefore, survey data was collected on the same group of young people which could be compared over time (approximately eight months apart). Hence, the survey adopted a longitudinal study design.
11 A small number of young people had their cases closed by the Aftercare Worker in the time between Rounds 1 and 2 (n=6). However, Aftercare Workers were asked to give as much up to date information as possible about these young people’s circumstances. 12A copy of the survey template used in both rounds of data collection is included in the Appendix.
31 Ethical considerations: anonymity and
confidentiality
The identity of the young people who were the focus of the survey was not disclosed by Aftercare Workers when they were being completed. Instead, an ID number was allocated for each young person who met the study criteria. Aftercare Workers were asked to keep a record of the ID numbers and the corresponding name of the young person for their information only. This procedure helped to ensure that young people’s anonymity was protected in the research. It also made it easier for the Aftercare Workers to complete the second round of surveys by having their own record of who had been involved in round one of data collection.
Aftercare Workers were the key informant for the survey rather than young people themselves. Surveying young people directly would have involved a complex and lengthy process of gaining consent. It would have been necessary to obtain consent from several key individuals including the young person themselves, as well as their Social Worker or Aftercare Worker (for those who had not turned 18 years old in Round 1), a parent (if placed in care under a Full Care Order) and possibly a Key Worker (if in residential care) or foster carer (if in foster care). Instead completing the survey with Aftercare Workers meant that a large amount of anonymous data could be collected on as many young people as possible. Information from the survey was entered into a database and analysed using the statistical computer package SPSS. Interviews with young people
Interviews were carried out with young people to explore their experiences of leaving care and to get their views on the aftercare supports they had received. Individual interviews were carried out with
five young people and a focus group was done with the remaining three.13 Therefore, the views of eight
young people were included in the study. The first interview took place in August 2010 and the last in May 2011. The same young people were also included in the survey data collected from Aftercare Workers. Access to these eight young people was made possible by their Aftercare Workers.
Aftercare Workers were asked to speak to young people directly about the study or send the information leaflet which had been compiled by the EPIC Research Officer. Eight young people returned a signed consent form to EPIC and they were contacted by the Research Officer to explain the purpose of the study, what was involved in taking part and how the information would be used. Therefore, young people were able to give their informed consent before agreeing to participate. The questions that made up the interview schedule covered some of the same issues in the survey with Aftercare Workers, e.g. education, employment, contact with birth family, independent living skills. In addition, young people were asked about their experience of leaving care and the aftercare supports they had received. Interviews were audio recorded and fully transcribed. A grid of basic characteristics (e.g. gender, age, length of time in care) was also filled in at the start of each interview. The information from this grid was compiled manually while the interview responses were coded into different categories and a content analysis was carried out to establish the main themes.
32
Interviews with Aftercare Workers
Interviews were carried out with eight Aftercare Workers.14 These were the same Aftercare Workers
who were involved in the collection of survey data. At this early stage of the research, the possibility of doing an interview with each Aftercare Worker was discussed with them and verbal agreement sought to do this at a later stage. This was also outlined in an information leaflet given to Aftercare Workers. Interviews took place between December 2010 and January 2011 – the same time as Round 2 of the survey data collection. The aim of the interviews was to gain some insight into some of the issues concerning aftercare from a practitioner’s point of view. A compilation of these views have already been presented in Chapter 2. Some of the questions asked were similar to those used for the interviews with young people, which made it possible to compare the views of both on certain issues. Interviews were audio recorded and fully
transcribed. Similar to the interviews with young people, the information was coded and a content analysis was done to identify the emerging issues. Table 2 provides a summary of the main aspects of the data collection
Advantages/disadvantages of surveys and interviews
Some of the advantages of surveys are that they are quick to administer and avoid any potential interviewer effects. However, it is important to acknowledge their possible limitations. Compared to interviews, it is not possible to probe responses further and additional information cannot be
gathered (Bryman, 2008). Therefore, interviews were used to complement the data from the surveys. While the survey data gives a good comprehensive overview of outcomes for all 65 young people in the study, interviews with a smaller number provide a more in depth insight into their experiences.
14Six Aftercare Workers were employed by the HSE while the remaining two were working in voluntary organisations providing aftercare services to young people leaving care.
Form of data
collection Surveys (N=65) Interviews with young people (N=8) Interviews with Aftercare Workers (N=8)
Source of data Aftercare Workers Young people Aftercare Workers Information on
whom? Young people Young people Aftercare Workers and young people Nature of data Quantitative Qualitative Qualitative
Main aim Selected outcomes for young people
Young people’s experiences of leaving care and views on aftercare supports. What promoted positive outcomes for care leavers?
Issues raised by
practitioners in their work with young people. Practitioner views on aftercare supports. Timing Round 1: May/June 2010
Round 2: December 2010/January 2011
Interviews took place at intervals between August 2010 to May 2011
December 2010/January 2011
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Potential limitations of the research
The survey data was collected during meetings with Aftercare Workers. It is acknowledged that in some cases Aftercare Workers may not have had full information about the current circumstances of the young person. This could have been a factor where young people were not currently engaging with their Aftercare Worker at the time of data collection. The main limitation of this study was that survey data was not collected directly from young people for the reasons already set out. However, this limitation was somewhat offset by the fact that in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of young people. There was a strong thematic consistency between the issues identified through the analysis of the survey data and those raised by young people who were interviewed.
This chapter has aimed to explain how the study was carried out and the reasons for choosing the research methods used. The following two chapters present the main findings and discuss the key themes emerging from the data.
35
Introduction
This chapter presents the results from the surveys completed with Aftercare Workers about the 65 young people who met the age criteria for the study. The findings are divided into three sections:
➤ profile of young people and their care