The document outlines research strategies for qualitative field studies focused on gender equality and agency in 20 countries, highlighting the importance of standardized data collection and analysis. It discusses findings from focus groups about perceptions of a 'good wife' and 'good husband,' societal norms, and the prevalence of domestic violence, emphasizing the gradual and complex nature of changes in gender norms. Additionally, it includes insights on the economic roles and responsibilities within families, particularly examining how these dynamics affect women's empowerment and agency.

1. Techniques for “Medium-sized n” Qualitative Field Research
Patti Petesch │ Consultant │ patti@pattipetesch.com
IFPRI July 25, 2013

2. Research strategies
Clarify your study purpose and questions
Sample for variance
Standardize a good portion of your data collection and documentation
Go wide and then deep with analysis
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3. On Norms and Agency: Conversations about Gender Equality with Women and Men in 20 Countries
3

4. Assessing Changes in Agency
Agency: “The ability to define one’s goals and act upon them.”
(Kabeer, 1999, 438)
Two key study concepts
Social norms: “… rules that prescribe the “do’s” and “don’t’s” of individual everyday conduct.”
(A. Portes, 2006, 237)
4

5. Data Collection for On Norms and Agency
Country
#
Communities
Focus groups
Total individuals (estimated at 8 per group)
Mini case studies
Adults
Youth
Adolescents
Total groups
Afghanistan
4
8
8
16
128
8
Bhutan
4
8
8
8
24
192
4
Burkina Faso
4
8
8
8
24
192
4
Dominican Rep.
4
8
8
8
24
192
4
Fiji
6
12
12
12
36
288
6
India
8
16
16
16
48
384
8
Indonesia
4
8
8
16
128
14
Liberia
9
18
18
36
288
12
Moldova
4
8
8
16
128
4
North Sudan
5
10
10
10
30
240
4
Peru
4
8
8
16
128
5
PNG
6
12
12
24
192
6
Poland
4
8
8
16
128
4
Serbia
5
10
10
20
160
4
South Africa
4
8
8
16
128
4
Tanzania
4
8
8
16
128
4
Togo
4
8
8
8
24
192
4
Vietnam
4
8
8
16
128
4
West Bank & Gaza
6
12
12
12
36
288
6
Yemen
4
8
8
8
24
192
4
5

6. A Good Wife and a Good Husband (Woman’s focus group, Hanoi)
•FACILITATOR: I’d now like to discuss the topic of a good wife and a good husband. For a woman to be seen as a good wife in this community what is she like? What does she do?
–A good wife is the one who takes good care for her house, her family, children, and meals in the family.
–To be responsible for the family expenses – to spend money wisely and do not waste.
–To contribute to family economy financially or by labor.
–Keep good relationship with husband’s family
–To serve parents in-law carefully.
–A good wife should have a job that brings income to the family.
–A good wife is not necessary to have a job, but she has to take good care of family activities in thoughtful and responsible way.
•“I think a good wife is a person who should also care for family, relatives, to keep all relationships in harmony – in her family, and outside her family. She should show she is a good person, a role model to her family and to her work. She can contribute to the family economy but it depends on circumstances. Some good wives could not earn good money but they can keep the family happy and stable. She can contribute to the family financially if she can.” (Lan, 53 years old)
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7. A good wife
A good husband
Now
Previous generation
Now
Previous generation
-Responsible for family activities
-Care for kinship /relatives
-Contribute to the family income (not necessary)
-Take good responsibilities of housework
-To be a good backup/supporter for husband‘s career and study.
-To be responsible for family, kinship and society.
-Contribute to family income.
-get merit in service;
-Get position in work
-Success in career.
A Good Wife and a Good Husband
(Woman’s focus group, Hanoi)
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8. Research software – a helpful first step for getting a big picture on findings
160
272
245
233
164
242
296
408
Marital relations
Economic roles
Attitudes or behaviors
Domestic responsibilities
Good Wife
Good Husband
8

9. Closed-ended questions in FGDs
9

10. Almost never happens here [1]
Occasionally happens here [2]
Regularly happens here [3]
Frequently happens here [4]
Now
Ten years ago
•FGDA6. Taking into account just the experiences of this community, how would you rate the presence of violence against women in their households on a scale of 1 to 4? almost never happens here..................... 1 occasionally happens here.…………………….2 regularly happens here……………….….………3 frequently happens here…..…………..……….4
10

11. Domestic Abuse against Women
•On the whole, prevalence occasional but widespread
•Physical violence widely described as most common form
11

