Research Design and Method

7.1. Research design

An equal-status, sequential, partially mixed methods research design (Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2007) was used to investigate the overall research question, which explores how the CSG could become more gender-sensitive. The purpose of the analysis is to address the following objectives:

Objective 1: To examine whether there are differences in the consumption spending of male and female CSG recipients.

Objective 2. To assess child nutritional outcomes in CSG-beneficiary households where the caregiver is male, compared to CSG households where the caregiver is female.

To achieve these two objectives, a quantitative analysis was conducted of the National

Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) data. NIDS is a large, nationally representative panel dataset developed by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU, 2016).

The analysis set out to interrogate the gendered assumption that women are better custodians of cash transfers than men, which underlies the explicit or implicit targeting of cash transfers at women (Hagen-Zanker et al., 2017; Yoong et al., 2012). If this is the case, attempts to increase male uptake of the CSG may have adverse consequences for children in the absence of interventions to change male behaviours. Examining household spending, specifically on

‘temptation goods’ (Evans & Popova, 2014) – that is, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling – provides a good indication of men’s family-oriented preferences, or self-interestedness, relative to women. The subsequent investigation of the prevalence of stunting, or low height-for-age, provides similar insights. Given the observed protection against stunting that the CSG affords when women receive it, a greater prevalence among men may reveal an

understanding of whether men may need different forms of support in the enactment of their father roles. Using four waves of data corresponding to seven years adds depth to these analyses, conducted using rigorous statistical methods.

The second phase comprises the qualitative component of the study. It employs critical discourse analysis to analyse 13 in-depth interviews conducted with male CSG recipients in Soweto, Johannesburg, and to address the following objective:

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Objective 3: To gain an in-depth understanding of the constructions of gender and caregiving among men who receive the CSG.

Because masculine identities are theorised as being heavily implicated in the choice men make to either engage or disengage from care (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; Marsiglio et al., 2000; Morrell, Jewkes, Lindegger, & Hamlall, 2013), it is important to analyse how men receiving the CSG conceive of their own masculinity and father roles. How these

constructions of masculinity and fatherhood influence their interactions with their partners and children is also of major interest and can inform the review of the CSG and an

assessment of its potential to advance gender equality.

The final chapter of the dissertation addresses the following objective, using both sets of data:

Objective 4: To explore the implications of the findings for the development of more gender-sensitive social protection policies for children and families in South Africa.

7.2. Why mixed methods?

The use of both quantitative and qualitative methods is for both practical and epistemological reasons. Epistemologically, ‘complementarity’ drives the choice to use both quantitative and qualitative methods, and refers to the desire to capitalise on the different strengths of various methods to examine different aspects of a multi-faceted social phenomenon (Greene, 2007, 2015). In addition to the combination of these methods, a mixed method ‘logic of inquiry’

guides this research, where both quantitative and qualitative ways of conceiving of and interpreting the social world are given equal weight in the study of men receiving the CSG (Creamer, 2018). From a practical perspective, conceptions of gender and care have to be analysed separately due to the absence of this kind of data from the NIDS datasets and similar quantitative datasets; a general problem that exists across demographic surveys in

sub-Saharan Africa (Hosegood & Madhavan, 2010, 2012). Furthermore, the choice to pursue a qualitative method was made due to the greater potential of qualitative data to generate meaningful insights regarding ideas, norms and motivations, and specifically how men ‘do gender’ (West & Zimmerman, 1987). In turn, the statistical rigour of quantitative methods is more suitable for the robust assessment of differences between populations – here the child well-being and expenditure outcomes among men and women receiving the CSG. Due to anticipated difficulties in reaching a substantial number of appropriate men for primary data collection, this evaluation was done via the secondary analysis of NIDS data.

