Transcript Karen Buchanan - Slides - Strategies in Qualitative Research

Theory, Method, and Software:
political ecology, qualitative
methods and NVivo7
Strategies for Qualitative Research Conference,
University of Durham, September 13th 2006
Theme 1: Theory, Method and Software:
Exploring the impact of theoretical perspective
and methodology on the applicability and use of
QSR software
Work in progress
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Building my defence of:
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the philosophical paradigm being used (social
constructionist)
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the qualitative and quantitative (spatial)
methods applied and their combination
and the use of CAQDAS (NVivo7) in the
analytical and theory-building process
how all fit together and produce valid results
Expedition
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From geospatial data collection and analysis for
UP and NRM conflict resolution
Journey through qualitative methodologies to
identify one (s) appropriate to answer other
research questions on conflict
Looking for new ways in my thinking about
conflicts, their dynamic, and the roles,
relationships and knowledge/power dimension of
claim-making process
Research Questions and Data Needs
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Questions derive from professional interest and
from literature review and analytical framework
Qualitative data needs identified from research
questions and areas of interest, and these
changed from pre-fieldwork period while in the
field
Questions written in London, but interpreted and
reframed by local, national and international
context of capital city- and rural-based claims of
claim-makers
Claim-making in Socio-Environmental Conflicts:
Contested Copper Mining
in the Chocó-Andean Cloudforest
of North-West Ecuador
Karen S Buchanan
PhD Candidate
Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, UCL, UK
Purpose, Goal, Outcome
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Purpose - Inform development planning practice and theory
on the claim-making process within socio-environmental
conflicts surrounding natural resource extraction
Goal - Investigate use (perception, selection, evolution and
impact) of developmental and environmental discourses by
claim-makers in socio-environmental conflict and dynamic of
the power relations
Outcome - Thesis which includes:
 Analysis of characteristics of claim-makers, of claimmaking process, and of impacts of claim-making process
on claim-makers and use of discourses
 Reflection on use of CAQDAS to assist data analysis
 Theoretical, empirical, intellectual contribution
Contributions
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Theoretical – lack of theorising of dialectic moments of
(dis)empowerment of claim-makers in discourse use within
socio-environmental conflicts
Empirical – new large-scale mining industry underinvestigated from political ecology and environmental justice
perspective; no analysis of means of contention e.g.
discourse and how transforms power relations of & between
claim-makers
Intellectual – demonstrate new ways of looking at
discourse and power transformation in claim-making process
of socio-environmental conflicts through use of discourse
analysis
Focus of research
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Socio-environmental conflict
Claim-makers
Developmental and Environmental values, ideas,
beliefs, and interests
Environmental justice perspective
Political ecology paradigm
i.e. integrated approach to study of ecological
and political dimensions of conflicts arising from
nature and society interactions
Political and Market Context
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Increasing price of copper on world markets
Fledgling Ecuadorian large-scale mining industry
Climate of expropriation of concessions
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“Outside the energy sector, resource companies are
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increasingly concerned about the potential for radical
natural resource policies in Latin America, a region that
holds a quarter of the world's copper, as well as
significant reserves of iron ore, gold and other minerals.”
