So that our children can
dream
KURS: Kandidatuppsats i Globala Studier, 15 hp
PROGRAM: Internationellt Arbete, inriktning Globala Studier FÖRFATTARE: Claudia Kamceva
EXAMINATOR: Marco Nilsson TERMIN: VT20
JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY Examensarbete, 15 HP School of Education and Communication Globala Studier
International Work - focus Global Studies VT 2020
Sammanfattning
Claudia Kamceva Antal sidor: 48
So that our children can dream
A study that follows five people’s emigration journey from North Macedonia to Sweden
I denna studie följer man fem olika personers erfarenheter av att ha flyttat från Nordmakedonien till Sverige för att arbeta. Studiens mål är att ta reda på vilka utmaningar individerna upplevde på den Nordmakedonska arbetsmarknaden samt orsakerna som lett till att individerna valt att lämna sitt hemland i hopp om en bättre framtid i Sverige. Fortsättningsvis så är även målet med studien att ta reda på hur flytten till Sverige har gått, vilka utmaningar de har stött på i det nya landet både socialt och i arbetslivet. Insamlingen av det empiriska materialet gjordes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med mina fem intervjupersoner. Den metoden ansågs mest anpassad för att få fram ett
individperspektiv och för att ge utrymme för individerna att berätta sina erfarenheter ur sitt egna perspektiv. Det empiriska materialet analyserades sedan med hjälp av Framing Theory som syftar på att få fram en definition av problemet ur individens perspektiv, även att se till orsakerna ur individens perspektiv, få fram deras moraliska bedömningar av problemet och orsakerna och till sist se vilka hjälpmedel som föreslås av individerna.
Resultatet av studien visade vissa samband och vissa olikheter bland individerna. Alla individerna beskrev en skillnad på om man arbetade inom den privata eller statliga sektorn på den
Nordmakedonska arbetsmarknaden. Den privata sektorn beskrivs som mer rättvis där kompetens är det som avgör dina möjligheter för ett arbete. Medan den statliga sektorn beskrivs som orättvis och präglad av politisk korruption som begränsade möjligheterna framför allt för en av mina respondenter. Däremot är detta något som alla respondenter direkt eller indirekt har erfarenhet av. Andra utmaningar på den Nordmakedonska arbetsmarknaden som nämndes var dåliga arbetsvillkor och rädsla för
arbetslöshet. En annan orsak som nämndes av två av respondenterna var helt enkelt att de hade tröttnat på sina yrken och kände att de behövde en förändring. Den absolut främsta orsaken som nämndes av alla respondenterna var viljan att ge sina barn en bättre framtid med friheten att kunna utforska sina intressen och kunna bli vad de vill utan att begränsas av arbetsmarknaden.
Väl i Sverige beskrevs språket som en stor utmaning av flera av respondenterna. Andra utmaningar som lyfts fram är kulturella skillnader. Att lära sig språket beskrivs som en stor hjälp både för att det gett fler möjligheter inom arbetslivet och för att komma in bättre i samhället och kulturen. Stöd från familj och vänner är även något som nämns vara till hjälp för att handskas med utmaningarna.
Abstract
In this study you will follow five different people's experiences of moving from North Macedonia to Sweden for work. The aim of the study is to find out what challenges the individuals experienced in the North Macedonian labor market as well as the reasons that led the individuals to leave their home country in the hope of a better future in Sweden. Furthermore, the aim of the study is to find out how the move to Sweden went, what challenges they have encountered in the new country both socially and in the working life. The collection of the empirical material was done through semi-structured interviews with my five interviewees. This method was considered most suited as the goal of the study is to highlight the individual’s perspective and to allow the individuals to tell their experiences. The empirical material was then analyzed with the help of the Framing Theory, which aims to obtain a definition of the problem from the individual's perspective, as well as explaining the causes from the individual's perspective, to obtain their moral judgements of the problem and the causes. Lastly the framing theory wants to find out what remedies are suggested by the individuals.
The results of the study showed certain connections and differences among the individuals. All individuals described a difference in if you work in the private or the governmental sector in the North Macedonian labor market. The private sector is described as more fair where competence is what determines your opportunities for a job. While the governmental sector is described as unfair and characterized by political corruption, which limits opportunities especially for one of my respondents. However, this is something that all respondents directly or indirectly have experienced. Other
challenges in the North Macedonian labor market mentioned were poor working conditions and fear of unemployment. Another reason mentioned by two of the respondents was simply that they are tired of their jobs and felt that they needed a change. The most common reason mentioned by all the respondents was the desire to give their children a better future with the freedom to explore their interests and become what they want without being limited by the labor market.
When arriving to Sweden, the language was described as a major challenge by several of the
respondents. Other challenges highlighted are cultural differences. Learning the language is described as a great help. Both when it comes to being given more opportunities in the work life and to feel more a part of the society and culture. Support from family and friends is also something that is mentioned to be helpful when dealing with the challenges.
Tack till!
Först och främst vill jag tacka mina respondenter, utan er hade min studie ej varit möjlig. Särskilt tack till en av mina respondenter som gav mig ett nätverk av personer som sedan blev resten av mina respondenter. Det var på grund av dig jag kom tillbaka på spåret efter att ha fått göra stora ändringar i mina planer för studien på grund av COVID-19. Jag är väldigt tacksam för att ha blivit berikad av era erfarenheter och för att ni velat vara en del av min studie. Jag vill även tacka Magnus Nilsson, min handledare som funnits där när frågor tillkommit med snabba svar. Tack till familj och vänner som stöttat och funnits där under stress och motiverat när motivationen varit låg.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction……….………7
2 Questions at Issue………….………8
3 Background….………..……..8
3.1 Postsocialism……….………..9
3.2 Definition of Postsocialism………..9
3.3 From Socialism to Capitalism………..9
3.4 Building Capitalism………..10
3.5 Mismatch on the labor market due to privatization and capitalism………10
4. Previous Research……….11
4.1 Labor Market……….……….11
4.2 Definition of Labor Market………..11
4.3 Labor Market Trends; Western
Balkans…….……….11
4.4 Labor Market Mismatch in the Western Balkans……….……….12
4.5 Labor Market Segmentation…….………..13
4.2.1 Unemployment…….………..………13
4.2.2 Definition of Unemployment………...13
4.2.3 Unemployment in Europe………...…....13
4.2.4 Unemployment trends; Western Balkans………...14
4.3.1 Corruption………...………...
.
