CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S.

ACADEMIA Letters CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S. Heather Rodriguez, Central Connecticut State University INTRODUCTION This exploratory content analysis analyzes the websites of service agencies in the U.S. that specifically serve the Latina population. Our motivation behind conducting this study is to assess how this subgroup of agencies plays a role in empowering the Latina community through collective behavior, community networking, or other empowerment strategies. Our main research questions in this study are: a) In what ways are service agencies trying to empower the Latina community, and b) How are service agencies collaborating with community partners to try and meet the needs of the Latina population? These two questions are important to understand today as minority populations are struggling to have their voices heard and lives saved. The study sample includes websites of eighteen (N=18) Latina focused service agencies located across the United States and found on the internet from November 2018 through February 2019. We decided to analyze websites for two main reasons. First, due to time and cost restrictions, it was easier to analyze the content of websites. We believe this was more convenient than travelling to each agency. Second, most organizations have an internet homepage that often acts as a first point of contact and that details their mission statement as well as their services provided. Academia Letters, January 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Heather Rodriguez, roxyrod76@gmail.com Citation: Rodriguez, H. (2021). CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S. Academia Letters, Article 160. 1 RESEARCH METHOD This content analysis was completed by methodologically coding each agency’s website in ATLASti. A content analysis is “a method of data collection in which some form of communication is studied systematically” (Adler and Clark 2015: 338). Before engaging in data analysis, a print screenshot of each website and its corresponding pages was taken, converted to PDF, and uploaded into the qualitative software program ATLASti. Each uploaded website was analyzed by both researchers via line by line analysis based on the agency mission, the services offered, and empowerment strategies mentioned on their website pages. Second, we engaged in the process of conceptualization, or “grouping similar items according to defined properties and giving the items a name…” (Strauss and Corbin1998:121). All codes were double checked for errors independently and in collaboration. Findings were then compared to original research questions. After coding the content of eighteen agency websites for a total of 73 different web pages, our codebook contained 231 codes. FINDINGS The purpose of this study was to examine how service agencies play a role in empowering the Latina community. After our first level of coding, we found that there were unique issues that each agency was addressing, and that each agency was targeting a specific subgroup of the larger Latino population (i.e., teens, mothers). Community networking had the highest code frequency (n= 40). Community networking was often being referred to as a “partnership” or as a “collaboration.” Few agencies were partnering or collaborating with other service agencies. Instead they collaborated with police departments, medical centers, for profit businesses, and schools. Collective behavior was not present in the services or activities of agencies. Few webpages (less than 12 out of 73) had information about any protest, rally, or other form of collective behavior that would address social inequality. However, many agencies used the word “advocacy” in their mission statement, services, goals, etc. Advocacy had the third highest frequency with 30 codes total found on the agency webpages. Last, the most common form of empowerment strategy used by agencies to empower the Latina population came in the form of leadership training that took place over the course of an extended period. For example, an agency in the Denver, CO area offers a leadership institute for Latinas ages 16- 21 where they engage participants with a vibrant group of social activists. Another website’s mission statement says, “The mission of [X] is to promote and encourage the advancement of Hispanic mothers by providing training, technical assistance, Academia Letters, January 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Heather Rodriguez, roxyrod76@gmail.com Citation: Rodriguez, H. (2021). CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S. Academia Letters, Article 160. 2 and mentoring in order to pursue continuing education.” On this same webpage the three mission pillars are “Education, Connection, and Empowerment.” There were 14 instances of leadership or empowerment training found on the 73 webpages. Some services that were lacking from agencies and that could better serve the Latina community include immigration, physical health, GED and college education programs, a focus on protests and rallies, and services that help empower women to leave dangerous situations. Domestic violence emerged in a total of 48 instances, both in terms of services provided for those experiencing domestic violence and in terms of domestic violence as a social issue in the community. LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSION Content analyses are often conducted when the researcher needs to save time and money. Data collection during a content analysis is also less obtrusive. In this study, there was Iimited direct interaction with service providers or their clientele. This could be considered a limitation. Also, 1) not all agencies had websites, 2) some agencies only had Facebook pages, and 3) some agency websites had outdated information. This limited our sample size to n=18. Despite these limitations, this study increases our understanding of the kinds of empowerment services that various agencies promote to the Latina population, as well as the areas of improvement needed to further empower the Latina population. The information from this study is especially relevant considering increased racial tensions in the United States that have had led to violence against racial minority groups. Academia Letters, January 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Heather Rodriguez, roxyrod76@gmail.com Citation: Rodriguez, H. (2021). CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S. Academia Letters, Article 160. 3 Table 1. List of Codes Most Frequently Applied to Service Agency Webpages (N=73 webpages) Academia Letters, January 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Heather Rodriguez, roxyrod76@gmail.com Citation: Rodriguez, H. (2021). CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S. Academia Letters, Article 160. 4 REFERENCES Adler, E. S., and Roger Clark. 2015. An Invitation to Social Research: How it’s done. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Rose, M. 2007. “From the Fields to the Picket Line: Huelga Women and the Boycott.’ 19651975.” Labor History, 31: 271-293. Strauss, A. and Juliet Corbin. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Academia Letters, January 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Heather Rodriguez, roxyrod76@gmail.com Citation: Rodriguez, H. (2021). CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES PRESENT IN LATINA-FOCUSED SERVICE AGENCIES IN THE U.S. Academia Letters, Article 160. 5