planning and implementing a mixed methods research project: a study of aged care workers’...

Planning and implementing a mixed methods research project: A study of aged care workers’employment retention

Therese Jefferson (Curtin)Siobhan Austen (Curtin)Rhonda Sharp (UniSA)

Rachel Ong (Curtin) Gill Lewin (Curtin and Silver Chain)

Valerie Adams (UniSA)

AIRRAANZ 6-8 February 2013, Fremantle Western Australia

Objectives

Policy context and rationale for the study

The research team

Research design and proposal

Challenges with implementation

Modifications consistent with research objectives

Lessons learned

So what?

Policy context and rationale for the study

Project title: Missing workers: retaining mature age women workers to ensure future labour security

Projected rise in demand of 325% for aged care workers between 2003 and 2031(Hugo 2007)

Women > 90% of aged care workforce

Median age of workforce is 45+

Number of aged care nurses declined 22.3%, 1986 – 2001

Little economic theory/analysis of labour supply of mature age women

The research team

Multidisciplinary

Backgrounds and/or strong interest in feminist economics

Limits of orthodox approaches to labour supply analysis

Collaborative group – but a new group


Aims:

Identify factors that promote or hinder mature age women’s retention in paid work

Develop model of employment decision making relevant to mature age women’s circumstances

Contribute to policy frameworks relevant to employment security in the aged care sector


Constraints

Need for innovation

Match our skill sets/track records

Contribute to theory

Provide national benefits

Desirable

International comparisons

Existing survey instruments


Specific research questions

1. What are the key economic, social and demographic characteristics associated with mature age women who decide to maintain or leave employment in Australia’s aged care sector?

2. How do mature age women workers describe their experiences and perceptions of work and reasons for staying or considering exit from Australia’s aged care sector?


Specific research questions

3. What do the findings from 1 and 2 suggest for economic theory and policy relevant to the attraction and retention of mature age women workers in Australia’s aged care sector?


Question 1: Measure the significance of possible causal relationships between characteristics and stay/exit

Question 2: Experiences and perceptions – not for measurement


Research design (proposed)

Embedded mixed methods – Explanatory and Sequential (Cresswell and Plano Clark 2007)

Priority given to quantitative data/analysis with a longitudinal design

Qualitative data/analysis embedded within context of large scale quant study


Data sources

1. Pilot study, 14 semi structured interviews (informed research proposal)

2. Silver Chain staff records (anonymised)

3. HILDA survey

4. Modified NEXT survey – 2 rounds

5. 50 semi structured interviews with sample from NEXT survey participants

Research design (proposal) – NEXT and interviews

National survey 1 intentions – data collection and analysisn = 7,000

Semi structured interviews – based on analysis of survey (n=70)

National survey 2 intentions – data collection and analysis (n=?)

Compare/contrast integrate findings

ImplicationsPolicy and Theory

Challenges with implementation

1. Funding

2. Distribution of survey – coordinating with participants

3. Data input of Survey 1(4,000 responses)

4. Analytical requirements/publication

5. Commencement of interviews

6. Data collection – Survey 2

Research design (modified)

National survey 1 intentions – data collectionn = 4,000

Semi structured interview

schedule using content of survey 1 instrument=50

National survey 2 – data collection (n=2,200)National surveys 1 and 2 analysis

Compare/contrast integrate findings

ImplicationsPolicy and Theory

National survey 1 intentions – limited data analysis n = 4,000

Semi-structured interview data collection and

analysis

Research design modified

1. Need for consistency with research objectives and questions

2. Initial design of interview schedule based on content of Survey 1 instrument rather than analysis

3. Iterative process of qual data collection/analysis – modifications to interview schedule

4. Iterative process of Survey 1 analysis, qual analysis/collection and Survey 2 design/analysis

5. Analysis not complete – more challenges likely

Lessons learned – research design/process

Iterative processes within a sequential design

Insights from qualitative data beyond illustration and causal direction – pay/recognition

Opportunity for ‘emergent themes’ in qualitative component – need for dual analytical approach (CALD)

Flexibility in design – exploratory data analysis rather than singular focus on hypothesis testing (informal care roles and retention)

Exploration –statistically non-significant relationships

Longitudinal – opportunity for survey refinement

So what? Implications for future large scale proposals and projectsUnforeseen challenges

Evolutionary nature of the process

Time constraints - implications for sequential design

Integration of quant and qual data at point of data collection rather than post – analysis

Iterative process – need for close/frequent communication between research team members

So what? Implications for future large scale proposals and projects

Unanticipated benefits

Flexibility of design – scope for exploration

Capacity to investigate ‘non significant’ relationships

Opportunity for data sets to be used independently – not planned but likely to occur in publications

Usefulness of pilot interview data

planning and implementing a mixed methods research project: a study of aged care workers’...

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