...15
4.3.2 Definition of Corruption……….………..15
4.3.3 Forms of Corruption……….16
4.4.1 Democratization……….………16
4.4.2 The theory of Bad Governance………..17
4.4.3 Patronage as a political tool………...17
4.4.4 Corruption as a push factor for Labor Emigration………...18
4.4.5 Why does corruption occur?...18
5. Migration and Work-related Migration………..19
5.1 Definition of Migration……….19
5.2 Migration Europe; Historical Context………..19
5.3 Labor Migration……….20
5.4 Push and Pull factors in Migration………...20
5.5 Emigration; Western Balkans………....20
6. Analytical Method - Framing Theory……….21
7 Methodology……….21
7.1 Qualitative method………21
7.3 Selection………...………..23
7.4 Doing interviews and analysing data..………....24
5.5 Information about my respondents……….25
7.6 Strategy for analysis………....26
7.7 Reliability and Validity……….27
7.8 Ethical considerations……….29
8. Results………..29
8.1 The difference between governmental and private jobs in North
Macedonia………....29
8.1.1 Working in the private sector……….30
8.1.2 Working for the government………..33
8.1.3 Deciding to move to Sweden………..………..……….35
8.1.4
Challenges and opportunities in the new country; Sweden
…....…………38
9. Analysis……….41
9.1 What problems did the respondents face in the North Macedonian labor
market and with the move to Sweden? And what are the causes behind the
problems described by the respondents?...41
9.2 What moral judgements do they respondents have regarding the defined
problems and causes of the problems?...45
9.3 What remedies are suggested by the respondents regarding the
challenges they’ve faced when moving to Sweden?...46
10. Conclusion……….47
11. Future research……….48
1. Introduction
North Macedonia gained their independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991. Since then, the
country seems to have had a tough transition from the socialist regime in Yugoslavia both
economically and the transition to a democratic state.
High numbers of unemployment show a difficult establishment in the labor market for
especially young people. Although the statistics on unemployment show an improvement in
recent years, they are still among the highest in Europe. World Bank statistics show that
21.6% of the country's total population is unemployed. Among young women between the
ages of 15-24, 45% are unemployed and 45.5% among young men of the same age (World
Bank, 2019).
In recent years, it has been found that many people, especially young people choose to leave
the country to try their luck somewhere else. The Western Balkans, including North
Macedonia, have the largest emigration in Europe. Figures from the OECD (Organizations
for Economic Cooperation and Development) show that, on average, 23,000 young people in
Northern Macedonia between 2012-2016 emigrated to countries that are members of the
OECD, which is a very large amount compared to their small population. (Westminster
Foundation of Youth Education, Cost of Youth Emigration. 2019)
This is even though 91% of the youth in the country have never resided in a foreign country
for longer than 6 months and rarely travel outside the country. Statistics show that the desire
for migrating mainly comes from wanting to improve their standard of living. (Latkovikj,
Popovska, Serafimovska, Cekikj, Starova, Youth Study North Macedonia. 2018/2019)
Not only is it difficult to find a job, sometimes even with a job the wages are so low it is
difficult to survive even with a job. The minimum wage in North Macedonia is lower than
minimum consumer basket and average earnings are lower than the average consumer basket.
(Westminster Foundation of Youth Education, Cost of Youth Emigration. 2019)
Official statistics from the state statistics office of North Macedonia show that year 2017
8962 North Macedonian citizens decided to emigrate from the country somewhere else. The
state statistic office had also done a research on the reasons and ages of these people
migrating. The age was divided into two groups, one with the ages 30-64 and one with the
ages above 65. The group with the ages between 30 to 64 was by far the largest group. 22
The most common reason for emigration was family reasons but employment was a strong
second. Education and marriage were less common reasons. A lot of the answerees also said
all of the options were relevant to why they decided to emigrate. (Republic of Macedonia;
State Statistical Office. 2017)
In this study we will follow five different people who have decided to emigrate from North
Macedonia to Sweden in order to work that will be interviewed. They are all between the
ages of 35-40 years old. They are all also parents and have moved to Sweden with their
wife/husband and children. The goal of the study is to examine the challenges and
experiences they have had on the North Macedonian labor market and what then made them
make the decision to move to Sweden for work. A follow up will be done on their
experiences and reflections of the move. The information gathered will then be analysed and
discussed in correlation with different theories and previous studies.
2. Questions at Issue
● What has been the respondents main challenges regarding their establishment on the labor market in North Macedonia?
● What are the respondents reasons for choosing to emigrate from North Macedonia to work abroad?
● What has been their experiences of moving from North Macedonia to a different country to work?
In this chapter I will bring up some themes that I believe are important to explain in order to
understand the situation in North Macedonia regarding their political climate and labor market. I want to give a brief background and image of the society my respondents are describing in their interviews. This information is also important in order to understand the outline of my study.
3.1 Postsocialism
As North Macedonia is a former member of former Yugoslavia which used to be a socialist regime North Macedonia counts as a postsocialist state. With postsocialism as a topic in the background I want to give an historical background of what could play a big role in what has shaped the North Macedonian society, culture and labor market today.
3.2 Definition of postsocialism
The concept of a socialist regime is to provide a society of social justice and equality. This would be provided through full employment, look after the society's basic needs through education, health care, housing and cultural goods. Postsocialism is a study of states after the fall of the socialist state. The term is most commonly used when referring to the fall of the socialist states in eastern Europe and Asia. (Hann. 2004)
3.3 From socialism to capitalism
Post-socialism has brought many challenges in the former socialist countries in central and eastern Europe. When discussing eastern europe's transition from a socialist state Hann in his book Postsocialism: Ideals, Ideologies and Practices in Eurasia (2004) mentions that it may have been a little too ambitious. Many post-socialist countries were way too fast with wanting to adapt the world capitalism. Hann even has a theory that it should have not been called a transition, as it happened too fast to be called a transition. The consequences of this was that this form of capitalism in eastern central europe didn’t develop into common western capitalism. Like for example the lower class was not provided with social benefits and a middle class was never really established which is usually the case in a typical western capitalism. Instead it become common for small groups of elites to steal public resources and prevent a fair distribution. A new form of capitalism comes into being, one unlike the typical Euro or American capitalism. On the outside it may look like any capitalism if you only look at property and governance but the truth is that the working class is suffering under poor conditions with a limited access to resources. The jobs and wages of the working class does not match the costs of living, the general support for the working class is demolished in reaction to the socialist past and the globalist present and future.
