Extended Data Fig. 1: Research design and analysis pathway informing the emergent QoL framework.
From: Policy visions and lived realities diverge in pursuit of urban quality of life in Africa
This figure illustrates the research design and analytical process followed in the development of an emergent QoL framework22,45,47, grounded in a constructivist potion and applying grounded theory methodology. The process began with a multiperspective data collection strategy, incorporating three key sources: (1) global index reports meeting the inclusion criteria that referenced the spatial dimensions of QoL, (2) the state perspective, represented through South African spatial planning directives, and (3) the community perspective drawn from two qualitative datasets of baseline QoL interviews conducted in both planned and unplanned low-income settlements. From these data sources, an initial identification of QoL indicators was undertaken. This informed the next state, a multilayered data analysis process, combining three qualitative strategies: content analysis to categorize social indicators related to QoL, storyline analysis to trace the underlying rationalities and implicit argument guiding planning directives, and case study analysis to situate the emerging themes in lived, empirical realities. Inductive coding was applied in content analysis to allow themes to emerge from the data and elaborative coding was used to refine and extend these codes in the context of directives and interview data. Literature was revisited throughout the process to support theoretical elaboration without imposing pre-existing categories. The figure visualizes this iterative and layered approach, showing how various data sources and analytical techniques were combined to produce a grounded, contextually responsive QoL framework.
