Research Method

Data collection

• Observation - detailed field notes will be kept of each project on a regular basis by the community artist, the principal researchers and the full-time research coordinator. The Phd students will take notes and be participant observers across a minimum of six sessions in each of three (minimum) selected projects. Each of the other principal and partner investigators will observe at least 12 sessions across the projects. They will also review the community artist's and the research coordinator's field notes at the six-week point and at the end of each project. Regular research team meetings will be held (a minimum of two per project) to discuss the field observations. Pseudonyms or codes will be used in field notes.





• Interviews will be conducted with young participants (before, during and at the end of each project. Every effort will be made to interview participants of the year one programs and those in the first half of year 2, six months after the projects completion); the community artists at the beginning, the midpoint and the conclusion of each project; at least one "significant other" for each participant (eg parents or youth worker where appropriate - to be nominated by the participant). Name codes will be used on interviews. All interviews will take approximately one hour and will be audio-taped.





• Focus groups (Krueger, 1994) may be conducted with: all of the participants of each of the projects at the end of each project; "significant others" identified by the participant (parents or youth worker where appropriate); and with relevant juvenile justice, youth and social workers at the end of year 2. Focus group material will be grouped with a code. All focus groups will take about one hour and will be audio-taped.

Data analysis

In the first instance each project will be treated as an individual case study with data being collated and computerised by the administrative assistant, the research coordinator or the two Phd candidates. All interviews will be taped with the permission of the person being interviewed. Whilst interviews will have a code, tapes may contain identifying material including names and events. Tapes will be kept in the Principal Investigator, until transcripts have been produced, and then destroyed. All transcripts will be identified by a code only. Only the Principal Investigator and Barrow will have a list of names and codes. These will be separate from any other data and will not be able to be correlated with it.

During transcription all identifying names will be replaced with pseudonyms or removed altogether. Any events that identify someone will be blended in the process of analysis, so as to disguise the identity of any individuals, or removed altogether. All field notes and transcripts of interviews will be computerised using a qualitative analysis data package such as 'nudist'. The research coordinator and administrative assistant will coordinate the data entry and collate the data centrally. All five researchers will have access to all data. The analysis by Phd candidates will focus on issues across the case studies.

What Are Participants Required To Do

It is important to emphasise again that the programs in the proposed research are not clinical or therapeutic interventions. These programs are not designed as art therapy, but engage the participant as an artist in training with professional and community artists. The participants own personal narrative or life story is often the centre of creativity. The goal is the production of high quality art in the artists field, which may range from theatre and other kinds of performance to writing, music, visual arts and crafts and increasingly computer graphic art. The art is subject to public and peer review in productions and exhibitions. Young people will engage with one or more of the projects in the program. In addition they will be asked to consent to take part in research. This will involve the following elements.

Background/demographics/interview data - Young People

The first interview for young people will establish a broad demographic profile of the young person and information about their background - eg level of education achieved, employment history, family etc. This will help us to establish the range of 'risk factors'/issues present (or not) in the population of participants across the projects.

Young people participating in projects in the first eighteen months will be asked if they consent to researchers looking at their police records. As we are looking at any changes over time, during and after the program, this will only be relevant for this earlier group. Participants can consent or not consent. If they refuse permission it does not exclude them from participating in the arts project or other parts of the research. If consent is given, records will only be accessed once, 2.5 years into the program.

The request will go from the Principal Investigator to Deputy Chief Magistrate at the Magistrates Court - The Hon Brian Barrow. Only the Principal Investigator and Barrow will have a list of names and codes. Barrow will be responsible for requesting and holding police arrest data which will be returned to the Principal Investigator with codes only. Interview codes will be different to the police arrest data code. All data will be kept in separate secure sites. In addition it will be coded in such a way, that only the Principal Investigator will be able to match the data (ie the interview (s) with field notes and with police arrest data.)

The interviews with participants during and at the completion of the project will be about their experiences of the project and questions about their perceptions of any effects participation in the project might be having on their lives beyond the project space. Any longer term follow- up interviews will also be concerned with these.

Participants may be invited to keep a diary of their experiences of the project. Researchers will seek permission to view these at the end of the project. At all stages these elements of the research process including researchers identity and objectives will be transparent to all those involved in a project. If young people request to view material written about projects in which they were participants, such a request will be welcomed and complied with if at all possible, after data has been analysed and stripped of any identifying material.

Artists

Artists will conduct workshops across one or more projects in their field of expertise. They will carry out the planning and execution of the project as professional artists. The initial interview with artists will establish their background experience, what they plan to do in the project and how they plan to approach the work. This will establish their early aims and objectives. Subsequent interviews will establish their experience of the project and the participants, changes and adaptations to the initial ideas, aims and objectives. Key to these interviews will be identifying any difficulties they have faced with achieving the desired outcomes.

Artists will also be asked to keep detailed notes on their practice and on each session in the project, including observations of participants involvement in the project. These will be available to researchers.

Significant Others

Young people will be asked if they will nominate a significant other that researchers can interview. These interviews will be concerned with observations of the participants involvement in the project and any changes in behaviour, skills, outlook and attitude during and after participation.

Juvenile Justice, Youth and Social Workers

Interviews and focus groups with juvenile justice, youth and social workers will be concerned with a similar set of issues across one or more participants.