Youth Connectedness Project:
Methodology and dissemination strategies
Crespo, C., Pryor, J., Kleeb, J. & Jose, P.
Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families
Victoria University of Wellington
6th Australia & New Zealand Health Conference
Christchurch -September, 2007
WHO WE ARE
Researchers from:
and
Funded by:
A BRIEF HISTORY
Official title: “Connectedness in young New Zealanders:
social connectedness, transitions, and well-being”
We began in mid-2004 and are scheduled to finish the grant
in mid-2009.
Our chief goal is to collect annual self-report longitudinal
data, via survey, on a large sample of early adolescents over
three years (’06, ’07, and ’08). We also collect data, each
year, from parents and school principals.
We surveyed 2173 young people in ’06, and have currently
recollected from 88% (n=1914) of young people in ’07 (ongoing).
BUILDING THE YOUTH SURVEY
Survey construction was founded on a grounded approach
of engaging with the following people:
-Youth Advisory Boards (YABs)
-Youth focus groups & interviews
-Interviews with teachers, parents, youth
workers.
-Stakeholder Advisory Boards (Govt. &
youth relevant NGOs)
In the first instance we asked YABs to define
‘connectedness’ and ‘doing well’ and to give examples.
This information was probed and built upon.
We also conducted both NZ-specific and international
literature reviews.
THE PROCESS
Literature Review
YAB 1
Youth focus groups
YAB 2
Youth focus groups
Interviews with youth,
parents, teachers, youth
workers.
Stakeholder meeting
YAB 3
1st draft survey
YAB 4 pretests
Pilot 1 survey
Pilot 2 survey
(5 schools, 4
community groups)
(4 schools)
Year 1 survey
(78 schools)
KEY DOMAINS IDENTIFIED
Wellbeing:
Connectedness to/between:
Family/Whanau
Mental/Physical Health
Schools/Kura
Culture
Impacts
on
Identity
Friends/Peers
Happiness/Confidence
Communities
Education
Technology
Self Worth
Spirituality
Also measured stress, coping and personality factors.
Core assumption is that connectedness impacts on wellbeing,
but also strong likelihood the pattern is bi-directional/reinforcing.
YOUTH ADVISORS AT WORK: YAB 4
BY YAB 4 WE WERE YCP WHANAU!
BIG MIHI/RESPECT TO YAB
• When our time together came to an end both sides felt
sad.
• You are the experts, you confidently articulated youth
reality. You have a voice that needs to be listened to.
• The more we built our relationships = the greater the
quality of information shared between us.
• We gave you certificates and letters of support and
hope these serve you well as you move into the future.
In addition, we gave tangible recognition to the time and
commitment of YABs, Youth Focus Groups and our
survey participants.
SURVEY AGE SAMPLING
Age
Group
(2006)
(2007)
(2008)
Distib.
‘06
1
10-11
11-12
12-13
36.4%
2
12-13
13-14
14-15
32.7%
3
14-15
15-16
16-17
30.9%
Corresponds to Year 6, 8 and 10 students in 2006.
Note: pre-tests were extremely important to make sure the
generic Year 1 survey was equally understandable to all.
IN ‘06 THE SURVEY WAS FILLED OUT ON
LAPTOPS
The survey took an average
time of 50 minutes to
complete.
Research assistants were
there to help young people
with the survey.
In ‘07 it was
completed either on
laptop or via the
internet.
PROS & CONS OF LAPTOP DELIVERY
PROS
• Allows inclusion of more questions as skips and branches
ensure participants only view questions of relevance to their life
circumstances.
• Youth enjoy interacting with this medium.
• Researcher input errors and time to input data are eliminated.
• Eliminates concerns about differing computer operating
systems and cross-school variability in web access facilities.
• Data collection can be conducted in a ‘free space’ that does not
disrupt wider school activities.
CONS
• We purchased 30 laptops - big initial outlay.
• Transporting 30 laptops is strenuous and requires appropriate
vehicles.
• Uploading data from 30 laptops is monotonous.
We have now activated web surveys, but have yet to trial them in
schools.
Dissemination Strategy
Main goals
- Commitment to feed back the project results to
participants and relevant agents in the wider
community
- Receive feed back and actively use it during the
project’s life time
•
Questions asked
Who? What? When? Why and How?
•
Goals for Year 1
Dissemination of year 1 data and ground preparation for the
following years
•
Challenges for Year 1
-
Balance between “open” and “closed” parts
Balance between action/information and reflection
Balance between face to face and more indirect rapport
Effective resources’ management
Dissemination “Targets”
Stakeholders; Wider community; Media
• Meetings with stakeholders
• Conferences
• Website improvement and update
• Media (consultation and action)
• Project Day Seminar (4th October, Wellington)
Councils
•
Reports to councils
Including….
- data addressing community experiences and perceptions
- data from participants of 12 areas in the North Island:
Wellington city
Porirua
Lower Hutt
Upper Hutt
Otaki
Kapiti
Taranaki
New Pymouth
Waitara
Wanganui
Wairarapa
•
Ongoing work with Wellington City Council
Schools
- Reports to schools
Including…
- results from young people’s survey and
principals’ survey
- results from the overall sample and also results
from each school and community
- Meetings with some of the participating
schools
Families
- Reports/feed back to families
- Contact families/parents’ associations and
promote a closer contact with them
- Discussion group with parents (?)
Young people
• Focus groups
• Youth presence in our Day Seminar
• Work with youth groups (?)
Methodology and Dissemination:
What brings them together?
• Building meaningful relationships along the
way (…from “targets” to “partners”)
• Encouraging a collaborative and “grounded”
approach
• Endeavouring to do research with and for
more than research on
Youth Connectedness Project:
“Spiral learning”
(Bateson, M. C., 2004)
Year 3: Young people’s participation ( e.g., focus groups)
Year 2: Young people’s participation ( e.g., focus groups)
Year 1: Young people’s participation ( e.g., focus groups)
Year 3: Survey design
Year 2: Survey design
Year 1: Survey design
Year 3: Data collection
Year 2: Data collection
Year 1: Data collection
Year 3: Data analysis
Year 2: Data analysis
Year 1: Data analysis
Year 3: Dissemination
Year 2: Dissemination
Year 1: Dissemination
Year 3
Young people’s
participation
Survey Data collection
Data analysis Dissemination
Year 2
Young people’s
participation
Survey Data collection Data analysis Dissemination
Year 1
Young people’s
participation
Survey
Data collection Data analysis Dissemination
CHALLENGES AND LEARNING POINTS
We found it very important to do the ground work for our
project; it was important to allocate resources to
establish processes and connections within the team,
and with others (schools, stakeholders, and above all participants).
It is important to encourage development of skills within
the team. Contingencies of research mean that multitasking is sometimes needed (e.g. a research assistant
might be involved in establishing a relationship with a
school).
It is essential to employ multiple methods of keeping track
of participants (e.g. checking with schools for student
destinations, mail-outs asking for address confirmation
and - at the start - obtaining multiple contact
addresses).
CHALLENGES AND LEARNING POINTS - 2
There is a need to find a balance between too many
meetings and not enough.
It is important to keep a focus on the big picture - what are
we trying to achieve with this project? At the same
time as being open to changes as new ideas, new
opportunities and even new resources become
available.
A vital and continuing challenge is to combine different
research paradigms and cultures in the cause of the
project. This involves partnership, respect, curiosity
about each other’s disciplines, a continuing focus on
the big picture, and a sense of humour.
Thank you!
For any queries, please contact
Carla.Crespo@vuw.ac.nz
For further information, please visit:
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/mckenzie-centre/