Study Design
This research project adopts a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. The primary target group for the study is young people aged 18 to 35. As this project aims to overcome Western-centric perspectives on unemployment and engage with young people's perspective, a group of young people acts as co-researchers throughout the entire duration of the project.
QUALITATIVE STUDY
The first round of qualitative research was conducted in August-September 2024 in three urban centres (Freetown, Makeni, Bo). This phase included in-depths interviews with both young people (aged 18 to 35) and employers were conducted. In total the gathered data comprises 18 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with youth people, 9 interviews with employers and 6 group focused discussions with young people. The next round of qualitative data collection is planned for February – March 2026. It will include further in-depth interviews along with a wide range of participatory research methods.
QUANTITATIVE STUDY
The survey, conducted in April 2025, targeted a random sample of youth aged 18 to 35 across three urban centres in Sierra Leone. A total of 1,500 responses were collected. The questionnaire is based on the insights from qualitative interviews and two internationally recognised scales: The Work Volition Scale (Duffy et al. 2012) and Decent Work Scale (Ferraro et al. 2018). Local co-researchers were actively involved in the development of the questionnaire and ensured that it reflected local realities and was formulated in an understandable way.