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Youth Connectedness Project: Methodology and dissemination strategies
Crespo, C., Pryor, J., Kleeb, J. & Jose, P.
Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of FamiliesVictoria University of Wellington
6th Australia & New Zealand Health ConferenceChristchurch -September, 2007
WHO WE AREResearchers from:
and
Funded by:
A BRIEF HISTORY
Official title: “Connectedness in young New Zealanders:social connectedness, transitions, and well-being”
We began in mid-2004 and are scheduled to finish the grantin mid-2009.
Our chief goal is to collect annual self-report longitudinaldata, via survey, on a large sample of early adolescents overthree years (’06, ’07, and ’08). We also collect data, eachyear, from parents and school principals.
We surveyed 2173 young people in ’06, and have currently
recollected from 88% (n=1914) of young people in ’07 (ongoing).
BUILDING THE YOUTH SURVEY Survey construction was founded on a grounded approach of engaging with the following people:
-Youth Advisory Boards (YABs)-Youth focus groups & interviews-Interviews with teachers, parents, youth workers.-Stakeholder Advisory Boards (Govt. &
youth relevant NGOs)
In the first instance we asked YABs to define ‘connectedness’ and ‘doing well’ and to give examples. This information was probed and built upon.
We also conducted both NZ-specific and international literature reviews.
THE PROCESS
YAB 1
YAB 2
YAB 3
YAB 4 pretests
Literature Review
Youth focus groups
Youth focus groupsInterviews with youth,parents, teachers, youthworkers.Stakeholder meeting
1st draft survey
Pilot 1 survey (4 schools)
Pilot 2 survey(5 schools, 4community groups)
Year 1 survey (78 schools)
KEY DOMAINS IDENTIFIED
Connectedness to/between:
Mental/Physical HealthFamily/Whanau
Schools/Kura
Friends/Peers
Communities
Technology
Spirituality
CultureIdentity
Happiness/Confidence
Impacts on
Wellbeing:
Education
Self Worth
Also measured stress, coping and personality factors.
Core assumption is that connectedness impacts on wellbeing, but also strong likelihood the pattern is bi-directional/reinforcing.
YOUTH ADVISORS AT WORK: YAB 4
BY YAB 4 WE WERE YCP WHANAU!
BIG MIHI/RESPECT TO YAB• When our time together came to an end both sides felt
sad.
• You are the experts, you confidently articulated youth reality. You have a voice that needs to be listened to.
• The more we built our relationships = the greater the quality of information shared between us.
• We gave you certificates and letters of support and hope these serve you well as you move into the future.
In addition, we gave tangible recognition to the time and
commitment of YABs, Youth Focus Groups and our
survey participants.
SURVEY AGE SAMPLING
(2006) (2007) (2008)AgeGroup1
2
3
10-11
14-15
11-12 12-13
13-14 14-15
15-16 16-17
12-13
Corresponds to Year 6, 8 and 10 students in 2006.
Note: pre-tests were extremely important to make sure thegeneric Year 1 survey was equally understandable to all.
Distib.‘06
36.4%
32.7%
30.9%
IN ‘06 THE SURVEY WAS FILLED OUT ON LAPTOPS
In ‘07 it was completed either on laptop or via the internet.
The survey took an average time of 50 minutes to complete.
Research assistants were there to help young people with the survey.
PROS & CONS OF LAPTOP DELIVERYPROS
• Allows inclusion of more questions as skips and branches ensure participants only view questions of relevance to their life circumstances.
• Youth enjoy interacting with this medium.
• Researcher input errors and time to input data are eliminated.
• Eliminates concerns about differing computer operating systems and cross-school variability in web access facilities.
• Data collection can be conducted in a ‘free space’ that does not disrupt wider school activities.
CONS
• We purchased 30 laptops - big initial outlay.
• Transporting 30 laptops is strenuous and requires appropriate vehicles.
• Uploading data from 30 laptops is monotonous.
We have now activated web surveys, but have yet to trial them in
schools.
Dissemination Strategy
Main goals
- Commitment to feed back the project results to participants and relevant agents in the wider community
- Receive feed back and actively use it during the
project’s life time
• Questions asked
Who? What? When? Why and How?
• Goals for Year 1
Dissemination of year 1 data and ground preparation for the following years
• Challenges for Year 1
- Balance between “open” and “closed” parts- Balance between action/information and reflection - Balance between face to face and more indirect rapport - Effective resources’ management
Dissemination “Targets”
Stakeholders; Wider community; Media
• Meetings with stakeholders• Conferences• Website improvement and update
• Media (consultation and action)
• Project Day Seminar (4th October, Wellington)
Councils• Reports to councils
Including….
- data addressing community experiences and perceptions - data from participants of 12 areas in the North Island:
Wellington city
PoriruaLower HuttUpper HuttOtakiKapiti
TaranakiNew PymouthWaitaraWanganuiWairarapa
• Ongoing work with Wellington City Council
Schools
- Reports to schools Including… - results from young people’s survey and
principals’ survey - results from the overall sample and also
results from each school and community
- Meetings with some of the participating schools
Families
- Reports/feed back to families
- Contact families/parents’ associations and promote a closer contact with them
- Discussion group with parents (?)
Young people
• Focus groups
• Youth presence in our Day Seminar• Work with youth groups (?)
Methodology and Dissemination: What brings them together?
• Building meaningful relationships along the way (…from “targets” to “partners”)
• Encouraging a collaborative and “grounded” approach
• Endeavouring to do research with and for more than research on
Youth Connectedness Project:
“Spiral learning”(Bateson, M. C., 2004)
Year 1: Young people’s participation ( e.g., focus groups)
Year 2: Young people’s participation ( e.g., focus groups)
Year 3: Young people’s participation ( e.g., focus groups)
Year 1: Survey design
Year 2: Survey design
Year 3: Survey design
Year 1: Data collection
Year 2: Data collection
Year 3: Data collection
Year 1: Data analysis
Year 2: Data analysis
Year 3: Data analysis
Year 1: Dissemination
Year 2: Dissemination
Year 3: Dissemination
Young people’s
participation
Dissemination
Data collection
Data analysisSurvey
Young people’s
participation
Survey Data collection
Data analysisDissemination
Dissemination
Data analysisData collection
Survey Young people’s
participation
Year 3
Year 2
Year 1
CHALLENGES AND LEARNING POINTSWe found it very important to do the ground work for our
project; it was important to allocate resources to establish processes and connections within the team, and with others (schools, stakeholders, and above all - participants).
It is important to encourage development of skills within the team. Contingencies of research mean that multi-tasking is sometimes needed (e.g. a research assistant might be involved in establishing a relationship with a school).
It is essential to employ multiple methods of keeping track of participants (e.g. checking with schools for student destinations, mail-outs asking for address confirmation and - at the start - obtaining multiple contact addresses).
CHALLENGES AND LEARNING POINTS - 2
There is a need to find a balance between too many meetings and not enough.
It is important to keep a focus on the big picture - what are we trying to achieve with this project? At the same time as being open to changes as new ideas, new opportunities and even new resources become available.
A vital and continuing challenge is to combine different research paradigms and cultures in the cause of the project. This involves partnership, respect, curiosity about each other’s disciplines, a continuing focus on the big picture, and a sense of humour.
Thank you!
For any queries, please [email protected]
For further information, please visit:http://www.victoria.ac.nz/mckenzie-centre/