Intersectionality and quantitative methods: Explorative and regression based approaches

Authors

  • Hans-Peter Y. Qvist
  • Jakob Skjøtt-Larsen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22439/dansoc.v30i2.6039

Keywords:

Intersectionality, quantitative methods, regression analysis, interaction term, correspondence analysis, GDA

Abstract

An intersectional approach to sociological analysis is based on the idea that 
different systems of oppression and forms of discrimination that relate to 
social categories such as gender, sexuality, religion, race/ethnicity, and social 
class/socioeconomic status constitute and shape each other’s impact in 
complex ways. Accordingly, the concept of intersectionality does not prioritize 
specific sociological methods. In practice, however, qualitative methods 
dominate intersectionality research. This methodological one-sidedness has 
the unfortunate consequence that the magnitude and stability of relations of 
structural inequality appear as premises, but are not subjected to empirical 
analysis in qualitative research. Thus, important work remains to be done to 
integrate quantitative methods in Danish as well as in international intersectionality 
research if a one-sided focus on qualitative methods is to be avoided. 
Our purpose with this research paper is, using two empirical examples – one 
based on regression analysis and one based on correspondence analysis – to 
illustrate how quantitative methods can fruitfully be applied in intersectionality 
research.

References

Bauer, Greta R. 2014: »Social Science & Medicine Incorporating Intersectionality Theory into Population Health Research Methodology: Challenges and the Potential to Advance Health Equity«. Social Science & Medicine, 110: 10-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.022

Bennett, Tony; Savage, Mike; Silva, Elisabeth; Warde, Alan; Gayo-Cal, Modesto & Wright, David 2009: Culture, Class, Distinction. Oxon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975510389921

Bowleg, Lisa 2008: »When Black + Lesbian + Woman ≠ Black Lesbian Woman: The Methodological Challenges of Qualitative and Quantitative Intersectionality Research«. Sex Roles, 59: 312-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9400-z

Choo, Hae Y. & Ferree, Myra M. 2010: »Practicing Intersectionality in Sociological Research: A Critical Analysis of Inclusions, Interactions, and Institutions in the Study of Inequalities«. Sociological Theory, 28(2): 129-49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2010.01370.x

Christensen, Ann-Dorte & Jensen, Sune Qvotrup 2012: »Doing Intersectional Analysis: Methodological Implications for Qualitative Research«. NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 20(2): 109-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2012.673505

Dubrow, Joshua K. 2008: »How Can We Account for Intersectionality in Quantitative Analysis of Survey Data? Empirical Illustration for Central and Eastern Europe«. ASK, 17:85-100.

Dubrow, Joshua K. 2013: »Why Should We Account for Intersectionality in Quantitative Analysis of Survey Data?«. I Vera Kallenberg, Jennifer Meyer & Johanna M. Müller: Intersectionality Und Kritik. Wiesbaden: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-93168-5_8

Else-Quest, Nicole M. & Hyde, Janet S. 2016: »Intersectionality in Quantitative Psychological Research: II. Methods an Techniques«. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40(3): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684316647953

Emerek, Ruth 2017: »Intersectionality: An Intercategorical Empirical Approach«. Women, Gender & Research, 26(1): 18-32.

Faber, Stine, Annick Prieur; Rosenlund, Lennart & Skjøtt-Larsen, Jakob 2012: Det skjulte klassesamfund. Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag

Flemmen, Magne; Jarness, Vegaard & Rosenlund, Lennart (2018): »Social Space and Cultural Class Divisions: The Forms of Capital and Contemporary Lifestyle Differentiation«. The British Journal of Sociology, 69(1): 124-153. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12295

Fridberg, Torben & Henriksen, Lars Skov. 2014: Udviklingen i frivilligt arbejde 2004-2012. Copenhagen: SFI – Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Velfærd.

