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Following A Series Of Operational Definitions And Exclusions, This Paper ...


Following a series of operational definitions and exclusions, this paper will present a comprehensive literature review. The methodology, results and a discussion of the research project will also be presented with an emphasis on the phenomenological basis of the study.
Operational definitions
In order to maintain a constant level of understanding of divorce, culture, enculturation and the many issues facing women, operational definitions are provided.
Marriage the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a legal, consensual and contractual relationship recognized and sanctioned and dissolvable only by law (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law n.d.)
Divorce a legal dissolution of the marital relationship that alters social and cultural obligations of both parties to each other (Rangarao & Sekhar 2002, p. 541).
Talaq verbal pronouncement by a husband to indicate he wishes a divorce. This can be by a direct statement I divorce you or by packing his wife's belongings and ordering her out of the house.
Specific exclusions
While this paper will examine the role of cultural attitudes towards women and gender-based matrimonial customs, focusing on divorce, there are several topics explicitly excluded. Issues related to psychological repercussions children experience due to divorce are considered beyond the scope of this paper. Additionally, issues relating to the male experience upon immigrating to a Western/more liberal country are considered beyond the scope of this paper as are issues dealing specifically with women's recovery from divorce.


Methodology
The choice of methodology for this project was two-fold based on design and participant selection. This section of the paper will highlight the choice of design, participants, materials and the procedure used in the study.
Design
This project was designed using a qualitative approach employing Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) which seeks to understand living experiences and the meaning that individuals place on those experiences (What is IPA? 2007). It is important to note that IPA does not test a hypothesis but relies on participants being experts in their field (Flowers 2007). In accordance with IPA guidelines (What is IPA? 2007), research for this study was conducted using semi-structured interviews which were taped, transcribed and subjected to detailed qualitative analysis in order to elicit themes, which also lends itself to hermeneutics. Also used were Weed's (2005) suggestions for the interpretive synthesis interview data.
Participants
Inclusion criteria for participants included several requirements: 1) each woman had to be Muslim; 2) each woman had to be first generation immigrants; 3) each woman had to be divorced. As a result, participants were seven divorced females between the ages of 29 and 60 year of age.

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