PG Research Prospectus 2008 (DD/ph 18
th
Feb) 3
occupations, who have regular physical care of their children. It will also involve more
ethnographic methods, such as participant observation, informal group discussion and
reflexive interviewing, as a mechanism to disseminate information about, and generate
interest in, the research. An ethnographic approach offers particular opportunities to ‘get
close’ to fatherhood as a routine activity and as an aspect of identity, and could provide
the tools to explore father’s perspectives in some of the contexts in which they are lived.
My sample will only include fathers’ who have been divorced/separated for at least one
year, in order to be attentive to the emotional distress involved in adjustment to post-
divorce roles (Madden-Derdich & Leonard, 2000). Occupation, organisational culture
and employment status will also be key variables in order to explore orientation to work,
father identity and levels of control over organising earning and caring responsibilities.
There will be a specific focus on self-employment as it applies to a wide range of
occupations, with arguably different (gendered) organisational cultures, and may present
particular constraints or flexibility for working life. Overall I will be developing a
theoretical sample from the geographical region of East Anglia
There are a number of possible contexts for obtaining participants for this research. I
intend to approach a range of organisations/places of work formally, but also to try and
develop a snowball sample through work-related or informal contacts. This may allow me
to engage fathers via social or leisure settings. This strategy, in itself, I feel would be
revealing in terms of the extent to which fatherhood is experienced or negotiated between
men's own social and contextual networks. I have also established some initial contacts
with Fathers’ Workers in agencies such as ‘Sure Start’ which are likely to be particularly
helpful in reaching working class fathers.
Data Analysis:
In general terms, the three main research questions will provide an important analytical
framework for studying the data collected. This will entail exploring the structural,
cultural and subjective dimensions and implications of the interview material. Given that
my research is largely exploratory and is committed to an inductive approach, the data
analysis will require an open and reflexive engagement with existing literature in order to
allow for the emergence of concepts or participant terms, rather than a ‘theory-testing’
strategy. My analytic approach then, will involve many of the processes described as
‘grounded theorising’ (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). I aim to produce an account of the
personal & practical processes involved in adjusting to post-divorce/separation
fatherhood, and to develop a typology of strategies and/or orientations towards earner and
carer roles. Whilst I may not be able to make highly generalised claims, I will offer a
model(s) for understanding post-divorce/separation fatherhood and its wider social and
political significance, which could be expanded or developed. However, because of its
experiential nature, I cannot treat my data only as a resource or as a reflection of an
‘objective reality’. My analysis will need to involve coding on different levels, about both
the phenomenon being described (fatherhood) and the perspective(s) shaping the account
given. Treating the interviews as both a resource and a topic is another aspect of a
reflexive research style, which I believe to be important and valuable.