SPEAK for YOURSELF:
What Girls Say about What Girls Need
Methodology

The research project is divided into two phases:

• Phase I (the pilot phase) began in January 1999 and included a racially and ethnically diverse group of 30 girls, ages 12 - 17, from three communities in Chicago. Data collection for Phase I concluded in July 1999, and data are currently being analyzed.



• Phase II began in January 2000 and includes 30 girls from three communities across Illinois. The sites were selected to maximize diversity in geography, type of community, race/ethnicity, social class, and other characteristics of the girls participating. Data collection spanned from April 2000 through December 2000.

The research uses two primary methods: case studies and girl mapping. Each method is designed to:

1. Provide opportunities for adult researchers to collect data on the thoughts, needs, and interests of girls.



2. Provide girls themselves with empowering opportunities to act as researchers by working together to probe the nuances of their own and each other's lives.

Case Studies
An adult researcher met with a group of 10 girls twice a month from April through December 2000. The case study meetings served simultaneously as group interviews (i.e., a source of qualitative data) and as opportunities for team building, skills development, group activities, and discussion sessions for the girls who participated (i.e., a source of programming).

The case studies incorporate several interrelated data collection methods:

• Ongoing, bimonthly discussion groups/group interviews;



• Individual interviews with each girl participating in the research project;



• Focus groups with other (nonparticipating) girls in the community;



• Girl-to-girl interviews (participants interview girls not involved in the study);



• Advocate interviews (adult and girl researchers interview adults working with youth in the community);



• Journal writing; and



• Documentation of girl-centered activities.

Girl Mapping
Girl mapping involves groups of girls gathering information by locating and documenting "people, places to go, and things to do" within their communities. Teams of girls conducted surveys in their communities in search of programs, services, opportunities, and caring adults available to them and their peers. The girls became local researchers -- asking and answering questions and providing a girl-oriented perspective on the communities in which they live, the culture(s) of which they are a part, and the young people and adults with whom they interact. Through the mapping process, girls had an opportunity to:

1. Assist in the design of survey instruments and analysis of data



2. Learn public speaking skills



3. Receive training in working with the media