RESEARCH MANUAL

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• RESEARCH MANUAL
• The International Resilience Project
• An International Collaboration to
• Investigate Health-Related Phenomena
• in At-Risk Youth Populations
• www.resilienceproject.org

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Table of contents

• Introduction How to use this manual
  ..1
• Section 1 The people involved
  .....2
• Section 2 The various phases
  ...4
• Phase 1 Understanding the setting and the people
  living there...5
• Phase 2 Getting local comment on the
  CYRM..7
• Phase 3 Developing other ways to learn about
  resilience - Qualitative methods..9
• Phase 4 Preparing to recruit participants.
  .11
• Phase 5 Ethics review..
  .13
• Phase 6 Contracting with/ Finding
  participants.15
• Phase 7 Conducting the study
  .17
• Phase 8 Looking at the information
  gathered...19
• Phase 9 Seeking agreement.
  ...21
• Section 3 The qualitative toolbox
  ...23
• Introduction.
  ..24
• Interviews
  ..26
• Observation
  ..27
• Story telling
  ..28
• Sharing circles
  .29
• Artifacts
  ...30

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Introduction How to use this manual

• This manual has been created to guide team
  members of the International Resilience Project
  (IRP) and others interested in employing the
  IRPs methodology through the phases of a mixed
  methods study of health related issues among
  at-risk youth populations.
• The IRP was begun in 2002 by Dr. Michael Ungar
  and is funded by the Social Sciences and
  Humanities Research Council of Canada as well as
  the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation. This
  manual is based on discussions of the
  international team at meetings held in March,
  2003 and June 2005 in Halifax, Nova Scotia,
  Canada.
• The manual is made up of four sections. Section
  one outlines the people who are required to
  conduct the study. Section two provides an
  explanation of the research process. Here the
  research is divided into nine phases. For each
  phase there is a description followed by a
  flow-chart for use in the field. For a much more
  detailed explanation of these nine phases and the
  theory behind the study, please consult the IRPs
  Summary Report or other publications available
  from Dr. Ungar or Dr. Liebenberg. Section three
  explores various tools that could be incorporated
  in the qualitative component of this study.
  Section Four contains a copy of the Child and
  Youth Resilience Measure.
• A NOTE ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY This study was
  designed to be both qualitative and quantitative.
  We would ask that both parts of the methodology
  be used in order to ensure that results are both
  valid (quantitatively) and trustworthy
  (qualitatively). The very best results come when
  findings from both methods are compared and
  inform one another. As well, much of the
  qualitative work is necessary to contextualize
  the quantitative methods. If you have questions
  about integrating these methods, please contact
  the Project leaders (see below).

Michael Ungar, Ph.D. Principle Investigator Phone
[phone] Fax [phone] Michael.Ungar_at_
dal.ca
Linda Liebenberg, Ph.D. Project Manager Phone
[phone] Fax [phone] Linda.Liebenber
g_at_dal.ca
School of Social Work, Dalhousie University 6414
Coburg Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B3H
2A7 www.resilienceproject.org
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Section One The people involved

• The various people involved in this project
  internationally at each site are explained below.
  The symbol/picture next to each explanation will
  be used throughout this manual to highlight who
  is responsible for each task.
• International Research Team Member/Site Research
  Leader (IT)
• The IT may be a part of the international team of
  researchers who helped design the study or a
  local researcher who initiates the study. Each
  site should have at least one person who is
  responsible for the design of the study. In the
  case of the IRP, the ITs were team members who
  worked directly with a research site or experts
  on some part of the methodology and offered to
  help when needed. When research sites other than
  those which are part of the IRP use this
  methodology, local lead researchers are
  encouraged to include a member of the IRP team or
  other senior researcher on their team to ensure
  that there is sufficient expertise to guide the
  research and ensure its ethical application.
• Site Researcher (SR)
• The site researcher is responsible for carrying
  out the research activities at each site. This
  person may be a volunteer or someone who has been
  hired by the IT. For the purposes of the IRP (and
  sharing findings) it is helpful if this is
  someone who has some fluency speaking, reading
  and writing English. He or she should also
  interact well with people, especially youth and
  have basic computer literacy.
• Advisory Committee Member (AC)
• Each site should have three or four local people
  (adults and youth) who have something important
  to say about children and families in their
  community. These people will make suggestions to
  the project and help guide the work every step of
  the way. These people should be seen by their
  communities as important to a study like this.
  Advisory Committee members can be youths,
  parents, professionals, care-givers or
  elders/adults who themselves have overcome
  challenges while growing up.

