Planning and implementing a
mixed methods research project:
A study of aged care workers’
employment retention
AIRRAANZ 6-8 February 2013, Fremantle Western Australia
Therese Jefferson (Curtin)
Siobhan Austen (Curtin)
Rhonda Sharp (UniSA)
Rachel Ong (Curtin)
Gill Lewin (Curtin and Silver Chain)
Valerie Adams (UniSA)
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
Research design and proposal
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
Research design and proposal
Constraints

Need for innovation

Match our skill sets/track records

Contribute to theory

Provide national benefits
Desirable

International comparisons

Existing survey instruments
Research design and proposal
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?
Research design and proposal
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?
Research design and proposal
Question 1: Measure the significance of possible causal
relationships between characteristics and stay/exit
Question 2: Experiences and perceptions – not for
measurement
Research design and proposal
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
Research design and proposal
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
analysis
n = 7,000
Semi structured
interviews –
based on
analysis of
survey (n=70)
Compare/contrast
integrate findings
National survey 2
intentions – data
collection and
analysis (n=?)
Implications
Policy 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
collection
n = 4,000
Compare/contrast
integrate findings
National survey 1
intentions –
limited data
analysis
n = 4,000
National survey 2
– data collection
(n=2,200)
National surveys
1 and 2 analysis
Semi structured
interview
schedule using
content of survey
1 instrument=50
Semi-structured
interview data
collection and
analysis
Implications
Policy and Theory
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 projects
Unforeseen 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