It is undeniable to say that going from a socialist society to a capitalist society is a huge change. People live in different social and cultural worlds and any radical transitions from one to another will have consequences on the society and its people. Socialism was exactly that, a complex cultural and social world which in people lived and worked. They were forced to accept and live in a society fully promoted by the communist party. It did not matter how much you would reject the principles, they were still there. Things such as people’s attitudes to work, business, property and leisure had been built during the time of socialism. Meaning that even though a government makes drastic changes into becoming a capitalist society, it will take the society to adapt. Meaning the transitions face is
impossible to skip in a way. This is one of the biggest reason why elites started taking place in post socialist societies. The elites used the fact that people in the society were in a transition phase not yet understanding the new capitalist society to take advantage of resources (Hann. 2004)
3.4 Building capitalism
The main goals that were set when the socialism ended and at the beginning of the market reform was to build capitalism. Three key approaches were established in order to achieve this, stabilization, liberalization and privatization. The biggest change was definitely privatization as it was nearly the opposite of the socialist society where private ownership did not exist. It was something people definitely were not used to but also a very important adjustment to the market reform. The transition was seen more as a process both socially and politically that different post-socialist countries reacted differently to.
Countries have different ways of implementation. Examples are selling assets in auctions,
encouraging management employee buyouts of firms that use to be owned by the state, or giving out flyers and vouchers to citizens informing them that they could invest in privatization of firms or managed funds for example in the stock market. Countries chose to apply to privatization in different phases. Some countries GDP was 50% from the private sector by 1996, a couple of years after the end of socialism while some was 80%. This study claims that the private sector plays a big role when measuring income inequality. They argue that the more extensive the private sector is the higher is the risk of big gaps between households based on how involved they are in the private sector. They describe the market economy and particularly privatization as higher possibilities but also risks. You can have higher incomes in the private sector in comparison to the governmental sector. But it is also easier to lose your job and end up unemployed.
The former socialist system put great focus on equality as a political priority. They provided their people universal healthcare and education, as well as full employment. After the fall of the socialist system countries have succeeded differently with keeping equality and retribution capacity a focus. For example the Czech Republic wanted to implement several “safety nets” and welfare state
programs. Examples of such things is unemployment benefits and retirement pensions. (Bandelj. Mahutga. 2010)
Mismatch on the labor market due to privatization and capitalism
Since the split from Yugoslavia most countries that use to be a part of former Yugoslavia have issues regarding their labour market. (Bandelj. Mahutga. 2010)
For example in Bosnia and Herzegovina the labour market needs does not match what the students are trained for. With privatization and the growth of capitalism new professions started developing. The schools, especially the universities in former Yugoslavia was not following the societies development regarding jobs. There was still a large focus and popularity for the core professions such as a doctor, lawyer and a teacher etc. Those educations that students chose did not match what the labour market needed. That leaves the labour market unstable and students that devoted time and effort for an
education still left unemployed. Many of the countries that separated from former Yugoslavia have the same issues as Bosnia like for example Croatia. The states of the countries are not taking enough action regarding this issue, and their educational policies does not match the needs of the labour market. Educational policies should be formed after studying measures on the labour market to define the needs so that the regulations can be based of the those needs. This is not the case in any of the former Yugoslavian countries. (Bacevic. 2014)
4. Previous research
Here I will bring up previous research on the key-concepts for my research, Labor Market,
Unemployment, Corruption and Migration. These concepts all play a big role in my research as Labor Market is my main area of study and Unemployment, Corruption and Migration can all be
consequences of the labor market climate. I want to investigate what previous research has concluded about the topics to that I can compare their results with my results and discuss the possible differences or similarities in my analysis.
4.1 Labor Market
My topic focuses on a difficult establishment on the labor market in North Macedonia that leads to people moving to work in a different country. Therefore explaining what a labor market is and what different issues labor markets can face becomes highly relevant to my study.
Labor market is a place in which labour and employment meets in terms of supply and demand. (Lexico. 2020) It is often referred to in numbers of people who are available for work and number of jobs that are available. (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. 2020) The measurement is often done in a particular area, most usually a certain country. (Cambridge Dictionary. 2020)
4.3 Labor Market Trends; Western Balkans
Compared to other european countries the western balkans is considered a region of low wages and at the same time high unemployment. Although it might partially be explained by the western balkans generally being less economically successful than other EU countries it is still difficult to explain the unfavorable labor market in the western balkans. This is not only seen from a european perspective but also a global perspective. An unstable economy, a labor market where supply and demand between job seekers skills and employers skills needed does not match and a large informal sector results in high unemployment in the western balkan countries. (Labor Market Trends; Western Balkans. 2019)
4.4 Labor Market Mismatch in the Western Balkans
A quite common issue in labor markets today is mismatch. This is an issue that the western balkans is facing as well. The western balkans have faced many challenges especially going through economic transitions and restructurings, as well as armed conflicts during the balkan war and also the Great Recession in 2008 that affected pretty much the whole world. The biggest change and challenge for the labor market came along with privatization, a market economy and globalization. The countries opening up for international trade resulted in foreign direct investment which then led to new technologies being introduced that requires different skills. A need of generic skills grew in the countries. Due to many old large scale industries closing down and new jobs in the service industries emerging this has resulted in a raise in long term unemployment among older workers with outdated skills and overeducated young people. Many young people with a university degree are forced to take a job within the informal sector with a low wage, simply because they cannot find a job within their field of study. Labor market mismatch is an issue that exists throughout Europe in general. But what makes it a more serious issue in the balkans is because it is more long-term. Because many of the countries in the western Balkans are still in the developing phase a lot of new technologies are entering the country, and when they do many skills suddenly become old and not as useful. Another thing is that the western balkans is missing an investment climate. This has many consequences like for example a lack of on-the-job-training. There is a lack of cooperation between labor market institutions and education systems. They need to work together to ensure that matching is improved between the needs of the labor market and the educations people are getting. Informations and
forecasts about the direction of likely needed skills in the future needs to be improved. The biggest issue with the mismatch is that highly educated people are stealing jobs from people with a lower educations because they can’t find a job in their level of studies. But because employers are more likely to employ a person with a higher education the person who is a better match for the job remains unemployed while the person with a high education accepts a job under their level of education. (Bartlett. 2012)
4.5 Labor Market Segmentation
The 2008 recession was a big shock for the European labor market and it came with many challenges for the labor market in Europe. The great recession resulted in conversations about labor market segmentation. Labor market segmentation means the difference between temporary and permanent labor or sometimes described as secure and insecure jobs. Labor market segmentation is seen as a large issue in many European countries. It becomes an issue when workers are stuck in jobs where they feel trapped and insecure. Labor market segmentation is usually an indicator for a lack of mobility into so called secure jobs. One of the reasons of why labor market segmentation has become an issue is because of the high costs after the employment protection legislation. Many employers try to avoid turnover costs by having their small core staff and then a lot of temporary workers. Labor market segmentation is something that many countries want to decrease because of the many negative effects that it has on the labor market and people in the society. Some of the negative effects
mentioned are that temporary contracts results in job insecurity for many people which then eventually had negative mental health effects. There is also a strong connection between
unemployment and poverty. The stress caused by these social problems do not only have negative effects on the mental health but also on some central aspects of a person’s life. Such things can for example be family formation and parenting. Another negative aspect of segmentation is that many of social insurance benefits from the post-war employment model that is still common around europe can’t be applied to temporary jobs. (Eichhorst, Marx, Wehner. 2017)
4.2.1 Unemployment
The interest for doing this study initially came from the concern of the high levels of unemployment in North Macedonia. Many theories point that the high level of emigration from North Macedonia to a different country is due to unemployment or poor working conditions in order to increase the living standard (Latkovikj, Popovska, Serafimovska, Cekikj, Starova, Youth Study North Macedonia. 2018/2019). I thought it would be relevant and interesting to bring up what statistics says is the main reason for emigration in North Macedonia and then compare it to my own results.
