Secondary Data Collection
Qualitative Data AnalysisThe Central and East Durham AOCD teams established a second sub-committee to draft provider and community member interview guides (Appendix A). After pilot interviews using both of the guides, the sub-committee completed final revisions based on feedback from pilot interviewers and interviewees. The teams selected two team members to maintain and coordinate a master list of interviewees, to avoid duplication of effort.
Each interview was conducted by a trained interviewer and a notetaker. Although all interviewers utilized a uniform interview guide, individual interviews were slightly tailored for applicability and probing. For each interview, the interviewer and notetaker debriefed the major issues of the interview directly after interview completion. All interviews were taped and saved in a locked file cabinet for later analysis.
Twenty provider, or outsider, interviews were conducted from November 2000 through February 2001. A provider or outsider is defined as someone who holds the perspective of serving a community via a service-oriented agency or program and who may or may not live in the served community. A majority of provider interviews were conducted before proceeding to community member interviews.
A master list of providers started with key informants named at community events and recommended by preceptors. Providers included emergency service providers, health providers, government agents, police officers, homeless organizers and activists, religious leaders, and a variety of other service providers. Team preceptors, Lloyd Schmeidler and Janna Harton, contacted all providers for permission to contact to set up an interview.
Community member, or insider, interviews were conducted from January 2001 through March 2001. The insider view refers to those individuals speaking strictly from the perspective of a resident of the Central or East Durham communities. To facilitate the community member-interviewing process, the Central Durham AOCD team primarily worked with key informants in the community and individuals identified as previously homeless. The East Durham AOCD team conducted focus groups and interviews with identified homeless community members. All focus groups and interviews were set up through the assistance of the provider or community member who initially made the contact referral.
Six focus groups, 2 female and 4 male, were conducted with residents of the Durham Rescue Mission and the Shelter for Hope. Eleven individual interviews were completed with community members. Combining focus groups and individual interviews, the AOCD teams interviewed 40 community members.
In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of reality, the AOCD teams made interviewing community members who do not regularly access emergency services a priority. For sake of clarity, the document refers to these individuals as "street" community members. After a provider introduced a team member to a "street" community member, the teams utilized a method called the "snowball effect" to complete interviews with other "street" community members. Utilizing the "snowball effect," community member interviewers would start out an interviewing session by locating a previously interviewed community member. If an individual was located and was available, they would locate other "street" community members and introduce the interviewer. This process was time-consuming and, often, a failed attempt at contact.
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