Re-Analysis of Previous Data

The Initial Study

Eli Teram studied the commonalities and differences between interorganizational relationships at different hierarchical levels in social service organizations. This issue was explored through a case study of a network of organizations working with children and youth in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early 1980s. The analysis of the data focused on the selection of “good” clients by the institutions in this network and the interorganizational structures and processes that facilitated and maintained this selection. During the data collection period the structure of the interorganizational placement committee established by the network changed twice. The researcher organized the analysis in relation to these changes, demonstrating that although the structural alterations affected the negotiation opportunities available to participants, the outcome remained the same: Children's problems and needs were redefined to fit the available resources and to accommodate the institutions' interest in “good” clients. Another aspect of the analysis compared the processes used by two institutions to render the external review of children's placement meaningless, thereby allowing these organizations to retain clients even when their placements were inappropriate. These two themes complemented each other: The first theme explained how the institutions recruited desirable clients, and the second theme clarified how the institutions retained desirable clients. Within a critical framework, the case study considered the powerlessness of youth in trouble as the underlying condition that facilitated these processes.

Re-Analysis of Particular Data