Thesis Format
Monograph
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Sociology
Supervisor
Adams, Tracey
Abstract
This dissertation examines the importance of conceptualizing the family as a unit of analysis through the development of a new methodology called extended whole-family methodology. Within the context of the research, the development of this methodology sought to better understand how lives are linked over multiple generations. While taking a multigenerational approach to the study of family life over time, of particular interest to the research was tracing the generational continuity and family identity patterns of four family lines from the mid-1800s until the 1930s. The sample included data collected from 293 family units of Irish Canadian immigrants. Data collection and analysis were approached through an archival concurrent mixed methods research design blending both qualitative narrative analysis and exploratory quantitative descriptive statistics to explore individual and family trajectories of the 293 family units included in the research. While employing this design, the data was examined from micro-, meso-, and macro- level perspectives to: 1.) observe the interaction of individual and family trajectories accounting for individual, historical, and generational time and changing socio-historical contexts and 2.) to capture how both individual life events contribute to shifts in the trajectory of small family units. Findings of this study suggest that the linking of lives in childhood through one’s family of origin strongly influences the trajectory that both individuals and shared family units take over their life course. Similarly, although individuals have the capacity to enact their own agency to make decisions throughout their life, the findings indicate that these decisions are always embedded and shaped by family influences. When combined, the findings, and the methodological model put forth within the study helps to explain how families maintain their social bonds and identity over time even at geographic distance.
Summary for Lay Audience
This study looks at how researchers have measured the family as a unit of analysis over time. In doing so, a new methodology is proposed called extended whole-family methodology to better capture the forces of generational continuity and family identity patterns over time. This study applies this new methodology to four family lines who immigrated from Ireland to Prince Edward Island from the mid-1800s until the 1930s. Extended whole-family methodology allows for data to be collected and analyzed on individuals, family units, and entire kinship networks while accounting for changes in socioeconomic conditions as well as social and economic change over time.
Using archival data and a mixed methods research design, this study demonstrates how families maintain their social bonds and identity over time and in cases of geographic distance. This research uses qualitative narrative analysis and exploratory quantitative descriptive statistics together to explore both individual and family trajectories of 293 family units. The findings of this study reveal the importance of understanding childhood conditions in family units that accumulate and impact both families and individuals later in life. The processes of how a family influences both individual and family decisions throughout a life course are explored and show that even though individuals have the ability to make their own life decisions, such decisions are made by taking into account the lives that are connected to their own.
Recommended Citation
MacCormac, Megan, "Interconnected histories: Tracing generational connections using extended whole-family methodology" (2024). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 10265.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/10265
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