4.2.2 Definition of Unemployment
Unemployment is usually described as the number of people who do not have a job that provides money. (Cambridge Dictionary. 2020)
4.2.3 Unemployment in Europe
Unemployment has been an issue and challenge in Europe for many decades now, both from the perspective of policymakers but also from the people’s perspective. A high rise in unemployment started during the economic crisis in the 1970s and even more the 1990s and the great Recession in 2008. Today unemployment is considered one of Europe's biggest problems. This has caused a lot of issues not only economically but also socially. There is a large need for these issues to be tackled, both by creating new policies but there is also a need of political responses. There has been attempts made by the European Union to help the situation of unemployment. Like for example countering unemployment and social exclusion from the European Social Fund. Although as it has not been enough to turn the situation around, it is known that new initiatives need to be established. (Giugni. 2016)
The southern part of Europe has been especially affected by the high unemployment rates, and again especially the youth with unemployment numbers over 40%. Not only was pretty much the whole world affected by the Great Depression but many southern european countries also went through a debt crisis that also had an effect on unemployment. Along with the many shocks in EU since 2007 as well as lacking labor market institutions and labor market reforms Europe ended up in this
unemployment crisis. This study claims that there has been a EU policy failure of institutional reforms. This study suggest exerting conditionality not only when there’s a shock or crisis but also before a crisis or shock hits. It also suggests more guidelines or employment policies within European institutions. These policies have to work together and complement national policies. (Boeri, Jimeno. 2016)
4.2.4 Unemployment trends; Western Balkans
The latest labor report from the Western Balkans shows lower numbers in unemployment, but despite that those numbers are still higher than other EU countries. Although the countries seem to generally be doing better in this years report compared to previous years the unemployment rate is decreasing at a slower rate. One positive aspect is that women, who usually have been the group worst affected by the unemployment stand for more than half of the increase of employment in the Western Balkans. Youth unemployment (15-24 years old) numbers are decreasing which is the largest group of unemployed in the Western Balkans as well as Europe in general. One negative pattern that has been
detected is that there is a lack of workers within certain fields where labor demand is high in many of the countries in the western balkans. This is due to emigration of high-educated people. Usually it is within fields such as IT or medicine. Most of the people who chose to emigrate decide to go to Germany which is due to the “Western Balkan Regulation” which was established in January 2016. This regulation allows people from the Western Balkans with a job offer to request a working visa in Germany. Long-term unemployment (longer than 12 months) has been decreasing with 12,2% in Kosovo and 7,4% in Montenegro and North Macedonia according to the 2019 labor report. Although this seems to go hand in hand with rise of short-term unemployment. In Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina the long-term unemployment stays at the same high numbers, 61% in Serbia and 82,3% in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group worst affected by long-term unemployment are prime-aged people (25-54 years old) and those at highest risk for long-term unemployment are those with medium levels of education, with an exception for North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro where those with low education levels were the ones in highest risk.
Apart from the high youth unemployment the western balkans also has a high amount of young people who are neither in employment, education or in training (NEET). The NEET numbers in the western balkans are at a much higher rate than other countries in Europe. This puts this group of young people at risk for poverty and social exclusion. Working short-term jobs with temporary contracts is much more common within the youth compared to adults. Many young people also work for the informal sector which excludes them from the benefit systems. Many of the western Balkan countries suffer from a mismatch between newly educated youths skills and the need on the labor market which results in many highly educated young people being unemployed. Because of the lack of opportunity,
unemployment and overall dissatisfaction in the countries many educated young people chose to emigrate and youth emigration and emigration in general is rising rapidly. (World Bank, 2019)
4.3.1 Corruption
Corruption, or a mistrust for the government is a theme that often returned when reading about unemployment and emigration in North Macedonia. Because it was brought up as a reason for unemployment and emigration in several previous studies within the topic of unemployment and emigration in North Macedonia I thought it would be an interesting aspect to examine and discuss. A study done in 26 different countries with 13,353 respondents shows that “Corruption” is the most talked about issue. It is well recognized as a global issue and its highly prioritized by political/social scientists as well as policymakers. The World Bank has started a “Good Governance” agenda and there are now several anti-corruption units in the European Union and The United Nations. (Rothstein. 2017)
4.3.2 Definition of Corruption.
Corruption is often referred to as something that occurs when officials in charge of society’s public goods instead turn them into private goods. (Rothstein. 2017)
The central argument in the study by Rothstein and is that the occurrence of corruption has a strong connection to underlying social and political structures. This also goes hand in hand with historical institutionalism which claims that historical conditions ranging from institutions to natural resources can have large effects in the long run on the economic prosperity and also democratization.
