Rationale for the Current Research
STUDY 1: Testing the Proposed Theoretical Model of Acculturation - A Quantitative Inquiry
6.3 Method
6.3.1 Data collection
Data collection was done through the semi structured interview method. Unlike the structured interview method with a fixed set of pre-determined questions, this method has no fixed questions. However, certain interview themes were pre-established to ensure production of rich data that is focused on the research question. These themes only “guided” the interview process and not “dictate” it (Eatough & Smith; 2008; p.
58). Semi structured interview offers the flexibility to probe and explore new ideas based on the participant’s responses, while ensuring the interview to be focused on the study topic. Thus, it is considered the best method for IPA analysis as it offers the flexibility suited to IPA approach’s detailed analysis of subjective experiences (Eatough
& Smith; 2008).
Measures included an information sheet and interview consent form. Demographic information like the name (optional), age, gender, marital status, educational qualification, length of residence in mainland India was collected. Consent for the participation in the study and the audio recording of the entire interview session was included. Participants were also provided with information about the details and purpose of the study and contact details of the researcher.
6.3.2 Sample
For qualitative studies, there is no set criterion for an accurate sample size. A sample is considered adequate when it reaches ‘saturation’; that is, the phase where adding of new sample units does not elicit new information or themes (Mason, 2010). However, citing the concept of saturation to be developed within and limited to Grounded Theory analysis; Malterud, Siersma and Guassora (2016), introduced the concept of
‘information power’ to speculate and justify sample sizes that can be generalized across different qualitative analysis approaches. This approach suggest an adequate sample should have sufficient information power as determined by the study’s aim, specificity of sample, use of established theory, quality of dialogue in data collection and data analysis strategy. Basically, information power of sample and sample size are inversely related. This approach also prescribes some initial approximation to be followed with continuous evaluation of sample adequacy.
Sample description and selection criteria
The sample size in this study comprised of 10 respondents (7 females and 3 males) between the age group 19 to 29. The mean age was 24.4 (SD = 3.53) years (M males = 25.6, SD = 4.9; M females = 23.8, SD = 3). Furthermore, participants needed to meet the following recruitment criteria: born and originally from NE Indian states and moved to
mainland India to pursue higher education or job; currently settled in the NCR region and have typical East Asian physiognomy. All the participants were unmarried and had minimum educational qualification of undergraduate level. Length of residence in mainland India ranged from 18 months to 13 years. Additionally, all the participants were currently pursuing higher education in Delhi.
Sampling strategy
For sample selection, the widely prevalent purposive sampling method was used which helps in identifying “information-rich” cases for the issue under study (Palinkas et al., 2015, p. 1). It is a non probability sampling technique where sample units are selected on the basis of researcher’s judgment about the utility and efficiency of the units to serve to the purpose of study. Sampling technique was chosen based on the research question and guided by the IPA approach. As IPA entails analysis of individual subjectivities; random or representative sampling is not considered to be suitable.
Rather, the purposive sampling method that helps identifying a closely defined group that the research question will be significantly related to is suggested to be more appropriate (Eatough & Smith; 2008).
The multistage purposeful sampling technique (Palinkas et al., 2015) that combines several purposive strategies was used to ensure sufficient information power in the sample. Therefore, firstly the criterion purposeful strategy was used that allowed the identification of the units that meet the recruitment criteria of this study. It was followed by the maximum variation purposeful sampling to select at least one individual from each of the NE Indian states to ensure representativeness in the sample. And throughout the sampling process, the snowballing technique was used which involved indentifying new sample units through people who are already recruited in the sample.
6.3.3 Procedure
Sample recruitment and data collection for this study was done across the month of February 2017. Sample selection was done through personal contacts based on the criteria mentioned above. Data for the study comprised of 10 semi structured interviews that ranged from 30 minutes to a maximum time of 1 hour and 19 minutes. Interviews were conducted in their hostel rooms or rented accommodations. Ethical issues related to the study and data collection were approved by the Doctoral Review Committee of the institution. Interview began with basic introduction and rapport formation.
Participants were informed about the purpose of the study and consent was taken for participation in the study and audio recording of interview. Any queries regarding the purpose or use of the interview data were clarified. Participants were informed about the confidentiality of their responses, their right to withdraw from the study at any time and to not to respond to questions they don’t feel comfortable discussing. Participation was voluntary and only those signing the informed consent form for the study were interviewed.
Audio recording of the interview sessions comprised the major data source along with the researcher’s observation. Data collection was followed by verbatim transcription of the interviews which were then analyzed.
6.3.4 Analysis
IPA does not prescribe fixed steps for data analysis but entails a set of flexible guidelines that can be adapted by researchers based on their research goals (Smith &
Eatough, 2006). For the present analysis the guidelines provided by Smith and Osborn (2004), and Smith and Eatough (2006) were adopted. Accordingly, analysis began with close reading of individual interview transcripts. Initial themes were identified which
were examined for connections between them to develop superordinate themes separately for each individual case. These superordinate themes for each case were then scrutinized to identify patterns and parallels that ran across different cases to establish master themes for the group as a whole. The set of master themes along with their sub themes were arranged in thematic figures. Following that, a narrative account was produced introducing and describing the themes in detail, drawing connections between themes, relating themes to relevant literature and support for the themes with verbatim extracts from the interviews.