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• Research Assistant (RA)
• Much like the SRs the research assistants are
  either hired or volunteer to work with the
  project sites. These are people who can travel to
  the different sites where the research is being
  carried out and offer training and support. They
  will have skills to share with the SRs and will
  work closely with the ITs. During the IRP, these
  RAs were provided by the project management in
  Halifax to support all sites.
• Participants (P)
• Youth
• For this study, we chose to include youth. These
  are all young people who are seen by their
  communities as being at the point of moving from
  childhood to adulthood. At each site, the age at
  which this happens will be different. It is
  important that the community help the research
  team decide when children make this important
  transition. As well, the research should include
  both boys and girls who show many different ways
  of coping with the challenges they face when
  growing up, including those who are viewed
  positively by their communities (resilient) and
  those who are not (non-resilient).
• Adults
• Adults are any individuals seen by their
  community as having something important to say
  about resilience and how children grow up in
  their community. These might be professionals,
  older people, parents or other care-givers, or
  spiritual leaders.

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• Section Two
• The phases of the study

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Phase One Understanding the setting and the
people living there

• During this start up phase, the goal is to become
  familiar with each community and what the word
  resilience means to each community. The local
  SR will
• Translate a short summary of the project into the
  local language of the community in which they are
  working.
• Invite a group of 3 or 4 people to form an AC
  (See page 2).
• Find answers to the following questions by
  talking to the AC and others if necessary
• Who should we study?
• What should we ask them?
• What should we look at to learn about
  resilience? The following questions can help the
  local research team answer this question
• What are the biggest challenges youth in this
  community face?
• What are some of the common things that help
  youth cope with the challenges they face?
• What do people in this community think helps
  children cope with challenges?
• How do we get participants interested in the
  project?
• Where, when and how should we go about
  collecting information from people (youth and
  adults) in the community?
• Gather any published writing, papers or artefacts
  that talk about how children survive challenges
  in this community.
• Create a short statement, or site document, based
  on talks with the AC and the artefacts that were
  gathered, which summarizes how people in the
  community understand resilience. This can be
  shared through any form of expression that is
  appropriate to the context and culture of the
  community. For example something written, a short
  audio-visual presentation, a piece of art, etc.
  might all be used to summarize what resilience
  means locally.

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Phase one Understanding the setting and the
people living there
Translate short summary of the project into
local language
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Get AC to answer questions on page 5
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Form AC
Gather documentation about youth and health in
the local community
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Create a Site Document
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Phase two Getting local comment on the CYRM