Source, FT 4th May 2006
Conflict in Intag zone
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History of mining conflict 1997-2006…
Ethnic characteristics
Political process
Economic activities in Intag
Biophysical characteristics and Biodiversity
Socio-economic characteristics
Institutions and organisation involved
Pro-mining ‘discourse alliance’
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Ascendant Copper, Terrambiente, Syr-Whistler
Consulting, Ministry of Energy and Mines (Ministerio de
Energía y Minas – MEM), Ministry of the Environment
(Ministerio del Ambiente – MEA), National Institute for
Agrarian Development (INDA), Government of Canada
(Canadian Embassy in Ecuador), Ecuadorian-Canadian
Chamber of Commerce, World Bank, Toronto Stock
Exchange, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), CODEGAM (Corporación de
Desarrollo de García Moreno)
Parish Council of García Moreno - divided
Anti-mining ‘discourse alliance’
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Committee of Communities Affected by the Mining
Project, Eco-Junín, Assembly of County Unity (Asamblea
de Unidad Cantonal Cotacachi), Municipality of Cantón
Cotacachi (Municipio de Cotacachi Gobierno Local),
Community and Parish Development Coordinator for
Intag, DECOIN (Defensa y Conservacion Ecológica de
Intag), INTAG newspaper (Intag Periodico), Intag’s
Women’s Coordinating Committee (Mujeres de Intag),
Ecological Action (Acción Ecológica), Asociación
Agroartesanal de Caficultores Río Intag (AACRI),
Consumer Solidarity Network (Xarxa de Consum
Solidari), SODEPAU and SODEPAZ , Friends of the Earth
Canada, Junín’s International Observer Program, Mine
Watch Canada, Rainforest Concern, The Sloth Club, The
Cotacachi Ecology Centre, and Corporación de Gestión y
Derecho Ambiental (ECOLEX)
Research Issues
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Use of environmental & developmental discourses
by claim-makers on all sides of a socioenvironmental conflict
Subjective experiences of claim-makers
Relationship between discourse and use of
knowledge within discourse and its impact
Relational issues of empowerment and
disempowerment within claim-making process
Topics of interest
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Questions
Contextual - land
Conflict - power relations
Developmental and
Environmental
Discourse
Process - representation
Impacts – on claimmakers and process
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Framework
Discourse
Power (knowledge)
Beliefs
Institution-building
Material practices
Social relations
Methodology
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Finding methodology (or combination of
methods) appropriate to research questions,
needs and way of thinking about, making
(collection and recording) and analysing data
Practical considerations include: Data
sources, Data type, Research skills, Language
acquisition, Accessibility, Establishing trust,
Time, …
Methodology
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Research Design - issues and questions, context
and process design, scope, operational definitions,
data needs, exploratory fieldwork, case study,
fieldwork proper (phase I and II)
Qualitative Research Methodologies –
ethnography, grounded theory, discourse analysis
Qualitative Research Methods - research
strategy, literature review, analytical framework,
fieldwork (purposive sampling, qualitative
interviewing methods, restitution), analysis and
theory-building from data supported by CAQDAS
Ethnography
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In sense of strategy for data collection with
certain claim-makers
Appropriate method in conflict situation in rural
areas
Observation, participation, negotiation of entry
through gatekeepers, relationships between
claim-makers, more profound insights and
understandings although always an outsider
7 month fieldwork in area
Use data not just for description but analysis,
focused ethnography
Grounded theory
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Reality (of conflict and claim-making process) is socially
constructed (congruent with social constructionist
paradigm of political ecology)
Reality is continually evolving, changing and being renegotiated through interaction between people (claimmakers)
Theory can be constructed through data analysis (to
describe the conflict dynamic and claim-making process)
using coding strategy, interpretation, modelling,
synthesising, all tasks supported by NVivo7 software
Need to move away from testing hypotheses imposed
from lit review to what is on the ground
Discourse analysis
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Located in social constructionist worldview
(congruent with research questions about claim-making
process and discourse use and use in political ecology &
discursive constructions of nature-society interactions)
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Deconstruction of origin, meaning, knowledgebase and orientation of environmental and
developmental discourses
Analysis in terms of meta-discourses – not detail
Which claim-makers use particular discourses,
why, how, impact on power
Coding to Cases and tree nodes in NVivo7
Relationship analysis
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Testing relationship between bilingualism and
(ab)use of power through access to international
networks, funding sources, knowledge and
political influence
Relationship between discourse chosen and the
use of forms of knowledge in the discourse and
its consequences for power relations between
claim-makers
Use NVivo7 modeller to visualise and test ideas
Multiple methods
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In addition to qualitative some geospatial data
added as attributes to the Cases in NVIvo7
spatial dimension of this dynamic
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where the conflict is played out,
where the impacts are felt,
where the rural communities and the other claimmakers see that impacts are and will be felt
using participatory mapping techniques and ESRI
ArcGIS software to support this analysis.