(Rothstein. 2017)
North Macedonia previously being a republic of Former Yugoslavia, a former socialist regime has had a tough transition from socialism to a democratic capitalist society. (Hann. 2004)
4.3.3 Forms of Corruption
There are different types of corruption. Social corruption is one of them. It can be described as clientelism which is a type of a social order which is a form of interpersonal domination. There is a lack of social cohesion and the laws of the state lose strength and meaning. This happens as the states people of authority misuse their power in order to pursue personal or sectorial gain which then harms the maintenance and the development of the virtue of the people. (Rothstein.2017)
When looking at the concept of Corruption many may wonder if there is or could be a universal core concept of Corruption. Many claim that culture, history and language play a big role in how
corruption is viewed around the world. But the truth is that when looking at all these concepts and definitions of corruption in different, countries cultures and languages they all may not translate into the same exact word but have a “red thread” and the same underlying meaning. (Rothstein. 2017)
4.4.1 Democratization
In his book Making sense of Corruption Rothstein (2017) mentions that the world currently is in a wave of democratization and has been since the 1970s. Since then many countries have adopted democracy and are more democratic than ever. But there are also examples of countries where this is not the case. Even if democracy is adapted it does not necessarily mean that it will automatically end issues like poverty, unemployment, life expectancy or low educational levels. South Africa is brought up as an example where they succeeded to end Apartheid without a civil war breaking out. Their former leader Nelson Mandela promised “A better life for all”. He introduced South Africa to democracy and spoke about liberating people and a better social and economic situation. But looking at South Africa today it does not seem like that is the case. Statistics doesn’t show a raise in the amount of years children go to school on average, the economic inequality is even higher than before,
the life expectancy is going down instead of up and more mothers are dying when giving birth to their child. This example as well as many other examples prove that democratization necessarily isn’t the solutions for many issues in society, for example poverty, economic inequality or illiteracy.
(Rothstein. 2017)
4.4.2 The theory of Bad Governance
Rothstein (2017) brings up “Bad Governance” as something that is a threat for democracy. Examples of bad governance can for example be only “favouritism”, meaning only serving benefits to one or specific parts of society, for example the ruling elite. Shortly and more precisely described, bad governance is when the government is not responding to issues in society. Such issues could be inequality, unemployment and poverty. A government not responding to issues or working to improve the lives of its citizens means that they are stealing the available resources.
One of the main reasons that is brought up in the book of why we often miss “Bad governance” and corruption is because we focus too much on the democracy of the political system. Like for example how access of power is organized (electoral, representative democracy and the process of
democratization). Because we focus too much on that we tend to forget what is actually important for increasing human well-being. This is how power is actually exercised or how Rothstein describes it in their book, the quality of the government and how govern society is managed by the state. (Rothstein. 2017)
4.4.3 Patronage as a political tool
In their book they make a connection between corruption and patronage. Patronage can have different meanings but within political science it is a way of governing, or more exactly “an electoral tool”. It is something that the government uses as a tool to manage political relations. More directly described political patronage is the way party politicians use distribution of public jobs or special favours in exchange for electoral support. This form of corruption is mostly common in developing countries. Many times those who offer a politician or political party electoral support are rewarded with material benefits, office job or a position in the state via for example an institution. (Rothstein. 2017)
By winning the peoples support and then putting people who support them as a political party they are also using Patronage as a stabilizations tool. They are making their party and they power and control over the country and it’s institutions stronger by placing people who support them in positions within strong institutions in the country. (Rothstein. 2017) ‘
Patrimonialism and corruption also go hand in hand and it is also a term that can be related to
patronage. A regime that exercises patrimonialism gives resources to strategically located individuals like for example trade union leaders, businessmen and community leaders. Some examples of
resources could be jobs, promotions, titles, contracts, licences and immunity from the law. The
exchange for this the government expects political or economical support. Patrimonialism is also more common in developing countries. (Rothstein. ss89-90. 2017)
4.4.4 Corruption as a push factor for Labor Emigration
In a study by Cooray and Schneider (2014) they focus on describing corruption as a reason for labor emigration. The study shows that corruption raises the chances of labor emigration of people with a higher education. Those with low to medium levels of education tend to emigrate due to corruption at a higher rate when the corruption is low but at a lower rate when the corruption levels are medium to high. Another thing that also seems to play a role in the push factors for emigration is the level of development for a country. People with a high education tend to emigrate less when the per capita growth is higher, while it increases the chances of people with a low to medium level of education to emigrate. The reason for this is most likely because of their increased ability to emigrate. (Cooray, Schneider. 2014)
4.4.5 Why does corruption occur?
There are many different theories of why corruption occurs, both on a individual and organizational level. One theory called the Public Choice Theory focuses on corruption on an individual level. This theory usually focuses on an individual official who’s goal with the corruption is to maximize their utility. The theory explains the individual's choice of turning corrupt after weighing the advantages and the disadvantages of it. The individual chooses to become corrupt when the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Another theory called the Bad Apple Theory also focuses on corruption on a individual level. This theory explains corruption by simply looking at some individuals as “Bad Apples”, people who have a bad moral character. These people due to their defective human character are more likely to perform corrupt actions. Wrong values within individual officials is what this theory explains as the reason behind corruption. Another theory called the Organizational Culture Theory explains corruption on an organizational level. This theory claims that corruption happens due to a group culture that then leads to a certain mental state which then eventually leads to corruption. The theory claims that this group culture in the organization is due to a failure in the “proper
machinery” within the government and has nothing to do with personal character. It is usually due to established arrangements or extreme practices rooted in the organization. The Clashing Moral Values theory also focuses on culture but as a clash between the society, individuals and then officials. This theory means that the values and norms of the society influences the individual that then influences the official, which leads to corrupt actions. The explanation of why this clash occurs is due to no clear distinction between private and public roles. An example brought is within a culture where family and
friendship is highly valued which can lead to officials taking bribes from friends and family for their important personal duties and selfish gain. This makes the individual corrupt as an official. (Graaf. 2007)
5. Migration and Work-related Migration
5.1 Definition of Migration
The United Nations defines an international migrant as someone who stays outside their country of residence for at least one year. (United Nations. 2020)
International migration is growing largely, in fact in the last 25 years it has grown more than double the amount. Over 25 million international migrants were recognized only at the start of the 21st century. The recent trends in international migration has been people moving from the south to the north. The biggest factor for migrating is to move from a poorer country to a richer. (Koser. 2016)
5.2 Migration Europe; Historical Context
