MA Children, Youth and International Development [607645]

Brunel University London
MA Children, Youth and International Development

Critically evaluate the methodological approach adopted by two research articles which focus
on children, youth and international development.

Student: [anonimizat]

2018

Introduction

In this essay I will critically evaluate the methodological approach adopted by two research
articles with focus on children, youth and international development. The two articles I chose
to do so are the humanistic article 'Can the language of rights get hold of the complex
realities of chi ld domestic work? The case of youn g domestic workers in Abidjan, Ivory
Coast' by Melanie Jacquem in and the critical realist art icle 'Why be a school age work er?' by
Phillip Mizen, Christopher Pole and Angela Bolton. In order to do so I will base my
arguments on relevant literature while trying to understand the philosophical foundations of
research. First I will analyse the above mentioned humanistic arti cle by making emphases on
the methodology used by the author, what type of interviews she used and if the method
chose by Jacquemin was appropriate for the type of research she led. Second I will analyse
the critical r ealist article highlighting the same arguments as I did for the first article while
making a comparison between the two for a better understanding of the similarities and
differences which occur throughout both articles.

Analyse of the humanistic article: ‘Can the language of rights get hold of the complex
realities of child domestic work? The case of young domestic workers in Abidjan, Ivory
Coast’ by Melanie Jacquemin

This article uses mixed methods. Even if the principal used method is in -depth, which means
that the interviews take place in a relaxed, open environment and it has minimal structure
while being centred on people and their context, Melanie Jacquemin uses t he results of
structured interviews to strengthen her argument and to highlight the key problems and
factors which define her article. We must mention that the structured interviews were
conducted in another research. In her article, Melanie Jacquemin exa mines refractions of
children’s rights in development practices. She used the results from those structured
interviews to highlight the fact that in Abidjan exists a surplus of population of girls ages 5 –
19 and she links the results of the study to her epi stemology. Based on these results she starts
her research.
Her research method used in her article is the in -depth interviews. In depth interviews are
have as a main purpose the participant’s opinion which ‘[…] should unfold as the participant
views it, n ot as the researcher views it…. The most important aspect of the interviewer’s
approach concerns conveying the attitude that the participant’s views are valuable and
useful.” (Marshall and Rossman 1999, p108). Jacquemin’s interviewed girls aged 13 to 17
which work as ‘ little nieces’, ‘hired helps’ or ‘little maids’. The interviews take place in an
open environment in which the girls can express their opinions without constraint.
Jacquemin focuses more on the girl’s answers rather to her questions, fact tha t demonstrates
us that her interviews are open, with a minimal structure and flexible. This type of in -depth

interview is characteristic to the humanistic approach because humanism is a philosophical
approach which places humans and human values above ever ything else, focusing especially
on humans as individuals. Humanism involves devotion for truth and morality.
Martin Heidegger sustained in ‘Letter on humanism’ that humanistic theories can be
distinguished by purposes, foundations and means. Humanism is d ifferent than the concept
about nature and human liberty. Humanism implies the attempt of humans to become free
and discover their dignity. 1 In the article ’The case of young domestic workers in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast’ we can see that through the interviews , Jacquemin was trying to surface exactly
the principles of Heidegger. From the interviewed girls answers we realise that the young
girls are able to see the differences between themselves and the rest of the non -working girls,
while at the same time reali sing the injustice they are facing. From the girls’ point of view
their dignity is the price they have to pay for a life of which they have no control. Answers
like ‘I guess it’s not worth expecting anything. I’ve to stay here’2 and ‘Really, I don’t know
what can be done’3 are common. Through the method adopted by Jacquemin, she gives a
voice to the girls and listens to the girls which are now empowered to express their concerns
and point of view regarding their situation. Jacquemin creates in her paper w hat Carl Rogers
called ‘growing environment’ 4 Carl Rogers added that openness, self -disclosure, acceptance
and empathy are the key factors of humanistic approach.
In her article, Melanie Jacquemin manages to create a suited environment for the interviewe d
girls which allows them to open and to talk freely about their situations without feeling
judged but rather listened. Following the main principles of the humanistic epistemology
Jacquemin listen to the girls, but most importantly she gives them a voice which makes them
feel more empowered than ever before. Through this method the interviewed girls are the
ones who conduct the interview allowing Melanie to focus on the real existing problems and
barely scratching the surface.
Russell Bernard argued in ‘ Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative
approaches’: ‘In any event, finding the answer to the question is not important. Carefully
examining the question of Lear, however, and producing many possible answers, leads to
insight about the human condition. And that is important. ’5
Bernard also stressed the fact that ‘Humanism sometimes means a commitment to
subjectivity that is, to using our own feelings, values, and beliefs to achieve insight into the
nature of human experience.’6 This is what Jacquemin tried to do in her article. She achieved
insight into the young workers life by using methods which implied subjectivity. By giving