• In this phase, the goal is to make sure the Child
  and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM), a
  quantitative tool to investigate resilience
  across cultures, is relevant to each research
  site.
• The SR should ask members of the AC and others in
  the community to look at and talk about the CYRM
  and discuss how it could work in the local
  community. These ideas should be written down
  (logged). Each site is encouraged to share these
  thoughts with the International Team so that
  methods can be adapted well across different
  contexts and cultures.
• In order to be sure that there are questions
  included on the CYRM that make sense to people
  locally, the IT or SR at each site needs to talk
  to a small group of people who are similar to
  those that the CYRM is meant for and who can talk
  about the kinds of questions being included.
  These people should be asked whether the
  questions are worded appropriately and if any
  should be changed, or omitted from the instrument
  in order to fit with the worldviews of people
  locally.
• As well, new questions that people feel should be
  part of the CRYM should also be gathered. The IRP
  found it helpful to speak with youth and adults
  in separate focus groups about the CYRM in order
  to ensure open and honest communication.
• The SR and the AC should choose no more than 10
  questions from a list of site-specific questions
  originating from these interviews. These
  questions can be added to the CYRMs Section 2.
• The SR should see to it that the CYRM and other
  relevant documents are translated into the local
  language. These translated documents should be
  translated back into English to ensure accuracy.
  At the very least, the 10 local site questions
  will need to be translated if the research is to
  be shared with the IRP.
• Assuming the research team is going to do the
  minimum number of CYRM interviews required to
  analyse the data, which is 60, it is recommended
  that at least 70 copies of the Information Letter
  and the Informed Consent form CYRM are made.
  This way youth may be over sampled. The over
  sampling allows for a number of youth to withdraw
  from the study.
• Also, assuming the SR will be doing between 2 and
  10 lengthier less structured interviews with
  individual youth, it makes sense to make about 12
  copies of the Informed Consent form Life stories
  and another 12 of the Informed Consent form
  Adults for interviews with adults. Youth should
  be interviewed individually, but elders can be
  interviewed either alone or in groups.

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Phase two Getting local comment on the CYRM
Translate CYRM and related documents (if
necessary)
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Ask AC to look at and talk about the CYRM
Log comments
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Finish site specific CYRM
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Create and choose 10 site specific questions that
are to be part of the local administration of the
CYRM.
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Finish changes to the CYRM and other documents
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Translate CYRM and other documents back into
English (if necessary)
Copy consent forms
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Phase three Developing other ways to learn
about resilience - Qualitative methods

• This study combines quantitative research methods
  (the CYRM) with many different qualitative
  methods that are aimed at hearing peoples
  stories about resilience and understanding how
  they live their lives. The focus of the
  qualitative parts of the study will be determined
  by the topic areas (domains) agreed upon by the
  research team. The goal of this phase is to
  decide how the qualitative aspect of the study
  will be done.
• The SR and the IT will talk about the
  catalyst/probing questions (below) and which
  qualitative tools to use (see Section Three The
  Toolbox, for ways of doing the qualitative
  research) to gather in culturally appropriate
  ways young peoples experiences and stories about
  resilience.
• It is important for the SR to talk to the AC
  about the best way to talk with children, to look
  at their lives, and to learn about how children
  in each setting nurture and sustain resilience
  (and the social and political factors that help).
• For this study we recommend using nine Catalyst
  Questions to understand resilience
• What do I need to know to grow up well here?
• How do you describe people who grow up well here
  despite the many problems they face?
• What does it mean to you, to your family, and to
  your community, when bad things happen?
• What kinds of things are most challenging for
  you growing up here?
• What do you do when you face difficulties in
  your life?
• What does being healthy mean to you and others
  in your family and community?
• What do you do, and others you know do, to keep
  healthy mentally, physically, emotionally,
  spiritually?
• Can you tell me a story about another child who
  grew up well in this community despite facing
  many challenges?
• Can you share a story about how you have
  overcome challenges you face personally, in your
  family, or outside your home in your community?

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Phase three Developing other ways to learn
about resilience - Qualitative methods
Talk to the IT about the catalyst questions and
qualitative tools (see Toolbox)
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Talk to the AC about the qualitative tools and
research in this community
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Plan qualitative research
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Phase four Preparing to recruit participants