Europe has experienced several waves of migration. From the 1950s and 1960s three different large waves of migration has occurred. These different periods of migration are often divided in three different periods. The first large began in the 1950s and went on until the mid 70s. This wave has been recognized by a steady economic growth and development in North-western europe. Along with this people in those countries became more educated which caused a demand of workers in field that suddenly were lacking workers. That created a raise in guest workers wich most commonly were from Algeria, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. What was also common during this period of migration was people returning to their motherlands from their former colonies that they had previously moved to. Migration was generally quite positively viewed during this time, both from the sending and receiving countries. Usually due to the economic benefits. The second large wave of migration came along with the oil crisis that happened 1973 and went on until the fall of Iron Curtain that happened in the late 80s. During this time north-western parts of Europe wasn’t very positive about migration, most likely because they didn’t need labor workers as much. Due to this migration became more restricted. The most common reasons for migrations during that time period was family reunification and family formation. Shortly after this there was an increase of asylum applications. This period ended with the most common form of migration being to countries that people used to emigrate from, the southern parts of Europe. The third part of migration stretches
from the fall of the Iron Curtain until today. Migration today is generally highly influenced by the European Union (EU). As EU has gained more influence and control of migration, especially people who are from third countries and want to migrate to EU. Another trend and something that is
encouraged in current migration is migration within Europe. The most common form of migration is people who are seeking asylum. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the end of the cold war and during the Yugoslavian war many came to western Europe as asylum seekers. (Garcés-Mascareñas, Penninx. 2016)
5.3 Labor Migration
Migration related to labour has been common in Europe for a while. There are different forms of labour migration that the current developments within EU has allowed. It has become very common for educated people from countries where wages are low to emigrate. Due to EUs political and economic union they have also opened up their labor markers for intra-EU labor mobility. Although some large economic crises and recessions throughout history has had some negative impacts on labour migration, especially short-term migration. This is due to such migration being linked to employment opportunities in receiving countries which tends to be negatively affected by recessions. (Galgó, Leschke, Watt. 2016)
5.4 Push and Pull factors in Migration
A common way of explaining why migration occurs is by looking at what is called push and pull factors. Push factors usually has to do with the country whom a migrant is originating from. Push factors are often associated with some issue in the country that usually has to do with social or economic problems like for example poverty or human rights violations. But migration goes both ways as migrants often migrate due to pull factors in the country of destination. Such pull factors can be a higher employment rate, security or a higher income per capita (or several reasons at once).
5.5 Emigration; Western Balkans
A study by Malaj and Rubertis (2016) on the migration flow from the Western Balkans to toward western Europe looks over the reasons why there has been an increase of in recent years. The main reasons for migration, or the push factors from the WB according to his study is the increasing levels of social inequality as well as poor living conditions. Another factor that is mentioned is
unemployment, and the low wages in the WB. Due to an already defective integration to the international global market the great recession in 2008 had even larger negative effects on the WB. Further on it also affected the countries remittances negatively, and also their international trade and foreign direct investment. Most of the countries in the WB suffer from high levels of corruption that
stands in the way of economic growth and causes a lack of confidence in the population. (Malaj, Rubertis. 2016)
6. Analytical Method - Framing Theory
The analytical tool I will be using in my analysis is called a Framing theory analysis. The Framing Theory aims to look at an issue though several different perspectives. It consists of four steps, the first one being to define the problems, the second one is to diagnose causes, the third one is moral
judgements and the fourth and last one focuses on suggesting remedies. The first step to define the problems will connect to my questions of issue number one “What has been the respondents main challenges regarding their establishment on the labor market in North Macedonia?” as well as question number three “What has been their experiences of moving from North Macedonia to a different country to work?”. By using the Framing Theory we will define what the respondents see as the issues and challenges they experienced on the North Macedonian labor market and what then made them decide to move to Sweden. The focus will also be on defining the challenges my respondents face when adjusting to life in Sweden and the swedish labor market. The next step is to diagnose causes, here we will analyse what my respondents think has been the issues of the process, the causes behind their challenges that they faced on the North Macedonian labor market and the causes behind the challenges they faced when adjusting to a new society and new culture in Sweden. The next step is to discuss their moral judgements regarding their experiences, the problems they faced on the labor markets in both countries. What do they think about the problems and challenges that they faced in North Macedonia and that they are facing in their new country, Sweden. The last step is to discuss the suggested remedies. Do the respondents bring up any possible solutions to the problems and challenges they were and are facing, and what those solutions are. These four framing topics will be used to analyse my respondents experiences during their journey of emigration from North Macedonia to Sweden. (D’Angelo, Kuypers. 2010)
7. Methodology
7.1 Qualitative method
In my study I have used a qualitative research method. I have interviewed five different persons that have moved to Sweden from North Macedonia in order to work. Bryman (2015) describes qualitative research as a method that gives space for personal interpretations and understanding of different individuals social reality. According to Bryman qualitative research compared to the quantitative is more focused on the quality and depth of words rather than quantity and numbers. The main focus is
to understand a topic or issue through your participants, understanding their interpretations (Bryman. 2015)
7.2 Research Design and Implementation
In his book Bryman (2015) mentions six main steps when working with qualitative research. These steps have helped and guided me throughout my research and work. He puts formulation of the research question as number one. The next step according to Bryman is selection of relevant sites and subjects. This is what he means to add to the background information, like for example theories from literature or previous studies. His next step is the collection of relevant data. Here you have several choices within the qualitative research. You can choose to gather data from observations, interviews, surveys or focus groups. The important part when choosing a data gathering method is to choose one that matches your research questions and the goal of your study. After you have gathered data the next step is to interpret the data. In this part you are looking for key findings. When you have found your key findings Bryman suggests to move on the next step which is conceptual and theoretical work. In this step you connect the key findings of the data with the theories and previous research from the background. Here it is possible to figure out that you need more data that more specifically connects to your research questions, sometimes you even have to adjust and specify the research questions. The sixth and last step is tying the knot and writing a conclusions where you connect all your key findings. (Bryman. 2015)
I used these six steps by Bryman as a guide for my work but. But didn I did not follow step by step in the way that I completely finished a step and continued to the other, but I went back and forth between steps as I got more ideas or felt like something did not feel complete. I started my interpretation of data (Bryman’s step 4) after my first interview and then continued as I did more of my interviews. When I had done all my interviews I pretty much worked with all Bryman’s steps simultaneously including step 5 which is conceptual and theoretical work. The only step I saved until very last is the writings up and conclusions part as I felt it was also a way of gathering my own final thoughts and tieing the nod as one may say. After working with my previous research and theories and interpreting my data it become very clear for me what my conclusions would be. So it came very naturally to do the conclusion very last.