1 William Richardson , Heidegger: through phenomenology to though , Fordham University Press , 2003
2 Leontine, interviewed in the research of Jacquemin, M., 2006, Can the language of rights get hold of the
complex realities of c hild domestic work? , Childhood, 13 (3), pp. 398
3 Haoua, interviewed in the research of Jacquemin, M., 2006, Can the language of rights get hold of the
complex realities of c hild domestic work? , Childhood, 13 (3), pp. 398
4 McLeod, S. 2018 . Carl Rogers | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl -rogers.html#references [Accessed 3 Mar. 2018].
5 Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield. , p 22
6 Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield. , p 22

the girls the feeling of security and subjectivity, the interviewees wore more willing to share
informatio n and reveal important details about their life as young workers.

In conclusion I can say that I agree with the humanistic approach Jacquemin used in her
research. Even though we can clearly see that semi -structured methods were used as well,
Jacquemin’s focus was on the in -depth interviews which allowed them the passage needed in
order to get a grasp on the insight regarding the young workers life. In other words we can
say that this article mainly focuses on the question ‘How is the world to you?’ rathe r than
asking ‘Why is the world like this towards you?’

Analyse of the critical realist article: ‘ Why be a school age worker ’ by Phillip Mizen,
Christopher Pole and Angela Bolton

Alike the first article , this research uses mixed methods and open questions as well but
unlike the first one , in this article the researcher is in full control of the interview. The first
impression this article gives y ou is that tha t the epistemology used is more humanistic than
critical realist. On a closer look we see that the authors used in -depth interviews mostly
because the article is co -constructed with children. Children are answering the questions in
their own terms and they rise and discuss other issues as well but they are never in full
control. The interviewing process is determined and conducted by the researcher in order to
find the answers to the questions that need to be answered. The interviews are semi –
structured. We can see that the questions are specified and used more than once throughout
the interview. This creates a big difference in the comparison of the two articles, mostly
because the humanistic articles didn ’t specify the questions asked during interviews. This
feature appears mostly in researchers which use a critical realist epistemology. The usage of
mixed methods which are meant to give an answer to the main questions of the r esearch is
common for critical realism. As Andrew Sayer said:

‘“Compared to positivism and interpretivism, critical realism endorses or is
compatible with a relatively wide range of r esearch methods, but it implies that
the particular choices should depend on th e nature of the object of study and
what one wants to learn about it” (Sayer, 2 000, p.19) 7

On broader terms, critical realist epistem ology is used when the research is regarding a
complex phenomenon and it has its main focus on organisations and organisational
relationships. In the article which I chose this is not the case, even though the article still used
a critical realist epistemology in order to give an answer to its hypothesis. Even if critical
realism is less used in the study of individual behav iour or situations characterised by
perceptions and attitudes , the authors chose to use exactly this epistemology. In order to
understand these social phenomena , the method used is analysing the associated events that
take place as a result (for example children working in UK). To do so, the authors have to
complete some crucial tasks. First, they have to identify the entities that characterise the
phenomenon which is being studied. Second, the process of collecting data takes place. After
the data is collected, the issue of its interpretation arises. Critical realist researchers accept the
fact that there are bi g differences between the empirical and the real, even though data is

