My research title is: Perinatal Mental Health and ethnicity: Black Mothers with experience of a traumatic birth and their perspectives of seeking support in the perinatal period.
I plan to look at the journey of mothers who identify as being from a black ethnic background, who also identify as having experienced a traumatic birth and having experienced mental health concerns within the perinatal period (pregnancy, birth, a year post birth).
Research questions plan to ask the following:
- What are participants’ experiences of support (informal and formal) throughout pregnancy, birth and the first year of their child’s infancy?
- What experiences of racism do participants have relating to accessing services and receiving care within the perinatal period? What is the perceived impact of this upon them and their lives?
- Do participants feel a readiness / desire to engage with formal or informal support?
- What are the social views of participants’ family and kinship? (Are they subject to any form of disapproval?)
- What are participants' perceptions of mental health and seeking support for this?
- What are the reasons for accessing / not accessing support?
- What are the prenatal life events of participants? Such as anxiety, general emotional distress, perceived stress, or pregnancy specific distress.
I have originally written in my research proposal that I will use Grounded Theory, however, I am concerned about the complexity of using this method, since I have never used it before, and wanted to check whether another qualitative approach could be better suited to the work?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for any guidance you are able to give.
One of the key features of Grounded Theory is that you begin your analysis at the same time as your data collection and then pursue the two simultaneously throughout your research process. This often involves modifying the questions you are asking in your interview, based on what you have already learned. In contrast, Thematic Analysis, begins by collecting the full data set and then conducting the analysis after that.
A good source on GT is Charmaz (2014), Constructing Grounded Theory, while a good source on TA is Braun and Clarke (2022), Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide.
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