For my data analysis I decided to do a thematic analysis (Bryman. 2015) So when I had collected the data and done the transcriptions I checked if I could find any common themes or similarities between each interview and divide it into different categories and themes. I thought that would be useful for when I work with my analysis and result. I also highlighted the most “important” of insightful parts of
the interview that I would find interesting to bring up in the discussion in different colours for each theme.
7.3 Selection
My initial idea with the study was to focus on the youths establishment on the North Macedonian labour market. I had planned a trip to North Macedonia for my gathering of data. My plan was to give out surveys to different high schools and also do interviews with young people between the ages of 16-24. But because of the COVID-19 outbreak I had to change my plans as I was not able to travel. I decided to change the outline of my study.
I came in contact with a person who wanted to be interviewed for my studies that had moved to Sweden from North Macedonia to work. Hearing him tell me a little about his story made me think that it would be an interesting topic to study. So I decided to focus on people that had migrated from North Macedonia to Sweden in order to work. When choosing my respondents I’ve had a mix between a purposive sampling and snowball sampling. My first respondent led me to all my other respondents which is snowball sampling. However I was still selective in my samling with who I wanted to interview as I was only interested in people who were around the same age as my first respondent, with different professions and experiences on the labor markets, as well as both men and women.
I have interviewed five different people that have decided to leave North Macedonia in order to work in Sweden. I chose to interview five persons because after my fifth interview I realized that I had gained a lot of useful information and I wanted to make sure I had enough time to carefully code my data and leave time for my analysis.
The reason why I chose people that specifically decided to move to Sweden was because of
convenience. Since the situation of COVID-19 I unfortunately had to change my initial plans as I have already mentioned. The first interviewee I came in contact with connected me with a network of North Macedonians who decided to move to Sweden for work. I got the opportunity to interview five of them who were interested and positive about participating. So automatically since all my interviewees were migrants from North Macedonia to Sweden that became a delimitation for my study. The main focus of the study is however not on where they decided to move and what has happened since they moved but the reason why they decided to leave North Macedonia to work in another country The people I have interviewed are between the ages 35-40 years old. I chose this age span because it was important to me that these people left North Macedonia to work in Sweden around the same time and that they had experienced school and job searching both in Sweden and North Macedonia around the same time. I also thought that was a good age as they’ve had some life experience but still have a
long life ahead of them. All my interviewees have been in Sweden for less than five years. That way I can be sure that they still remember how they came to the decision to move to Sweden.
I want to compare each one of my interviewees experiences in North Macedonia as well as their reasons for leaving the country. I think that the comparisons will be more relevant if they grew up, went to school and worked/searched for jobs in North Macedonia during the same time frame as their stories would be told from the “same” society. That way I can see if I can find any patterns or any differences of their experiences and why. I will interview two women and three men. I wanted to interview both genders as I wanted both men and female participants in my study. The men I am interviewing have more of what society sees as stereotypical masculine jobs while the females I am interviewing have more what society views as feminine jobs. I think that would make an interesting comparison to see if their experiences and stories of why they decided to leave to work in Sweden differs because of their genders.
7.4 Doing interviews and analysing data
Bryman (2015) mentions three different types of interviews. The structured interview that is common within the quantitative research method and unstructured and semi-structured interviews that are common within the qualitative method.
For my research I have decided to do semi-structured interviews. They often as well as mine consist of a interview-guide with several topics and questions that the interviewer wants to speak about and ask the respondents. But the interviewee still has the opportunity to respond freely. It is not strictly required to follow the interview-guide, questions may not always be asked in the same order as planned originally and new follow up questions may also be asked if the interviewer picks up on something.
The goal of interviews within the qualitative tradition is to lift the interviewees point of view while in quantitative method the interviews are a representation of the researcher’s concerns and topic.
I chose to do semi-structured interviews because it was best suited for my goal of the study. I did have some topics that I wanted to bring up to answer my research questions but at the same time I did not want to push my interviewees in any direction. I wanted them to speak about what is important to them and possibly give me new ideas and perspective on the topic. Therefore semi-structured
interviews seemed like the perfect in-between.
As each person I interviewed has their own unique experience I wanted to use open questions and leave space for them to bring up their own topics. As the topic could be personal to some I thought individual interviews was a better choice than focus groups or surveys since I wanted them to feel comfortable speaking about their experience and I also wanted them to feel like someone was listening and is interested and cared for their story. I also thought it was the best choice as an
interview with one person per interview gives me the opportunity to capture each person's expressions and emotions when telling their stories and it was easier to tell what was actually important to the interviewee and what was less important. Doing so I also avoided anyone being interrupted or holding back something they wanted to say because of the other person they are speaking in front of.
Since the situation of COVID-19 I did not have the opportunity to do my interviews in real life. All my interviews were held through a program called Zoom. Zoom is a cloud communication program that offers to host and join conferences through video and audio. It is used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education and social relations. Zoom also has a feature where you can record both video and audio. For me Zoom seemed like the perfect choice. It is very easy to download and use, and it’s usage has gone up incredibly fast due to many countries quarantine situation in the world so a lot of people are familiar with it.
All my interviewees were luckily okay with me recording both video and audio. I ensured all my interviewees confidentiality and that the recordings would be for my use only and only for this specific project. I also ensured them that their names would be changed in the thesis. I also made sure they knew that if they wished I could send them the work so they can read it and accept before it is handed in. Two of my interviews were held in English one in Swedish and two in Macedonian. I did not experience any communication issues when I had the interviews in English or Swedish, but my language knowledge in Macedonian is not flawless so I had to ask about translations in English several times throughout the interview in order to fully understand (my interviewee spoke English but was more comfortable doing the interview in Macedonian). After I had done the interviews the recordings were then transcribed. When transcribing the interviews I did in Macedonian I got a little help from a fluent Macedonian speaker. In my transcription I also included body language, facial expressions humming or rambling to be able to interpret certain emotions when speaking about something.
7.5 Information about my respondents
My respondents consist of five different people, three males and two women. Petar is 39 years old and currently works for a software development company in Sweden. Petar comes from a smaller town in North Macedonia but has lived in Skopje the North Macedonian capital for the most part of his life in North Macedonia. Petar himself is software developer with a masters degree in electrical engineering. He has worked within software development in North Macedonia for different companies for about 11-12 years. He also has experience working abroad apart from Sweden and North Macedonia. Now he has been living in Sweden and working for almost four years. He moved to Sweden with his wife Dragana (who is also one of my interviewees) and his son who was two years old when they came to Sweden and now is six years old.
