Los Cuatro Rayos de Atributo

A suitable method for analysing data within the chosen methodology was identified in thematic analysis. This method allows for identifying themes and patterns of meaning across a wide dataset and is possibly the most widely used method of data analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Thematic analysis is a widely used but rarely acknowledged qualitative analytic method (Boyatis 1998; Roulston, 2001). It is popularly used to pinpoint, examine and record patterns or themes within data. Themes emerge across datasets and are important in identifying phenomena and describing them. A theme seizes upon something of importance within the data which relates to the research question, representing a patterned response or level of meaning within the whole dataset (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Howitt and Cramer (2008) warn that thematic analysis conducted properly is an exacting task, requiring a considerable amount of time and effort. However, they assert that the support provided for the identification of each theme is only provided by quotes taken directly from the data assumed to be the most convincing. The loneliness inherent in this analytic process has been somewhat compensated by having an analytic friend in one of my supervisors. In a supervisory session she worked with me in a large empty office helping to sort, code and locate emergent themes.

Claims regarding the rigour to which the data has been subjected are easy to make in the absence of further detail and might therefore be made having reviewed just a sample of data. It is therefore important that the process of analysis is provided and illustrated. An example of the coding of data is shown in Appendix K (page 260).

Howitt and Cramer (2008) contend that Braun and Clarke (2006) outline the most systematic method of doing thematic analysis. Their method imposes a high standard on the analyst which supports and develops a greater depth required for exacting and sophisticated analysis. It was of great help to attend a qualitative research summer school at the University of the West of England, where Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke presented their work on thematic analysis and after, were on hand to work through examples with, and to seek further clarification in regard to approaches in analysis to this study.

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In practice, Braun and Clarke (2013) identify six stages of thematic analysis, which is an approximation of the sequence of analysis, bearing in mind that earlier aspects of the process may be revisited to develop a more exacting analysis. This sequence, while systematic bears a great deal in common with generic analytic methods, previously outlined by Miles et al. (2014). These stages identified by Braun and Clarke (2013: 202-3) were adapted for this study and feature in Table 12 on page 273.

4.8.2.1 Stage 1: Familiarisation with the data

Initially, during data collection, when one becomes aware over a series of observations or interviews, certain features or responses which are repeated and therefore become familiar. As I was the only one involved in conducting the audio recorded interviews and hand-writing field notes, this familiarity started to embed early-on. My verbatim transcription of interviews and writing of field notes enabled the content to be prepared for data analysis, but also helped a deeper familiarity with the content. Each transcription and field note were re-read on numerous occasions not only to embed this familiarity, but so I could note any points which stood out and begin to identify themes. Data could also begin to be categorised by for example, personal experiences, motivations and drivers, philosophical perspectives which concerned a choice of career in social work.

In addition, immediately following each audio recorded interview with participants, I noted down any observations concerned with the interview. For example, the location, the physical conditions, and my reflections during the interview. These were used in the overall analysis and helped to contextualise some of the findings. An example of these field notes can be found in Appendix L (please see page 261).

4.8.2.2 Stage 2: Initial code generation

Although there is no set method of analysing data collected using ethnographic approaches (O’Reilly, 2011), certain analytical approaches include the use of computer software. Packages such as, ‘Ethnograph’ and ‘Nvivo’ were reviewed for their suitability. The first consideration when looking to employ software packages for analysis were the numbers of transcripts involved. This review suggested that analytic software packages were most suitable for the analysis of large numbers of transcripts. Working with just thirty-one transcripts although time may have been saved, I would not be as immersed in the data and familiar with it as a manual and personal approach would allow, a familiarity essential in an ethnographic approach (Creswell, 2012; Kumar, 2014). I also had concerns that software might treat words and phrases out of context and would therefore lose meaning; creating what Hoskins and Stoltz (2005) describe as ‘disembodied research discussions’.