• In this phase the research team should identify
  who the participants will be. The SR should
• Begin to look around the community for access to
  youth who are moving from childhood to adulthood.
  The age of these children will be different at
  each site. Each site will need to find children
  who fit the description of the participant youth
  (young people who show many different ways of
  coping with the challenges they face growing up
  and who are making the transition to adulthood).
  The SR should ask both boys and girls who use
  many different ways of coping some viewed
  favourably by their communities, and others whose
  ways of coping worry their communities and
  families. Both kinds of youth should be invited
  to take part in this study. As well, the SR might
  like to stratify the sample, including both
  youth who are doing well by community standards
  (for example, staying in school or avoiding
  violence) and those not doing so well (like
  leaving school early, or becoming pregnant too
  young).
• The SR should begin to look around the community
  for access to adults. Adults are any individuals
  that each community sees as having something
  important to say about resilience and how
  children grow up well in their community. These
  might be professionals, older people with lived
  experience, parents and other caregivers,
  spiritual leaders, or anyone else who is seen as
  important and knowledgeable about overcoming
  challenges. Adults can be interviewed in groups
  or individually this decision should be made by
  the IT, SR and AC at each site.
• Keep a record of any methodological, ethical or
  logistical problems that are encountered. Talk
  to the IT member in your community and other IRP
  researchers globally who might be able to offer
  suggestions about ways to deal with these issues.

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Phase four Preparing to recruit participants
Negotiate access to youth
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Share information with IT
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Log observations about getting access
Negotiate access to adults
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Phase five Ethics review

• In this phase you should seek ethics approval
• Each SR must make sure that the CYRM and the
  qualitative methods chosen have approval from any
  local ethics committee.
• If there is no ethics committee at a local
  university or government agency that can look at
  the research, it is still important that the AC
  think about the following questions in order to
  ensure the research is done ethically
• Can people be hurt in any way from taking part
  in this research?
• Have people agreed to the research? Do they
  fully understand what they are agreeing to do and
  what happens to the information that they
  provide? Do they understand who sees the
  information that they provide? Do they understand
  what the information will be used for? Do they
  understand that they can leave the study at any
  time?
• Are there places where people can go if they
  feel uneasy or upset during the research? Who do
  they go to for support? Who can they talk to
  about how they were treated during the research?
  Is there a local person (most likely on the AC)
  who can speak with them confidentially?
• What will be given back to the community and
  what can people expect will be gained from taking
  part in the research?

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Phase five Ethics review
If there is a local ethics committee, get
approval for the CYRM and qualitative research
Find out if there is a local ethics committee
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If there is no local ethics committee
Get AC to review questions on page 13
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Phase six Contracting with participants

• In this phase, the SR will contract with
  participants who will be part of the study. There
  are two types of participants youth and adults.
• Youth participants are chosen because of their
  many different experiences of risk, the strengths
  they show and their coping strategies. We suggest
  that the SR work with a community organization to
  find a group of children the right age (moving
  from childhood to adulthood), who are handling
  life problems in different ways.
• -At least 60 young people, boys and girls, should
  answer the CYRM. They should all face three or
  more common problems, like having seen violence,
  or having lived in a dangerous community, or
  having experienced school problems. It is
  important that they are from groups of children
  who are coping in different ways. For example,
  we might choose youth who are doing well in the
  community and taking part in a community group,
  and another group of similar youth who do not
  take part but spend their days on the street or
  get into trouble with the law. The AC can help
  choose these youth. Be sure to note on the CYRM
  which group the child is part of. In other words
  is the child part of the group coping well, or
  coping less well?
• -From this pool of youth, between 2 and 10 full,
  in-depth, qualitative case studies should be done
  (half boys and half girls). These youth should
  also show different ways of coping with the
  problems they face but all should be thought of
  by their communities as successful. They should
  be asked the catalyst questions in ways that are
  culturally appropriate and the interviews should
  be kept private (unless this is culturally
  inappropriate).
• At least 5 adults also need to be found for the
  study. They can be interviewed individually or in
  groups. There should be both men and women, and
  they should fit with the suggestions of the AC.
  These people should have ideas on resilience that
  they can share (for example, caregivers of youth,
  survivors of trauma/abuse, policy makers). They
  should also be asked the catalyst questions (see
  page 9), but their answers should be about youth
  in general in their communities and their own
  lives as they have been lived.
• Get informed consent from all participants and
  set dates for meetings to complete the data
  collection.