Boris is 38 years old and also works as a system developer. Him and Petar have been colleagues while working here in Sweden. Boris studied in university for a year before he decided to drop out. Being very interested in IT since a young age he had knowledge in software engineering. He has experience of working with system development for 17 years. Boris came to Sweden along with his wife and his two children.
Dragana my next respondent and also wife of Petar is 35 years old. Dragana has studied and learnt a second language which she then studied to become a translator in. She then thought about studying to become a teacher in the second language but because of the difficulties in the labor market as a teacher she was hesitant and decided not to. Dragana has worked different jobs in North Macedonia, but never within her field of studies except once as a freelancer for a short while, which was not enough work. She has different experiences in different jobs, like for example she worked in a clothing store for many years. Dragana came to Sweden with Petar and their son.
Stefan my next respondent is 33 years old and currently works as a construction worker in Sweden. Stefan has experience in working as a truck driver for a couple of years before moving to Sweden. He came to Sweden along with his wife and two children. His son who was five years old at the time and his daughter who was almost a year old.
Jovana is 36 years old and has studied law. In North Macedonia she worked for her fathers private law firm. Dragana came to Sweden along with her husband that had gotten a good job offer. They came here along with their two children, three and 7 years old.
All my respondents are parents. And they all have something in common when explaining their reasons why they decided to move from North Macedonia to Sweden, they wanted a better future for their children. Some of them claim that they worked good jobs in Macedonia and had a good living standard but wanted their children to grow up in a society with more opportunities and no boundaries. Some moved for both reasons, to give their children a better living standard as well as more
opportunities.
7.6 Strategy for Analysis
The model and strategy I have used for my analysis is a Framing Theory Analysis. Through the Framing Approach I have analysed the topic through four different perspectives.The first one being to define the problems according to the respondents. The second one to diagnose what my respondents think are the causes of the problems. The third one is their moral judgements on the topic and the fourth and last one focuses on what they suggest as remedies. (D’Angelo, Kuypers. 2010) I have also done a thematic analysis as I have divided the data gathered from my respondents into different categories and themes based on patterns or differences I’ve found between my interviewees. I then
analysed the patterns and differences divided into themes and categories in my analysis. (Bryman. 2015) I have also made connections and comparisons to previous studies on some relevant topics related to theme, Labor Market, Unemployment, Corruption and Migration.
7.7 Reliability and Validity
Bryman (2015) writes about reliability and validity in qualitative research and brings up several types versions of it. Like external and internal which puts focus on making sure the data is presented and interpreted as close to reality as possible. External reliability focuses on to what degree a study can be replicated and internal reliability wants to make sure that researchers agree on their observations and interpretations if there were several researchers involved in the study. Internal validity focuses on the match between the researchers observations and the theoretical ideas developed throughout the study. External validity puts focus on the findings being generalizable. This is normally seen as an issue in qualitative research as many times it focuses on case studies or small samples. (Bryman. 2015) In his book “Case study; Research design” Robert K. Yin (Yin. 2007) brings up similar points as Bryman when in comes to validity and reliability and it’s important for the quality of a researchers design. Although he also brings up construct validity. This is something that he explains many studies lack as they don’t have a clear, wide and subjective enough formulation of important terms and theories that are included in the study and why they are relevant to the study. Yin has a couple suggestions in order to strengthen the validity in a study. He for example suggests to use plenty of different sources to you can strengthen your definition and also acknowledge different perspectives of a term, theory, or other data etc. It is also important to add “proof” and motivate why the chosen theories are relevant and why/how your data answers your research questions. He also suggests to let the key informant read drafts of the study. That way they will be able to correct wrong interpretations. When it comes to internal validity Bryman and Yin have similar views. Although Yin mentions something he calls “pattern matching”. Pattern matching is when you compare a empirical pattern with an expected pattern, or several expected patterns. If these patterns match it can for example strengthen the internal validity. These patterns can be in the form of theories, historical
backgrounds/happenings or just relevant terms for the study. To strengthen the internal validity even more Yin suggests to compare several patterns, work carefully on the formulation, bring up opposite patterns and explanations.
When it comes to external validity Yin has an almost exact definition as Bryman. He describes external validity as to what extent a study can be generalized. An example he brings up in his book is a study about chances in a neighbourhood and if the changes discovered in the neighbourhood of the study can be applied to a different neighbourhood. The definition of external validity has been highly criticized because even studies who have a high external validity are criticized for being a fragile
basis for generalization. A suggestions he instead makes is to make a study into a theory, which does not necessarily meant to generalize but to add a perspective and theory, that way it is easier to accommodate critique.
Yin describes the goal of reliability to make sure if another researcher decides to do the exact same study in the exact same way as the previous researcher, that he will come to the exact same results. The most important thing when making sure your study has a strong reliability is to document the approaches and concretely how the study has been made very carefully. (Yin. 2007)
As I am doing this study on my own and I am the only one interpreting and gathering the data I have no one to discuss interpretations of data with. That could possibly make it a little more difficult for me to see things from different perspective or even find different possible interpretations. Because I had the opportunity to both record video and audio of my interviews I have the opportunity of being able not only to capture every word but also facial and body expression of not only my interviewee but also myself. That way I have an advantage when it comes to being able to interpret emotions and words. If I misunderstood something during the interview being able to watch the interview again makes it possible for me to try and maybe get the right interpretation again. As I am mainly focusing on telling my interviewees stories it will be even more interesting to be able to include emotions through facial and body expressions. When working with my theories and previous research for my background I have made sure to use different sources in order to get a wide understanding of my chosen terms and theories.
In my study my job as a researcher will be to tell my interviewees stories and make connection between them and previous studies. But I am aware that since I am doing the research on my own and have no one to discuss with it will be more challenging to find flaws and perfect my interpretations. As Bryman claims in his book be more difficult to adapt external validity in a qualitative study and make generalizations. Mainly because I am basing my study on only five interviewees which is not enough to make any generalizations on the general topic. That is why I will mainly focus on only telling their stories and seeing if there are any patterns between THEM and not in general. In that way I believe I can guarantee external validity, but I have to be very clear that I am not making any larger generalizations on the topic but only regarding my interviewees and their experiences.
I am documenting my course of action with this study by keeping a little “thesis-diary” to strengthen my reliability. Each time after I have worked on my study I write some short words of what I have worked on and how. I also keep a document with all the sources and literature I use. Each time I add a source I add the date of which day it was when I added the source. I have a interview guide that I used for all my interviews and all my interviews were recorded with sound and audio. All my interviews have also been transcribed. This is more carefully explained under “Design”.
