QUALITATIVE DATA // SMALL-N RESEARCH
A small-n approach to my project would likely take the form of a typology where my dependent variable would measure victims of intimate partner femicide (IPF) on a high/low (or moderate) basis. Through a typological method I would take independent variables and match them to cases and outcomes in order to understand patterns of causes which produce IPF. Typology would allow me to include multiple variables to understand the various causes involved in high, low, and moderate variations of femicide rates. To measure countries’ rates of IPF I would use the Global Burden of Armed Violence (GBAV) 2011 Survey in conjunction with the Brazilian report of femicide worldwide, Mapa Da Violência 2015: Homicídio De Mulheres. [1] [2] While the Mapa Da Violência report measures 83 countries and GBAV measures 54, I would choose cases that fit requirements of the IVs I select. Although I use similar databases for small-n as I did for large-n research, herein lies the differentiation between the large-n and small-n applications of my project: the large-n approach operationalizes my dependent variable (DV) as femicide per capita compared to the small-n application of my research where the DV is operationalized based on a qualitative high/low variation.
A possible case for my typology research design would be the country of Ecuador. A case study was conducted by Boira et all using seven focus groups and eight in-depth interviews with native Ecuadorians. [3] The scholars point to independent variables I aim to use myself: patriarchal culture, religious values, and the influence of indigenous culture. [4]
Another possible case would be South Africa. A specific qualitative data source is the study, “Intimate Partner Femicide in South Africa in 1999 and 2009.”[5] The study conducted a national survey to identify IPF committed in 2009 and contrasted that data with femicides committed in 1999. [6] The study found that IPF rates were not significantly different and the authors contribute these findings to the effects of legislation, in particular the 2000 passing of the Firearms Control Act. [7] The extent to which laws are implemented is another angle I propose to examine as causal factors of femicide through a typology research design.
NOTES
[1] Global Burden of Armed Violence. “When the Victim Is a Woman.” Geneva Declaration. Chapter 4, pp. 129. 2011.
[2] Waiselfisz, Julio Jacobo. “MAPA DA VIOLÊNCIA 2015.” FLACSO Brasil (2015): 28.
[3] Boira, Santiago & Tomas-aragones, Lucia & Rivera, Nury. Intimate Partner Violence and Femicide in Ecuador. Qualitative Sociology Review. no.8: 33. (2017).
[4] Ibid 34.
[5] Abrahams, Naeemah, Shanaaz Mathews, Lorna J. Martin, Carl Lombard, and Rachel Jewkes. “Intimate Partner Femicide in South Africa in 1999 and 2009.” Edited by Edward J. Mills. PLoS Medicine 10, no. 4 (April 2, 2013).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Seedat, M., A. Van Niekerk, R. Jewkes, S. Suffla, and K. Ratele. “Violence and Injuries in South Africa: Prioritising an Agenda for Prevention.” The Lancet 374, no. 9694. pp. 1011. (2009).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrahams, Naeemah, Shanaaz Mathews, Lorna J. Martin, Carl Lombard, and Rachel Jewkes. “Intimate Partner Femicide in South Africa in 1999 and 2009.” Edited by Edward J. Mills. PLoS Medicine 10, no. 4 (April 2, 2013).
Boira, Santiago & Tomas-aragones, Lucia & Rivera, Nury. Intimate Partner Violence and Femicide in Ecuador. Qualitative Sociology Review. no.8. (2017).
Global Burden of Armed Violence. “When the Victim Is a Woman.” Geneva Declaration. Chapter 4. 2011.
Seedat, M., A. Van Niekerk, R. Jewkes, S. Suffla, and K. Ratele. “Violence and Injuries in South Africa: Prioritising an Agenda for Prevention.” The Lancet 374, no. 9694. (2009).
Waiselfisz, Julio Jacobo. “MAPA DA VIOLÊNCIA 2015.” FLACSO Brasil (2015).
Theodora,
I think an approach of high/low will be a good approach. I especially like that you are operationalizing some large-n sources for small-n research. I think that another thing to consider would be the cultural aspect. What does the family unit look like in country X. If you wanted to also tie it into law (similar to firearms control laws), you could call it “family laws” or something to that extent. Maybe look at law that supports a “traditional” family unit versus laws that support more of a collective family (tribal law comes to mind here). I think this may help to identify if it is the availability of tools of violence, or instability in a home that could be the driving factor. Are there still more deaths even when guns aren’t available? Does the societal structure play more of a role in the violence? I look forward to more of your research.
Overall you have a good start to thinking about your DV and data sources, Theodora. Although the high/medium/low operationalization derived from basic femicide rates would work for your project, is there a way that you can think about a more in-depth way to capture the outcomes/events that you propose to analyze? Leveraging the strengths of the methodology to examine particular events/outcomes in depth (instead of sticking with the idea of measuring a “rate” and just noting it in words instead of numbers) would strengthen things. Think in terms of different *types* of outcomes rather than in rates, as we’ve discussed in class. With respect to the potential cases that you note, what is the value of your DV take in each of those cases?