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Phase six Finding participants
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Find 60 youth participants
Find 5 adults
Find 2 youth for qualitative case studies
Get informed consent from all participants
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Phase seven Conducting the study

• Now the study can be done. All the preparation so
  far should make it easy to work with participants
  and get information in ways that are culturally
  sensitive. During this phase, the SR will
• Have the 60 or more youth (who have agreed to
  join the study) answer the CYRM.
• Do 2 or more in-depth case studies. These two or
  more youth should also complete the CYRM.
• Interview a smaller group of youth (using the
  qualitative techniques that were chosen) if the
  IT and AC have decided to do this as well as, or
  instead of, the individual interviews.
• Interview a group of adults using the qualitative
  techniques chosen.
• The SR should keep detailed notes on the process
  of the research to help the IT members understand
  what works and what doesnt work during the
  study.
• The methodology can be changed as the study moves
  along. If changes have to be made, even at this
  late point, they should be made, but the SR
  should discuss changes with the IT and AC, and
  seek ethics approval for the changes that are
  made (if they are substantial). All changes
  should be documented.

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Phase seven Conducting the study
Give CYRM to 60 youth
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Keep detailed notes of the research
process Changes to the methodology must be
discussed with the local IT member
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Do 2 or more detailed case studies
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Do further qualitative studies with youth (if
possible)
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Do qualitative study with adults (focus groups or
individual meetings)
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Phase eight Looking at the information gathered

• There are many steps to understanding the data
  that is collected. The goal of this phase is to
  prepare, capture and analyse the data.
• The SR is asked to analyse the quantitative
  results. If help is needed, the IT may be
  consulted.
• Results from all the CYRMs, and the English
  translations of the site-specific questions, may
  be shared with the Halifax based IRP project
  leaders for cross-site comparisons (the
  information shared, should of course, contain no
  identifying information).
• The qualitative data should be analysed. Again,
  if help is needed, consult the IT.
• The two lengthy case studies should also be
  translated into English, if possible, so that
  each site has a full story of one boy and one
  girl who are seen as resilient by their community
  that can be shared internationally (again,
  confidentiality should be maintained and informed
  consent obtained).
• If other qualitative data has been collected, as
  much as possible it too should be translated into
  English if cross-site comparison/analysis is
  desired. If it cannot be translated, local
  analysis of the data can of course be done.
• Where there is interest, the IRP may share
  qualitative and quantitative findings between
  sites. At each site, the SR may invite members of
  the community and the AC together for a focus
  group interview to get comments on the results
  gathered locally and internationally. These
  people should be asked
• How do the experiences of other children
  compare with the experiences of children here?
• How would children here handle the problems
  these other children face?
• What advice would you give to these other
  children?
• What patterns do you see in how these other
  children cope with lifes challenges/problems?
• Are there specific themes, or aspects of their
  lives, that protect these other children from the
  challenges they face?
• Comments on the findings should be logged by the
  SR

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Phase eight Looking at the information
gathered
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Analyze CYRM results
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Share with Halifax
Joint data analysis at Halifax office and at each
site
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Analyze Qualitative Data
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Follow-up focus group interviews
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Translate 2 or more case studies
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Share with Halifax
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Log comments
Translate adults interviews
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Discuss comments with IT
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Translate any other case studies
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Phase nine Seeking agreement

• At this point, the results of the study should be
  shared with each community. The goal is to
  compare the results of the qualitative and
  quantitative aspects of the study, addressing the
  following questions
• What did we learn?
• How could we have done the research differently
  to make it better?
• What do the results really mean to youth and
  adults in this community (What do they think is
  significant about the findings)?
• What do the findings of this study mean for
  policy and practice (interventions) in this
  community?
• It will also be important to continue discussing
  the project and its results globally. It is hoped
  that members of each local research project will
  participate in IRP sponsored events and
  publications. The IT, SR, and members of the AC
  are encouraged to maintain contact with the
  global project.

