Methodology

The stories presented on this website are based on in-depth interviews and monthly meetings with young Syrian women and men in Jordan. The research was carried out by a team of Dutch, Jordanian, Syrian, and Belgian researchers, affiliated with Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In total 124 interviews were held with women of which 62 with (early) married women, 40 with unmarried women, 19 with divorced women and 3 with widowed women. 20 interviews were carried out with unmarried men. 5 parents were interviewed (together). In total 37 PAR meetings were held of which 14 with a group of 8 married women in Ramtha, 11 with a group of 8 married women in Zarqa, 6 with a group of 8 unmarried women in Zarqa, and 6 with 7 (2 married and 5 unmarried) men in Mafraq. Read more about the participatory approach we used and its challenges here.

The interviews and meetings were recorded and transcribed in Arabic and translated into English. For privacy reasons we used the transcripts as inspiration for the stories, we chose to create stories out of the research. Fictionalising the research transcripts was not necessary in order to tell a strong and engaging story. The transcripts are enriching and engaging without being altered, however, fictionalising them was an important step in protecting the privacy of the research participants.

A selection of research transcripts were translated into flowing, readable narratives that attempted to capture and honour the voices that were heard throughout the research process.

Watch this short 15 minute video to hear more about the participatory methods we used in our research: