I intend to collect qualitative data informally in groups and in one on one interviews. I will have a co-interviewer who is a single mother and who is willing to share her story during groups held at a local area shelter for single mothers and their children. The co-interviewer and I would take part in the groups after being introduced and explaining the study. Both of us would relate our experiences of struggling with poverty and answer questions as part of the group. This would be a participant observational method. Following groups my co-interviewer and I will survey women willing to participate in the study individually.
Biographical questions I will ask during the one on one interviews are:
- When and where were you born? This question is aimed at establishing rapport through a general question. However, this question might also provide information about the financial status of the family the person was born into. For example, they may say they were born at home, since their parents could not afford a hospital.
- What is your earliest memory? This question is another common one intended to help the respondent feel at ease while possibly eliciting information about financial status. When people are very poor, often memories somehow related to family resources are the most salient.
- How many children do you have? How old are they? What are their genders? This will also help provide information on not just financial needs of the family but priorities of the mothers.
Grand tour questions I intend to ask during include:
- What do you feel are the most important issues related to poverty that the government needs to address?
- F/U How do you think these issues developed?
- F/U What do you think are reasonable solutions or parts of solutions that could be tried?
- In your opinion, what are the biggest causes of poverty today? Are these causes different from what caused poverty in the past?
Probes for Clarity:
How is ______ a cause of poverty?
Is that a cause of poverty today or in the past?
Is that cause something that did or did not occur in the past?
What do you mean by?
When you say ______, could you explain that some more?
Could you give me an example of ________?
Probes for Completeness:
Are there any other causes that you can think of?
Can you tell me some more about that?
- What do you feel are the biggest problems faced by single mothers today?
- Do you think there is anything positive related to your financial struggles? This could be anything big or small.
- What do single mothers who struggle with poverty have to teach the rest of society?
- F/U What can other parents learn from you about conquering obstacles in raising children with limited resources?
- F/U What strengths that have helped you cope with your situation and how can you use them to model how to cope with adversity.
- What have you learned from your children that has helped you better understand and handle the financial obstacles you have encountered in your life?
