The centrality of marginalia: analysing paradata from the Poverty in the UK study

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The centrality of marginaliaanalysing paradata
from the Povertyin the UK study

• Heather Elliott
• www.novella.ac.uk

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The possibilities for a narrative analysis of
paradata project

• Research Team Ann Phoenix, Janet Boddy, Ros
  Edwards Heather Elliott
• Aim To investigate the possibilities of
  narrative analysis of paradata, and attendant
  ethical issues, through working with
  historically situated archived data
• Poverty in the UK A Survey of Household
  Resources and Standards of Living 1967-68
• Aimed to define and measure poverty
• 3566 households, 9584 people
• 630 parliamentary constituencies with 4 special
  areas

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Paradata in the Poverty in the UK Study
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Paradata within survey methodology

• Paradata valuable to understand survey practices,
  particularly how technologies work in the field
  how to improve response rates / data quality.
  Nicolaas, 2011
• Paradata comprises
• All data about the process of collecting survey
  data such as interviewer call records, length
  of interview, key stroke data, interviewer
  characteristics
• Although interviewer observations and
  information do not describe processes, this kind
  of information is also often referred to as
  paradata.
• A crucial step in gaining co-operation from
  sample members is the interaction between the
  interviewer and the contacted sample member
•  

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Outline of research method

• Sampled four types of area special areas,
  affluent, high immigration, seaside
• Identified booklets with extensive marginalia
• Emergent categorisation of marginalia
  amplification justification explanation
  evaluation de-briefing (of self and of team)
  standpoint (political personal)
• Focused thematic analysis (69 cases)
• Narrative analysis (6 cases)close reading and
  joint analysis

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Marginalia insights from the history of reading

• Readers marks have an uncanny ability to
  unsettle assumptions, pose questions, and provide
  new perspectives on the history of people,
  practices, and technologies.
• Sherman, 2013 
• Marginalia cannot become central it seems,
  without relegating the source text to the margins
  Marginalia are responsive. They arise out of a
  readers reaction to a prior printed text and are
  by definition dependent upon that text for their
  meaning. With rare exceptions they cannot be
  re-produced as free standing utterances.
• Jackson, 2000

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Poverty in the UK ground-breaking survey

• Poverty can be defined objectively and applied
  consistently only in terms of the concept of
  relative deprivation
• Unusual, odd and extraordinary households
• ...this survey is different from others. It is
  vital for unusual, odd and extraordinary
  households and not only usual or ordinary
  households to be properly represented in the
  results. Society is diverse and we are
  concerned to capture this diversity....
• Keep the number of persons refusing an interview
  as small as possible
• People with inadequate resources... are more
  likely than others to be ...living in crowded
  conditions which make tempers short and
  interviewing difficult.

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Poverty in the UK a groundbreaking survey

• Reliance on researchers observations
• We are seeking to distinguish between coloured
  and non-coloured immigrants.. You should base
  your codes on observation together with
  inferences from what you are told in the
  interviews...
• Cash Incomes and Assets the centrepiece of the
  questionnaire.
• Respondents will be asked about almost every
  possible source of income we are convinced this
  method obtains better results than less complete
  prompting.
•  The compensations of the poor Private help
  given and received
• To develop a crude classification of social
  integration or isolation......

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• Emphasis on low refusal rates
• Detailed data
• on income /assets
• Reliance on observations
• Inclusive of hard
• to reach groups
• Interest in social support

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After a while she allowed me in

• The informant in this case was deaf. Two calls
  were made at the house. No answer 1st visit. At
  2nd no answer was received. I called next door
  and was told that the informant was deaf. I asked
  if help could be given with the questionnaire,
  but was told that the informant was odd and
  no-one had anything to do with her. I called at
  house again and informant came to the door. After
  a while she allowed me in. I stayed about an
  hour.

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I talked down her ear

• Informant managed to hear some of what I said if
  I talked down her ear. She was 83 years of age
  and it was obviously impossible to ask her the
  questions in an ordinary way. We talked and I
  managed to ask her quite a few of the relevant
  questions.

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It was rather sad...

• It was rather sad, informant had lived alone for
  two years, sister died in 1966. Informant kept on
  crying. On this bright summer evening we sat in
  front parlour with curtains drawn and lights
  on, newspapers covered the good chairs.
  Informant did not really understand why I was
  there hoped that perhaps I might manage to get
  her more money to live on. She would not however,
  think of applying for national assistance, I
  think though that something could be done for
  her. Informant constantly said there is no debt
  here. I have completed the questionnaire as best
  as I can.
•  

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I completely forgot to ask her name

• Informant said that she never had anyone in, was
  completely independent. I came away wishing I
  could help informant and would like to call
  again. Also, informant talked so much about her
  dead sister Ada that completely forgot to ask
  informants name.

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Paradata as indicative of team dynamics and
hierarchies

• We are checking and editing in green and purple
  pens may we ask interviewers to continue to use
  the more prosaic colours of black, blue and red

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Join the dots to make a picture of the survey
so far
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Typology of Paradata Forms

• AMPLIFICATION - figures and computation
• - background clarification
• - direct quotes
• JUSTIFICATION - of coding decision - of lack
  of coding
• EXPLANATION - relates to substantive focus and
  coding
• EVALUATION
• Character . - individual or household
  personality/emotions
• - material/resource circumstances
• Claims - veracity of interviewee
  information
• - what may have happened/will happen
• DEBRIEFING
• Self . - offload/explain to self
• Core team .. - discuss/explain interview
  process
• - comment on research focus or questions
• - exchanges between interviewer and core team