12. •Process is gradual, patchy, and difficult to pin down.
–We distinguish between “relaxation” and “change” of gender norms
–Norms may relax without changing
–Old and new norms co-exist with ease
–Resistance to and change in norms may trigger violence
Understanding normative change
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13. MOP Household Ladders
The MOP Ladder of Life
(explores household poverty dynamics)
13

14. 1
BEST
CONDITION
SS
Los Álamos, Colombia Ladder of Ladder, prepared by women’s focus group
Step 2 (the Invaders) Not from Ibague
Bigger families
Have no house
Recyclers
They live next to an irrigation ditch
Kids are always sick
High risk zone
Some of them are displaced
Step 3 (the Tough Ones)
They have a small business
There’s economic support in the couple
Better relationships (because of religion)
They organize and manage their money carefully
They want to improve their situation
They care what happens to their kids
They can save money
WORST
CONDITIONS
Step 1 (the Ruined)
Kids have no dad
Mom is unemployed
Children are always in the streets
Kids work at the traffic lights
Grandparents have to ask for charity.
Even though they have SISBEN, they have no
money to buy medicines.
Kids are mistreated
There are always family conflicts
Couples and marriages have many problems
Los
Alamos
Poverty
Line
Official
Poverty
Line
4 3
Fights at home
Wasting cash
Being battered
Having no
education
Lack of
enterprising
spirit
3 2
Not being able to
manage business
Not attending
clients in proper
way
Bad habits
Alcoholism
Bad relationships
Bad businesses
Lack of communi-cation
in marriage
Competition
3 4
Receiving
economic
support
Invest with
money from
selling their land
Stable job
(minimum wage)
Have better
relationships
Saving
2 3
Counseling to forget
your problems
Better relationships
with your children
Being able to plan
your work
Receiving help to be
able to work
Creating a business
Receiving low
interests credits
More attention
parents to children
2
The Mayor’s help
to relocate
Institutional support
Psychological
attention
Counseling
The leader’s
management
Community support
Better
communication
inside the
community and
with others
2 1
Having no education
Having no job
Kids get really sick
and they have to sell
their belongings to
cover the expenses
Step 4 (the Geniuses)
They have money to live with comfort
They have big businesses
One of them works
Receive institutional aid
They have food and everything they need to have
They are relaxed, no worries.
They do not batter their kids
They move away from the community
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15. Ladder of Power and Freedom, Women’s Focus Group, Papua New Guinea

16. Gender norms most stressful on bottom step
The bottom step: "Not working, no business; they cut palms and give them to their wives to sell before they can get food; do weeding and brushing contracts; collects kiss me (tiny snails) to sell; cut wood, make coal to sell; the day they don’t work, no food for them; they live in thatched houses; junior high school level; has a fine and happy family that go to church together and sits together... fighting relationship; grumbling everyday; both women and men fuss everyday .”
– Focus group of men, Border town of Greenville district, Liberia
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17. What is Power? Freedom?
"According to the tradition of our village, women cannot move freely. But the old women who are on step 2 or the top step can move and go to the relatives, friends and neighbors' homes."
--Village woman, Naw Da, Parwan, Afghanistan
Women on the top step have “good morals and good reputation, and they have the experience and ability to solve problems, and have a lot of money and authority to express their opinions and advice .” --
Focus group of women, Baadan, Yemen
Gender norms relax at higher steps
17

18. Stylized Ladder of Power and Freedom
18

19. 0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
Occupational
and economic
Behavioral and
psychological
Education and
training
Marital and
familial
Social
networks
Share of total mentions
Urban men
Urban women
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
Occupational
and economic
Behavioral and
psychological
Education and
training
Marital and
familial
Social networks
Share of total mentions
Rural Men
Rural women
Factors that drive agency
Data from 194 men’s and women’s focus groups
19

20. Average Mobility Index of Men’s and Women’s Ladders in Urban and Rural Communities
20

21. Country
Community
Country Code
Community Code
Sex of the Group (women =1, men=0)
Weighed Mean 10 years ago
Weighed Mean now
Difference in means
IND
Umapada
6
3
1
2.26
2.75
0.49
Comparing change with local measures
Assessing changes in empowerment: mobility rating on Ladder of Power and Freedom
21

22. 0.33
-0.11
0.24
0.07
Women
Men
Women
Men
Conflict communities
(n=24)
Nonconflict
communities (n=73)
The polarizing effects of conflict
Average mobility index on women's & men's ladders of power and freedom
189 focus groups from 20 countries
Conflict sample: Afghanistan, Liberia, Sudan, West Bank & Gaza
22

23. Life Story, Umi, North Cotabato, Philippines
MOP Life Story, Village of Tulunan municipality, North Cotabato, Philippines
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24. Make their voices count.
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