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To truly immerse myself in the material, I decided early on to review the collated data by hand (Braun & Clarke, 2013). As a result, I was physically surrounded by transcripts and field notes, further developing my experience of undertaking research and using this as process to interpret, collate, code and analyse the data, and to begin to think about emerging theory; all of which are ultimate aims of ethnography (Roper & Shapira, 2000).

Initial codes began to form which addressed general responses of participants in terms of demographics, family dynamics and motivations. This process enabled a broad overview of the data and a physical whiteboard representation of a thematic map. Other headings and subheadings emerged during this initial stage of analysis. An example of which is shown in Appendix J (please see page 259).

4.8.2.3 Stage 3: Searching for themes based on the initial coding

Following initial collation and coding, four large word documents were created under the following headings:

• Data responses from England • Data responses from Scotland

• Data responses from Northern Ireland • Data responses from Wales

These were created to consider the data regionally and more broadly across the UK. This approach offered increased flexibility when looking for regional themes and exploring these themes across the whole research. Within these documents a further framework allowed for inclusion of any notes taken immediately post interview and observations and reflections on field notes taken of participants within the research sites. By doing so, this provided a rich and deeper context to the data as endorsed by Geertz (1975).

During this stage it became increasingly clear that some initial codes could be merged to create themes across all datasets. For example, all participants no matter of their location, expressed a deep-seated desire to make a positive difference to service users’ lives. Clearly this was a ‘motivation’, already a central line of enquiry, and was a definite theme for review in stage four of the process.

4.8.2.4 Stage 4: Review of the themes

This stage reviewed themes to reflect accurate meaning from the collated data. Later, this familiarity surfaced in a different guise. When revisiting field notes, I was transported back to the spaces and situations in which participants were observed. Perhaps most vivid, were

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listening again to the audio recordings of interviews, re-envisioning their facial expressions, their demeanour and character, thinking about notes I made at the time.

A thematic analysis of the transcriptions, using the method outlined by Braun and Clarke (2013), was produced following the reading back of each interview. From initial coding, development of a framework of core themes emerged which enabled further testing for repetition and contradiction. These themes were then evaluated using the known literature and previous research involving gender and social work students.

4.8.2.5 Stage 5: Theme definition and labelling

This is a significant stage of thematic analysis as it involves a close familiarity with participant’s narratives and provides definition to the emergent themes. On reaching stage five, I realised that I had to disassociate myself with both the themes from the literature that I had read, and those preconceived ideas voiced by participants concerning the themes of the study during informal conversations before and after interviews took place. I had to re-focus on stage four to ensure themes emerged from my data and were not preconceived by others.

4.8.2.6 Stage 6: Report writing

This stage involved producing the analysis capturing the true nature of the research study. According to Braun and Clarke (2006), it offers the reader an understanding of the data, which assures them of the integrity and legitimacy of the analyses. The analysis had to be true not only to the methodology adopted to answer the research question and its objectives, but also foreground the voice of the participants who shared their stories. Therefore, it enabled me to gain a better understanding of the factors that impact MSWSs experiences, motivations and career decisions.

Having identified themes from the data, I re-evaluated specific examples identified earlier within MSWSs narratives which linked with the theoretical framework. Such lenses provided deeper illustrations and explanations of particular phenomena. For example, within the theme of ‘education’, participants’ narratives offered perceptions of the operation of masculinity within the lecture theatre.

Using the lens of intersectionality, analysis suggested that at the intersection of gender and social work education, masculinity vied with the feminist principles of the social work pedagogy. Participants in these circumstances sought the familiarity of logical, technical approaches (Christie, 2006; Kamphorst et al. 2015; Leman & Mann, 1999; Orme, 2009), and seeking sanctuary in those identifying as the same gender.

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Similarly, using the lens of Bourdieu, I was able to identify and locate a sub-field of masculinity in operation, formed as a reaction to the doxa of the field of the lecture theatre, where MSWSs could play ‘the game’ (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992), without the insufficiency of social and cultural capital that their gender represented in the field of the lecture theatre.