Understanding extremism in Scotland: stakeholder perceptions and views

2. Methodology

2.1. Overview

Given the exploratory nature of the research questions the researchers adopted a qualitative approach. Qualitative research is used to gain understanding of beliefs, experiences, attitudes and behaviours through methods such as interviews, focus groups and observation. The researchers used in-depth interviewing, a method which typically involves conducting one-on-one interviews with a small number of participants to explore their perspectives on a particular topic in detail (Bryman, 2016).

2.2. Sampling

The researchers adopted a purposive sampling method. Participants were invited to take part based on their organisations’ involvement in Prevent, or interest in Prevent or extremism in Scotland more generally, and asked to represent the views of their organisation in the interview.

The researchers identified organisations from existing Scottish Government contact lists and networks, with those invited including:

• The Prevent leads for each sector with a statutory obligation to fulfil the Prevent duty (local authorities, health and social care, education, prisons, and the police).
• Predominantly senior-level representatives of the police and local authority sectors who are involved in Prevent delivery in Scotland.
• Representatives of the Home Office who are involved in Prevent delivery in Scotland.
• Multi-Agency CONTEST Group Chairs.
• Representatives of third sector organisations, including faith and belief organisations.
• Representatives of organisations funded by the Scottish Government to carry out work to build community cohesion in Scotland.

The researchers conducted a total of 29 interviews between 5 May and 2 September 2022. Four were paired interviews^[3] (meaning that two participants were interviewed at the same time), making the total number of participants 33. The sectors which participants represented included:

• Police (8)
• Faith and belief organisations (7)^[4]
• Local authority (4)
• Education (4)
• Health (1)
• Government (1)
• Prisons (1)
• Other private/third sector (3)

Given that participants were invited on the basis of their organisations’ involvement or interest in Prevent or extremism in Scotland, the sample was not designed to cover all areas of Scotland in a systematic way. Nevertheless, the participants represented organisations operating in a range of geographical areas, including the following local authorities:

• Dundee City (1)
• Edinburgh City (1)
• Fife (2)
• Glasgow City (1)
• Perth and Kinross (1)
• Renfrewshire (1)
• West Lothian (1)

Others operated across multiple local authority areas (6), across Scotland (13) or across the UK (2).

2.3. Ethics and data protection

The researchers carried out an ethics assessment at the outset of the project, which highlighted sensitivities to be taken account of during the research. To ensure the identities of participants were protected and that the views of specific organisations were not attributable to them, the research was designed and conducted in compliance with GDPR legislation. Prior to interview, the researchers provided participants with an Information Sheet giving an overview of the research, a Privacy Notice which explained how their data would be handled, and a Consent Form to be signed and returned. Recognising that the topic had the potential to cause discomfort or distress for participants, the researchers who conducted the interviews were trained to meet ethical standards and experienced in conducting research on sensitive subjects. All participants have been anonymised in this report to protect their identities.

2.4. Topic guide development

The interviews were semi-structured. A semi-structured interview is a method that combines a pre-determined set of open questions with the opportunity for the interviewer to explore particular themes or responses further (Bryman, 2016). The researchers developed a topic guide which included questions and prompts relating to the four key areas of interest: understanding of extremism; views on extremism in Scotland; Prevent in Scotland; and the ability of sectors to identify and support those vulnerable to being drawn into extremism. A summary of the topic guide is provided in Appendix A.

The purpose of this document was to serve as a guide to inform the flow of the discussions, rather than a definitive list of questions to cover. A key reason for this was that participants in this research had varying degrees of knowledge and awareness of Prevent. Some were involved in Prevent delivery in Scotland (e.g., Prevent sector leads and Multi-Agency CONTEST Group chairs) and therefore had a strong understanding of how Prevent is implemented in Scotland. Others were not involved in the delivery of Prevent but had a wider interest in the policy or in extremism more broadly (e.g., third sector organisations).

The researchers therefore tailored the topic guide to each participant, focusing on the most relevant questions and prompts. For example, the questions relating to the ability of sectors to identify and support those vulnerable to being drawn into extremism were only asked of those representing sectors with a statutory obligation to fulfil the Prevent duty (the local authority, health and social care, education, prisons, and police sectors). This means that section 6 of this report only covers the views of participants representing statutory sectors (n=18). This flexible approach allowed the researchers to focus on areas which were of particular relevance to each participant, thereby achieving greater depth of insight, especially for those with specific types of involvement in Prevent delivery in Scotland.

2.5. Analysis

The researchers conducted all interviews online using Microsoft Teams. The interviews were recorded and transcribed into Microsoft Word. The researchers then analysed the transcripts thematically using the analytical software NVivo to draw out key messages emerging from the discussions.

In the findings sections, language that has specific quantitative meaning (such as ‘majority’, ‘minority’ or ‘most’) has been avoided. This is because qualitative research methods typically aim to capture diversity and depth of experience, rather than demonstrate the prevalence of a particular view. However, in some instances non-specific quantifications have been used (such as ‘many’, ‘some’ or ‘a few’). This language has been used to indicate patterns which emerged in the data, but should not be taken to suggest that inferences can be drawn about the prevalence of views or experiences beyond the sample.

2.6. Limitations

The purpose of qualitative research is not to achieve a sample that is representative of the wider population in a statistical sense, which is often the aim of quantitative research. Rather, qualitative research typically seeks to capture the views and experiences of a small sample of participants, who are selected based on their ability to elucidate a specific theme, concept, or phenomenon in detail.

The selection of participants for this research was designed to elicit a range of perspectives from representatives of organisations involved in Prevent, or interested in Prevent or extremism in Scotland more generally. As noted above, the organisations invited to take part were identified from existing Scottish Government contact lists and networks. The findings from this research should therefore not be taken to represent the views of representatives of all organisations that have involvement or interest in Prevent or extremism in Scotland, nor the views of the entire sector in which they operate.

Relatedly, as discussed in section 2.2, the sample was not designed to cover all areas of Scotland, and while representatives of organisations operating in a range of geographic areas took part, there was greater representation of organisations operating in urban and peri-urban areas than in rural areas. Further research may therefore wish to explore the views and perceptions of stakeholders operating in rural areas in more detail.