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Phase nine Seeking agreement
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Team discussions
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Revise methodology
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Share results with community/Publish results
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• Section Three
• The qualitative tool box

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Introduction

• This tool box has been created to assist with the
  qualitative research process outlined in Section
  2 of this manual. In addition to the information
  gathered from the CYRM, the Site Researcher is
  asked to prepare at least two lengthy case
  studies or life stories (one boy and one girl) of
  youth included in the study at each site who are,
  according to the community, resilient. In
  addition, the site researcher is asked to
  interview a group of adults who are seen as
  having something important to tell us about how
  youth grow up well in your community.
•  
• This document highlights suggested ways of
  gathering this information in a qualitative
  manner. Each idea is followed by a short
  description of what the method entails. With any
  of these methods, short vignettes may be used to
  gather responses to the kinds of challenges
  children in different sites experience. The
  vignette may tell a short story, and youth can
  comment on what they think about the story, the
  main character, or what will happen next. These
  can be given to the research participants in
  advance so that they too will have time to
  consider the research topic before the field work
  begins.
• You or others in your community may have other
  more culturally appropriate ways to conduct the
  qualitative research. Please feel free to use
  these and to share them with members of the IRP
  internationally. We would like to hear your ideas
  and discover new ways to collect data. Various
  members of the IRP are here to help as well. If
  you need assistance, or would like more ideas on
  how to gather data, please let us know. We have
  lists of talented people to help you. It is very
  important that you decide on a method of
  gathering data that is best for you and your
  community.

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• A Possible Problem
• It is very important to remember that,
  irrespective of which method is chosen for the
  field work, issues may arise during the research
  process that research participants could find
  distressing. Should you notice something like
  this occurring, it is advisable to ask the
  research participant if it would be better to end
  the interview and continue at a later date. It is
  also strongly advised that, if at all possible,
  you refer the research participant to someone or
  an organization that may be able to provide the
  individual with support and assistance in dealing
  with whatever is troubling him/her.
• Field Notes
• As the site researcher, it is important to
  maintain detailed field notes of the research
  process. These notes should include comments on
  using this research manual, how decisions were
  made regarding the research method for the
  qualitative aspects of the study and your
  experiences in conducting the fieldwork. For each
  of the life stories, include when and where
  appropriate observation of the youth took place,
  what they said during interviews, and if possible
  what their parents, teachers and other caregivers
  said about the childs ability to handle
  challenges.
•  
• Finally, you could use this opportunity to
  discuss with the research participants the
  possibility of using this research as a way to
  inform the broader community of the realities
  confronting youth as they grow. If, for example,
  you can capture the youths stories, pictures and
  artifacts digitally, you can create a CD of some
  of the data gathered. These can then be shared
  with the community in ways approved of by
  participants and the ethics review committees who
  have signed off on the research.

