LA PREPARACION DEL OBRERO A Resumen (7:1-5)

A mix of interactionist approaches provided the basis for understanding the reintegration phenomenon in the early stages of analysis. Later on in the process however it became difficult to understand the underlying generative features which structure institutional life and how these features impact on individual behaviours and social relationships. As a result, a more adaptive technique was employed to expand data interpretation beyond the limits of particular interactionist positions. Interpretive rigour was therefore enhanced through the selective utilisation of adaptive theory.

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Adaptive theory is a ‘middle-range synthetic approach which borrows from a number of theoretical approaches but provides a distinctive alternative to them’ (Layder 1998, p. 3). It involves drawing on middle-range criminological theories which are able to provide a better understanding of social life (Layder 1998). Middle-range perspectives like ‘critical realism’ therefore helped to fill some of the theoretical gaps which were identified. Critical realism is a perspective which portrays crime as a common phenomenon amongst disadvantaged individuals who violate the law because they see themselves as victims of society (see Walklate 2007).

This approach provided a more nuanced picture of the reintegration phenomenon by helping the researcher to build a more layered and hybridised approach to data and theory (Young 2005). This involved giving balanced weighting to both inductive and deductive approaches in a process of establishing the relationship between the research findings and formal theory (Bryman 2008). Analytic development was therefore based on constant interplays between the research data and theory (Blaikie 2010; Hewege and Perera 2013).

4.3.1 Preparing the Data Corpus

The conversion of a total of 91 audio recordings between 90 to 221 minutes into transcript format was achieved with the aid of Express Scribe Transcription Software. The transcripts ranged from 15 to 36 typed pages and were uploaded to the qualitative data analysis software, Atlas. ti 7 GmbH, for condensation. Background and demographic data such as age, sex, nationality and place of residence which was collected at the start of each ex-prisoner

interview was also entered into Atlas. ti and Microsoft Excel but was used to guide questions asked later in the interview.

119 4.3.2 The Analytic Process

The process of developing codes which described segments of the data was not an end in itself. Instead, it set the stage for deeper reflections about meanings which were assigned to various aspects of the information gathered. From this process of coding proceeded other sub- coding approaches. Two or more labels were often applied to the same passage whilst other labels had to be further detailed into sub-codes. These researcher-generated codes of self- reported attitudes, values, beliefs, attributes, norms and emotions were complemented by In vivo coding which was employed to preserve participants’ own words.

The first cycle of coding produced 470 codes. These codes were later revised and reduced based around the key research questions. Following this revision, these codes were clustered and then subsumed into themes and themes into networks to attain higher levels of

abstraction. For example, identity formation and social exclusion were two major themes identified from the code clusters which evolved from this analytic process. A similar

procedure was used to group 20 analytic memos and all 94 primary documents, 91 of which were verbatim records and the remaining three short hand notes. These clusters led to the development of four networks. Three of these networks depicted relations between the factors participants identified as a) hindering crime desistance, b) facilitating reintegration and c) barring effective reintegration. The fourth showed visually the relationship between the key methodological issues which were identified during the course of undertaking the study.

Analytic memoing and the development of comments were two ways in which emergent reflections were noted. Memos are explanatory and descriptive texts which are used to capture key ideas about methodology and the analytic process and which inform the report writing (Friese 2012). In comparison comments which are also analytic texts were attached to

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objects such as codes, quotations or primary documents (Friese 2012). This process of documenting reflections helped in the detection of emerging and recurring patterns within the larger dataset. These steps were undertaken to achieve ‘interpretive intimacy and familiarity with each datum in the corpus’ (Miles et al. 2014, p. 275).

4.3.3 Drawing and Confirming Inferences

Research involving multi-level analyses can be complicated — whether it is determining the appropriate conceptual framework, deciding what type of data to collect or managing and interpreting the data. In which case, remaining focused and aware of the need to engage in different activities at various stages of the research process was critical. Pitfalls associated with imbalanced comparisons were offset by knowledge and understanding of the research process and with the help of guidance notes suggested by Miles et al. (2014).

Inferences were drawn and verified based on the advice of Miles et al. (2014) regarding the employment of a framework approach to thematic analysis. By building up an index of themes and central themes out of a group of codes which were identified in the interview transcripts, more sense was made of the data. Following this, the index of themes was represented in different matrix formats (Bryman 2008). Matrices and network views created in Atlas. ti 7 were some of the visual formats employed in seeking to provide better

understandings of the rich qualitative data collected. Conceptual relationships within the data were also explored and were built through networks. Network views or actual diagrams created in Atlas. ti 7 showed the complex relations between quotations, codes and memos. However this was complemented with the use of matrices which coherently arranged the data. Used together, these visual aids allowed reasonable inferences to be drawn and this helped to theorise findings as outlined in later chapters.

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Analytic syntheses were induced from major themes which were largely achieved by making mental notes of repetitions, figurative language, linguistic connectors and transitions (Bernard and Ryan 2010). Some effort was also made to give equal attention to outliers and rival explanations of emerging patterns of experiences. This was evidenced in the way that the qualitative data was at times quantified, in order to uncover key experiences and deviant cases which also represented the phenomenon. This method was also supported by textual and structural descriptions of reintegration (see Creswell 2007). These descriptions were then related to existing bodies of knowledge (Shenton 2004).