7 Sayer, A. (2000). Realism and social science. London: Sage.

collected both from people as well as from material things. 8 In order to obtain
epistemological closure, the resea rcher goes back to the process of collecting data. This
phenomenon can be noticed in most critical realist researches. Critical realist epistemology
relies on the researcher to collect further data because only by s eeing the same data through
the different theoretical lenses can some understanding of some of the features of the real
world occur.9 The last step of the research is if the explanation is ‘good ’ or not. Here is where
judgemental ration ality takes place. Judgemental rationality means:

‘Judgemental rationali ty means that we can publically discuss our claims about
reality a s we thi nk it is, and marshal better or worse argument s on behalf of those
claims. By comparatively evaluating existing arguments, we can arrive at reasoned,
though provisional, judgements about what rea lity is objectively like; about what
belongs to that reality and what does not. ‘(Archer, Collier, & Porpora, 2004, p2).10

In conclusion, I think t hat this article used a hard but good method to research the situation
faced by young workers. While I think that a humanistic approach would have been a better
choice mainly because it focuses on the individual and it lets the children in full control of
their questions and answers, giving so a more clear understanding of their situation and
making it easier to research young children , I think that the critical realist approach was not a
bad decision . Through this method the researchers were in control of the interview and they
had to collect d ata several times in order to answer the hypothesis of the research. The several
processes of collecting data helped them get the so needed insight which helped them later
draw the correct conclusions of the research .

8Woodside, A. G., Pattinson, H. M., & Miller, K. E . (2005). Advancing hermeneutic research for interpreting
interfirm new product development. Journal o f Business and Industrial Marketing, 20(7), 493−508.
9 Woodside, A. G., Pattinson, H. M., & Miller, K. E . (2005). Advancing hermeneutic research for interpreting
interfirm new product development. Journal o f Business and Industrial Marketing, 20(7), 493−508.
10 Archer, M., Collier, A., & Porpora, D. V. (2004). Transcendence. Lo ndon: Routledge.

References
1. Archer, M., Collier, A., & Porpora, D. V. (2004). Transcen dence. London: Routledge.
2. Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropo logy: qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield., p 22
3. Bernard, H.R., 2006. Research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield., p 22
4. Haoua, interviewed in the research of Jacquemin, M., 2006, Can the language of
rights get hold of the complex realities of child domestic work?, Chil dhood, 13 (3),
pp. 398
5. Jacquemin, M., 2006, Can the language of rights get hold of the complex realities of
child domestic work ?, Childhood, 13 (3),
6. Leontine, interviewed in the research of Jacquemin, M., 2006, Can the language of
rights get hold of the complex realities of child domestic work?, Childhood, 13 (3),
pp. 398
7. McLeod, S. 2018. Carl Rogers | Simply Psychology. [online] Simplypsychology.org.
Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl -rogers.html#references
[Accessed 3 Mar. 2018].
8. Mizen, P., Pole, C. J., & Bolton, A. (2001). Hidden hands: interna tional perspectives
on children work and labour. L ondon: Routledge.
9. Sayer, A. (2000). Realism and social science. London: Sage.
10. William Richardson , Heidegger: through phenomenology to though, Fordham
University Press ,2003
11. Woodside, A. G., Pattinson, H. M., & Miller, K. E. (2005). Advancing hermeneutic
research for interpreting interfirm new product development. Journal of Business and
Industrial Marketing, 20(7), 493−508.
12. Woodside , A. G., Pattinson, H. M., & Miller, K. E. (2005). Advancing hermeneutic
research for interpreting interfirm new product development. Journal of Business and
Industrial Marketing, 20(7), 493−508.