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Interviews
In many ways, interviews are conversations in
which people are getting to know one another. In
interviews however, the conversation is somewhat
one-sided, with the interviewer (person
conducting the interview) focusing on getting to
know the research participant.   Because
interviews are held with the aim of learning more
about a specific topic, these conversations are
guided by the research questions. To help
interviews stay focused, you may want to use an
interview guide (see Appendix A). This is a list
of open-ended questions (questions that cannot be
answered with only a simple yes or no) that is
set prior to the interview. It is important to
emphasis though that this is only a guide and
that interviews are fluid discussions that will
raise many topics which deserve further
exploration. This means that when, in answering a
question asked by the interviewer, the research
participant says something interesting, the
interviewer should probe the participant by
asking spontaneous questions.   Because
interviews can be tiring, it is best to keep the
following points in mind 1. If at all possible,
try to record your interviews on an audiotape.
Because things can and often do go wrong with
machinery, it is still a good idea to still make
notes during the course of the interview. 2. It
may be better to do 2 or 3 shorter interviews
with a research participant rather than one long
interview. This has several benefits
It allows you to gather more data and possibly
of a better quality as you allow for interview
fatigue where both the interviewer
and the research participant begin to feel
tired. Between interviews you can
go back over what was said previously and
identify issues that you would
like to explore further. In this way you can
crosscheck certain issues and gain clarity on
others. It allows the
participant time to reflect on your questions,
and gives him/her the opportunity to
perhaps come to the next interview with more
information.
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Observation
Although there are various ways to conduct
research by means of observation, for the
purposes of this study, the following is perhaps
best suited.   After deciding on a time frame
that makes sense in your community (i.e. the
number of hours and which days would give you a
good sense of life for youth in your community),
arrange to spend this time watching the youth who
are participants in the study. This means
explaining the research process to the youth and
other relevant people involved directly in the
lives of that youth and who may also
inadvertently be observed. As you spend time
watching the youth (e.g. parents, siblings,
teachers, service providers etc.), make detailed
notes of what you see happening (you could make
use of the form attached as Appendix B to guide
your notes). Even actions or events that seem
irrelevant may in fact be of some importance or
significance. Include details such as time of
day, weather, location and people involved. It is
also important to date all your notes.   When
conducting observations, you should try and
remain as invisible as possible, as your
presence as a researcher will undoubtedly have an
effect on the behavior of the people you are
observing. This means you should sit as quietly
as possible in out-of-the-way places, trying
not to draw attention to yourself.   During your
observations you may want to tape-record certain
conversations so that they can be referred to
later. You may also want to schedule an interview
with the youth you are observing (and perhaps
even others involved in his/her life) once you
have completed your observation. This would give
you the opportunity to clarify any questions that
may have arisen during your observations.
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Story Telling
Unlike interviewing, with story-telling research
participants are first asked a single broad
question Tell me the story of . Once they
have finished their stories, questions clarifying
their life story can be asked. Again, it is a
good idea to record stories and ask questions
during a follow-up interview, where both the
researcher and the participant have the
opportunity to reflect on what was said during
the story telling. Research participants could
also be given the research question in advance,
giving him/her some time to think about the story
he/she is going to tell.   Story telling can
occur individually or in groups. If youth are
sharing their stories individually, you may want
to give them the option to invite someone he/she
identifies as significant in his/her life to join
in the research session. This might help the
research participant to tell his/her story and
the invited person may be able to add their
understanding of how the research participant
copes with his/her life.
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Sharing Circles
Sharing circles can be described as story telling
in a group. As research participants tell their
stories though, there is the opportunity for the
group to share similar and/or differing
experiences, ideas and so on. In this way,
sharing circles may provide the opportunity for
gathering data that may otherwise have been
missed. There is also the possibility however
that certain things may remain unsaid because
participants do not want to share intimate
stories with their peers. In this way important
details could be skipped over. For this reason it
may be a good idea to interview research
participants individually after holding a sharing
circle.   In sharing circles, it is the
researchers role to provide the discussion theme
and then to facilitate the group as they share
their stories. This means setting ground rules
(such as what is said in the group remains in the
group, not to interrupt when one person is
talking, and so on). Ensuring that each person
gets equal opportunity to speak and drawing
participants who seem withdrawn back into the
conversation (perhaps by asking their opinion of
the topic at hand, or if they have had any
experiences they would like to share regarding
the topic under discussion etc.) is also
important.   As with interviews and story
telling, you should try to tape record sharing
circles and arrange for follow-up sessions where
further questions can be asked and uncertainties
clarified.
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Artifacts
Research participants are asked to show the
researcher things that reflect or say something
about what it is like to grow up in this
particular community. The items can be anything
such as a childhood toy, songs/music, household
items, historical items, family photographs etc.
Absolutely any item that has special meaning to
the research participant and that can help us
(i.e. the research team) understand what it is
like to grow up in this community and what is
needed to grow up successfully can be used in
this process.   Discussions are then held in the
form of interviews or sharing circles to explore
the meaning of the artifacts. What does each item
say about the research participant and the
resilience-related aspects of his/her life?
Again, these discussions should be recorded if
possible.
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Visual Methods
As with artifacts, visual methods are a means of
creating conversation. Visual methods enhance
interviews by providing the opportunity to
introduce topics/issues that might otherwise have
been overlooked. Using technology such as
cameras, videos, the internet and websites, it is
possible for youth to express themselves and
share information about their lives (perhaps even
across sites). With any of these mediums,
pre-existing images can be used, or new ones can
be made. So, for example, you could decide to ask
research participants to bring existing images
(such as family photographs) to tell you about
their lives or, you may ask them to collect
newspaper or magazine images that say something
about the research question. Alternatively, you
might decide to ask participants to create images
that show the challenges they face growing up in
their community and how they deal with these
challenges. You could then give them small
cameras for a few days (we suggest that when
developing and printing the film, the negatives
be digitalized for easier sharing and analysis).
Or you may want to spend a few days with them,
filming their experiences on video. Or, if a
participant has a particular talent at drawing or
painting, you might ask him/her to create images
that way. Whatever method you decide to use,
once images have been created, you will want to
get youth to talk about their images, what they
mean, the stories behind them and so on. Here you
should refer back to the description of
interviewing and sharing circles. With regard to
interview guidelines though, Appendix C may
offer some ideas on questions you could ask. In
this way, data is gathered for future analysis.
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Journaling
Ask research participants to keep a journal (a
book and 2 pens should be provided to them) for a
few days. Each day they should write down their
experiences and activities as well as their
feelings and thoughts. When the journals are
shared with you, the researcher, you may want to
read through them and then conduct follow-up
interviews to clarify or answer any questions
that may arise. It is probably best to conduct
these interviews individually, as information
contained in the journals will be extremely
personal and private.   When choosing journaling
as an option, it is important to keep the
participants literacy level in mind. The poorer
these skills are, the more participants will
struggle with this task, and the poorer the
quality of the data collected will be.
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• Section Four
• The Child and Youth Resilience Measure

