4.3 The Research Process
4.3.3 Data collection using in-depth interviews
4.3.3.4. Collection of the data – in-depth interviews
However, in spite of all these difficulties, and my occasional frustration and despondency, I really enjoyed doing the interviews. My pilot interviews had occurred
Page | 84 with couples that I know. The first interviews with strangers took place with the assistance of my sister-in-law, so she was on hand to clarify and explain issues, either to me or to the participant. As the interviews progressed I was able to identify, and then use, some of the non-verbal practices of respect. It is important to greet the person and to shake hands, either using the more involved African handshake, or a simple grasp of the fingers – I adjusted my action according to the person I was introduced to. As I am English, in my culture a greeting is often more casual, without a handshake. If I was administering the interview in their home, I was usually offered refreshments, which were brought on a tray. Only once was I not offered, and the man apologised, explaining that in the Zulu culture such an offering is very important and a sign of respect, but unfortunately due to his ill health and her lack of employment, they could not offer me anything. After this was explained to me, I then offered refreshments to those participants who were interviewed in my office.
Each respondent was welcomed and thanked for agreeing to participate. Although the respondents had either received a letter explaining the purpose of the research (see Appendix page 24 & 25) or myself or my sister-in-law had verbally explained the purpose in advance, all the respondents were given another letter explaining the purpose, and I explained it verbally again at the interview. They were then asked whether they had any questions about the purpose of the study after which they were all asked to sign that they understood the purpose of the research, were willing to participate, and that they were willing to be audio-taped. I also explained that they had the option of being seen together or separately. Most participants preferred to be interviewed together. I also explained that I would not use their names in my research report, although I might use their words to explain something.
This preamble not only ensured that the participants fully understood the purpose of the research and that they agreed to be interviewed and taped, (thus giving their informed consent as required), but also it served to break the ice and allowed the respondents to get to know me and build a relationship.
The individual interviews took about an hour and a half to two hours, whilst the joint interviews took between two to three and a half hours. My sister-in-law and I both found the interviews to be very intense and exhausting. To maintain the quality of the
Page | 85 process, as well as due to the travelling time and the length of the interviews, we tried to only have two interviews per day. As described above, interviews often were not being kept and my sister-in-law would try to organise some participants to be on call to fill any cancellations; thus respondents were warned that the timing of interviews was flexible. In order to see these rural participants, I would stay with my sister-in- law and her husband for a few days each visit; but as her assistance with this research meant that she was neglecting her own job and studies, these visits could not occur too frequently.
At the start of each interview I explained that I was looking for information about some of the rituals, beliefs, traditions and important aspects of Zulu life in marriage and the family, and therefore I was looking for information on their own family and married life. I warned them that for this reason I would be asking them lots of questions; and asked for and received their permission to do so at the outset of the interview. I also stressed that if I asked them a question that they were not comfortable with, they should feel free to say “Cathy, I don’t want to answer that question”. Explaining and asking permission to ask questions was important, as in the Zulu culture asking too many questions can be seen as disrespectful. I also gave them the opportunity to ask me any questions, and thanked them for agreeing to be part of the study. Several participants asked me questions about my work with social work students, whereas no-one asked further about my private practice in relationship counselling.
I then asked whether they would like to tell me about their childhood, or whether they wanted to tell me about when they met their spouse, with an overview of their marriage. Thus the question was open and broad, but specific about the information I was seeking. It also gave them the choice of where to start so that they could feel safe, and start with non-threatening information. As they spoke, I asked questions for clarification, and built further questions on their answers. These were often open- ended, such as “Please can you explain that?”; “Tell me more about that?”; or “What did you think or feel about that?” Once they had explained the various rituals they had experienced in both their childhood family, and in their marriage, they were asked other more general questions such as “What do you want your child/grandchild to
Page | 86 learn about being Zulu?”; “What are you proud of in being Zulu?”; “What are some of the difficulties you experienced as a result of Zulu rituals or beliefs?”