Social science/social policy

Social Science/Social Policy

Thematic Analysis of the Interviews The purpose of research is always in the evidence it produces, is it valid and does it relate to the hypothesis being tested We know that knowledge is presented by what we see and accumulate about what we think the answer may be and we know that in order to come with a sufficient answer to our questions, we need to ask the right ones. The interviews done with regard to this particular experiment, reveals a number of interesting and problematic themes that only once we have identified them can we begin to deal with them. What are these themes and how do they affect the methodology of the research
Interview one:
Interview one was focused on the care giver and the gender of the interviewee was confirmed as being male. This theme related to the gender distinctions common in the care service. Care work had been seen as a largely stereotypical women’s job. In this case the job description and the gender of care work did not fit the generalized ideology of what a care worker should be. The subject and them of work related directly to the difficulty the interviewee experienced in getting into residential care. He had been a volunteer at first but had been in the business for 12 years. There is also the question of how the interviewee sees the social policy framework. The subject of what is still needed in the social care environment is examined and clearly the care worker believes there should be more professional therapists in the business. He also maintains that there are not sufficient amounts of males in the care environment. Furthermore, there is a connection and relationship between perceived gender roles and work perceptions. Relationships between the gender of the carer and the gender of the patient as we will see in interview two.
Interview two:
The themes in this interview were similar to those in interview one, but in this case the interviewee was the taker of the care instead of the giver. The interviewee was also male and not particularly complimentary of the care providing services. As a result of his not being of age to work, the major themes remained gender and care in which a number of issues were raised. It became evident that the care industry as explored by interviewee one, needs more specific professionals such as psychologists and doctors. It also brought to light the issue of youth and the troubles that thwart them. Age was a major issue, as it revealed that the younger patients are less receptive to care work. This also meant that it was necessary for the youngster to have a relationship of some sort with a male mentor. Again, the issue of gender was raised. He spoke little of his mother and not at all about his father, meaning there is a definite emptiness in that regard. He also referred to his ability to look after himself which includes being able to work and support himself.
Evidently, locality, job description and role of the therapist were all ascertained in these interviews but it varied from one interviewee to the other. These interviews help us to understand that there are two sides of the way people view social care and both sides of the fence need to be taken into account in order to understand the relationship between the parts of society. As we see there is a different viewpoint towards social care between the two sides of society: the giver and the taker. Research affects social policy and its efficacy on a very intimate level. Inductive research gives us an overall summary of what we need to be looking at and gives us the opportunity to formulate more specific questions. Specific questions lead to specific answers and in both interviews we see different TYPES of people: people who are able to think laterally and answer questions coherently and those who are less attentive. Both sectors need to be interviewed but the results may be more difficult to ascertain in interviews such as interview 2. The exercise was insightful in its nature and therefore necessary in displaying relationships between social policy and personal lives and how to make the relationship between he two a little bit better.
Sources:
Churchill, Harrie; Fink, Janet and Harris, Fiona. 2004. Research, Analysis and Assessment Booklet: Personal lives and Social policy. Policy Press.
Fink, Janet; Lewis, Gail; Carabine, Jean and Newman, Janet. 2004. Course Companion. Policy Press.
Interview’s 1 & 2. 2008.