To access the Complete Interview Guide
including probing questions, the CYRM, and
Supporting documents, please go to
http//www.resilienceproject.org/protected/CYRM_IN
TERVIEW_GUIDE.pdf You will need to contact
irp_at_dal.ca for the Access Code.
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Appendix A

• The Youth Interview Guide
• Sample questions
• 1. What would I need to know to grow up well
  here?
• 2. How do you describe people who grow up well
  here despite the many problems they face? What
  word(s) do you use?
• 3. What does it mean to you, to your family, and
  to your community, when bad things happen?
• 4. What kinds of things are most challenging for
  you growing up here?
• 5. What do you do when you face difficulties in
  your life?
• 6. What does being healthy mean to you and
  others in your family and community?
• 7. What do you do, and others you know do, to
  keep healthy, mentally, physically, emotionally,
  spiritually?
• 8. Can you share with me a story about another
  child who grew up well in this community despite
  facing many challenges?
• 9. Can you share a story about how you have
  managed to overcome a challenge?

To access the Complete Interview Guide
including probing questions, the CYRM, and
Supporting documents, please go to
http//www.resilienceproject.org/protected/CYRM_IN
TERVIEW_GUIDE.pdf You will need to contact
irp_at_dal.ca for the Access Code.
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37

• The Youth Interview Guide, Continued

Please contact irp_at_dal.ca for keyed access to
this guide
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38
The Youth Interview Guide, Continued

• Please contact irp_at_dal.ca for keyed access to
  this guide

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Appendix B
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Appendix C

• Suggested photo / image interview guide
• Pick the photograph you like the most and the one
  you like the least. Tell me about these
  photographs
• Pick the photograph that shows what is good about
  your life. Now pick the photograph that shows
  what is really difficult in your life. Why did
  you pick these images? Tell me about them.
• Which photographs show what you really enjoy
  about living in this community and what you
  really dislike about living here? Explain them.
• Is there any other photograph here that you would
  still like to talk about?
• Is there any other photograph here that you would
  not like to talk about? Why is this?

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