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The NIDS dataset is nationally representative of the South African population. However, it captures the CSG-receiving population less well, and these concerns, and how they are accounted for, are outlined in chapter 4. Nonetheless, NIDS follows international best

practice relating to household surveys and the measurement of demographic variables, and to ensuring a consistently high quality of data (Chinhema, Brophy, Brown, Leibbrandt,

Mlatsheni, & Woolard, 2016). To enhance the validity and reliability of analyses, protocols for advanced survey methodology (Heeringa, West, & Berglund, 2010) and panel analysis (Andress, Golsch, & Schmidt, 2013) are followed as closely as possible. Replicability is ensured by thoroughly detailing all steps made in the statistical analyses, which are done in Stata, a respected and user-friendly statistical software program (StataCorp, 2015a). The program allows for the storing of ‘do files’ – ie, files detailing every component of data cleaning and analysis, and these are available on request.

To enhance the trustworthiness of the qualitative phase, Schwandt, Lincoln and Guba’s (2007) general framework is used. Nentwich and Kelan’s (2013) framework, which categorises the large body of empirical research on ‘doing gender’, is used to identify gendered talk and behaviours in the interviews. A credible critical discourse analysis is then conducted as per the guidelines established by Gee (2001) and Jaipal-Jamani (2014).

Transferability and confirmability are enhanced by providing a thorough explanation of contextual or process-related factors which may impact on the generalisability of the findings or have a bearing on the replication of the study (Krefting, 1991; Schwandt et al., 2007;

Shenton, 2004).

Ensuring the rigorous application of separate methods ensures that when integration of the two sets of findings happens in chapter 6 in order to answer the overall research question, it is done using valid individual components. Onwuegbuzie and Johnson (2006) call this ‘multiple validities legitimation’ (p. 59). Guidelines regarding meta-inferences – or overarching

conclusions – are followed as per Creamer (2018).

7.4. Major limitations

First, sample sizes of men receiving the CSG are small in NIDS – a reflection both of the differing nature of their households and of their relatively small share of the total South African population. Nevertheless, this is mitigated to an extent by using multiple waves of

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data (ie, several observations per individual). Second, the samples used in quantitative and qualitative components of this study are different: standard ethical protocols followed by NIDS in the protection of personal information precluded obtaining contact details of men receiving the CSG from them. Being able to interview the same men on whom survey analyses were conducted would be a powerful method of triangulation. Instead, a separate sample was drawn with the assistance of SASSA. Third, the qualitative research addresses men receiving the CSG only, and does not concern other men, children or women. Interviews with children would provide an indication of how children feel about their male carers, and would provide an opportunity to triangulate survey outcomes relating to nutrition, for example, by taking height measurements. Interviews with women would yield important insights into how empowered they might feel by the receipt of the CSG by a man, and the possible assumption of caregiving responsibilities by this man. However, interviews with the children and women residing with male caregivers (where applicable) were not conducted for logistical reasons, chiefly research cost, as well as the ethical implications of conducting research with children. Finally, the quantitative component contains data on men from across South Africa, while the qualitative interviews took place in Soweto – an urban township area of South Africa’s largest city that may be very different to other parts of the country. The limitations of the study need to be noted and the findings treated with caution. These findings do, however, provide a valid but partial understanding of gender and care dynamics from the perspective of male recipients of the CSG.

7.5. Ethical considerations

The quantitative portion of the study did not involve ethical considerations, given that it entails a secondary analysis of existing, anonymised data. The qualitative section also entails a secondary analysis of existing data. Interviews were conducted by an exchange student from Utrecht University, working under the supervision of myself and my supervisor at the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) (Meer, 2016). In developing interview guides and planning for fieldwork, acceptable ethical standards were employed. First, data collected was treated as strictly confidential. Second, respondents signed informed consent forms and were informed of their right to opt out of the study at any time. All interviewees were conversant in English. Interviews were recorded, with the permission of the interviewees, and stored securely. Interviews have subsequently

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been anonymised. Ethical clearance for this study was granted by the Higher Degrees Committee of the Faculty of Humanities at UJ before fieldwork commenced.