Special Collection 1 - Article 5 | Pages 143–174  

Comparing, Contextualizing, and Conceptualizing: Enhancing Quantitative Data on Women's Situation in Rural Africa

By Enid Schatz

This article is part of the Special Collection 1 „Social Interactions and HIV/AIDS in Rural Africa“

Abstract

Demographic research mainly focuses on objective variables found in census and survey data. As demographers' interests expand to socially constructed phenomena, the discipline needs to incorporate new tools appropriate for understanding more subjective phenomena. The integration of quantitative and qualitative methods provides the opportunity to analyze data both rich in local meaning and generalizable beyond a small "N."
This type of triangulation is particularly necessary in the study of women's situation, an area where quantitative results have generally confounded demographers. Using survey and ethnographic data, this paper demonstrates ways in which qualitative data complements quantitative data on women's situation. I argue that such an iterative methodological process can enrich future investigations in this area by comparing findings, contextualizing quantitative results, and improving the conceptualization of future quantitative measures.

Author’s Affiliation

• Enid Schatz - University of Missouri, United States of America EMAIL

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Unpacking the black box of latent class analysis using qualitative life history interviews: A data-linked explanatory approach examining sexual behavior in rural South Africa
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Working with teams of "insiders": Qualitative approaches to data collection in the Global South
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