Ganzeboom, Harry B.G. & Treiman, Donald J. 1996: »Internationally Comparable Measures of Occupational Status for the 1988 International Standard Classification of Occupations«. Social Science Research, 25(3): 201-239. https://doi.org/10.1006/ssre.1996.0010

Hansen, Claus D. 2017: »Geometric Data Analysis (GDA): An Alternative Approach to the Analyses of Gender Differences in Women«. Women, Gender & Research, 26(1): 32-46. https://doi.org/10.7146/kkf.v26i1.109781

Harrits, Gitte S; Prieur, Annick; Rosenlund, Lennart & Skjøtt-Larsen, Jakob (2010): »Class and Politics in Denmark. Are both old and new politics structured by class?«. Scandinavian Political Studies, 33(1): 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2008.00232.x

Jackson, John W. 2017: »Explaining Intersectionality through Description, Counterfactual Thinking, and Mediation Analysis«. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(7):785-793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1390-0

Jackson, John W.; Williams, David R. & VanderWeele, Tyler J. 2016: »Disparities at the Intersection of Marginalized Groups«. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 51(10):1349-1359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1276-6

Jensen, Sune Qvotrup & Christensen, Ann-Dorte 2011: »Intersektionalitet som sociologisk begreb«. Dansk Sociologi, 22(4): 71-88. https://doi.org/10.22439/dansoc.v22i4.3922

Le Roux, Brigitte & Rouanet, Henry 2004: Geometric Data Analysis: From Correspondence Analysis to Structured Data Analysis. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00357-008-9007-7

Le Roux, Brigitte & Rouanet, Henry 2010: Multiple Correspondence Analysis. London: Sage.

Karlson, Kristian B. 2017: »Lineær regression«. I Frederiksen, Morten; Gundelach, Peter & Nielsen, Rikke Skovgaard (red.): Survey: design, stikprøve, spørgeskema, analyse. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag.

Larsen, Erik G. 2016: »Logistisk regression med binært udfald.« I Hussain, Azhar M. & Lauridsen, Jørgen T.: Videregående kvantitative metoder. København: Samfundslitteratur.

McCall, Leslie 2000: »Gender and the New Inequality : Explaining the College / Non-College Wage Gap«. American Sociological Review, 65(2): 234-55. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657439

McCall, Leslie 2001a: Complex Inequality: Gender, Class, and Race in the New Economy. New York: Routledge.

McCall, Leslie 2001b: »Sources of Racial Wage Inequality in Metropolitan Labor Markets : Racial, Ethnic, and Gender«. American Sociological Review, 66(4): 520-41. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088921

McCall, Leslie 2005: »The Complexity of Intersectionality«. Signs, 47(4): 1771-1800.

Qvist, Hans-Peter Y. 2018: Individual and Social Resources as Causes and Benefits of Volunteering: Evidence from Scandinavia. Ph.d.-afhandling. Aalborg: Aalborg University Press.

Rosenlund, Lennart (2000): Social Structures and Change: Applying Pierre Bourdieu’s Approach and Analytic Framework. Stavanger: Stavanger University College.

Staunæs, Dorthe 2003: »Where Have All the Subjects Gone? Bringing Together the Concepts of Intersectionality and Subjectification«. NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 11(2): 101-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/08038740310002950

Staunæs, Dorthe 2004: »Køn, etnicitet og skoleliv«. Frederiksberg: Forlaget Samfundslitteratur.

Umberson, Debra, Robert Crosnoe & Reczek, Corinne 2010: »Social Relationships and Health Behavior Across the Life Course«. Annual Review of Sociology, 36: 139-57. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120011

VanderWeele, Tyler 2015: Explanation in Causal Inference. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Öhman, Susanna & Olofsson, Anna 2019: »Quantitative Analysis of Risk Positions: An Exploratory Approach«. I: Olofsson, Anna & Zinn, Jens (eds): Researching Risk and Uncertainty. Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95852-1_11

Downloads

Published

2019-11-25