A qualitative study showing how development is affected by significant others, using thematic analysis. The material I was given to analyse was a dvd of a semi structured interview with Assan (DVD programme 4 : Interviewing and Thematic Analysis. Section

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Katie Young        X5224457        TMA05

A qualitative study showing how development is affected by significant others, using thematic analysis.

Abstract

This study examines how development is affected by significant others.  An analysis was carried out on a pre-recorded semi-structured interview.  The thematic analysis on this interview shows that adults do perceive significant others having an effect on development.

Introduction

The perspective used by the researcher was Social Constructivist but Bowlbys perspective is Psychodynamic.  Social constructionism is basically the idea that who we are is shaped by the people we interact with in social settings, whether family members or people in our social groups/wider society.  

The ontology in this report is related to attachment theory, i.e. what it is to be human.  It will be analysing the themes that are identified.  The epistemology used to gain this knowledge will be a semi-structured interview.

Method

The material I was given to analyse was a dvd of a semi structured interview with Assan (DVD programme 4 : Interviewing and Thematic Analysis. Section 4 : Interview : Assan) and a transcript of the interview which had each line numbered from start to finish.  This was pre-recorded data supplied by The Open University.

The Open University provided the participant.  Assan is a thirty five year old man who grew up in the Middle East but moved to Britain when he was fifteen.  The University gained consent from the participant and I can assume that he was thoroughly debriefed and offered the right to withdraw at any time.

By using a semi structured interview for this report we get the data in the participant’s own words, which is consistent with the ontology (we create meanings with our own words etc) of a social constructivist point of view.

Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, this was done in three stages.  Transcription, familiarising yourself with the data and coding.  When doing this, two main themes were identified – cultural influences and influence of Father.  The lines of dialogue relating to these themes were highlighted using a different colour for each theme.

Analysis

From the research question ‘How do adults perceive that significant others in their lives have effected their development’ and thematic analysis, three main themes have been identified.

The first is Relationship with his father.

During the interview Assan repeatedly said that his father was away from home and travelled. He also mentions how his father encouraged him and how his father was a spiritual leader.

And my father was a man who travelled a lot. – Line 26.

And my father encouraged me to sit down and discuss and question, you know, what did I learn at school, so he could understand for himself, and then to encourage me to ask, ask these questions and to be open minded and to get a good idea of the world around us and the way other people might think and what they might feel. – Line 37 – 44.

He’d be your spiritual leader, everything, is very important.- Line 25-26

Another theme that was identified was – Role Models.

Assan explained how his older brother was a role model to him and how he took over as head of the family when his father was away.  He also spoke about how his brother encouraged him to give respect and how he supported and protected him.  Another point Assan mentioned was how his brother was a good student and so Assan felt a little pressured to be as good as him.  

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So we were always encouraged to give respect to my brother.- Line 56

But also I felt he was very supportive of me. I think he felt I was the youngest, he had to protect me, look after me. – Line 56-58

And so sometimes I feel little pressured to be as good as my brother. – Line 65-66

From reading this interview I noticed that Assan only briefly mentions his mother.  He talks mainly about how his father is head of the family and important figure in his society. His mother is only mentioned once.

Within the house itself, ...

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