Chapter Three Research Methodology
3.4 Data Collection Techniques
When the problem has been defined and conceptualised, the next step is to decide how information would be collected, (Robson, 1993). This information is known as data and would be collected using a measuring instrument, or data collection method. The methods of inquiry adopted by this study include key informant interviews, household interviews (semi-structured), observation and secondary sources of data.
The study will use key informant interviews as a method of inquiry. According to USAID Center for Development Information and Evaluation (1996) key informant interviews are qualitative, in-depth interviews of people selected for their first-hand knowledge about a topic of interest. The interviews are loosely structured, relying on a list of issues to be discussed. It is further stated that key informant interviews resemble a conversation among acquaintances, allowing a free flow of ideas and information. Interviewers frame questions spontaneously, probe for information and take notes, which are elaborated on later (ibid). Advantages of using key informant interviews include: they provide information directly from knowledgeable people;
they provide flexibility to explore new ideas and issues not anticipated during planning and they are inexpensive and simple to conduct. On the other hand, they have disadvantages which include: they are not appropriate if quantitative data are needed; they may be biased if informants are not carefully selected; they are susceptible to interviewer biases and it may be difficult to prove validity of findings, (USAID Center for Development Information and Evaluation, 1996). Key informant interviews will be conducted with a community leader, NOOs operating in the area and Government departments.See interview schedules in the appendix.
The study will also make use of household interviews. These would be conducted in participating villages within the ward where the project is being undertaken.
Interviews are usually structured, semi-structured or unstructured. Often, the questions may be very similar, but the interviews are distinguished based on how they are conducted. This study will utilise semi-structured interviews. According to Marlow (1998: 160) in a semi-structured interview,the interviewer has more freedom to pursue hunches and can improvise with the questions. Semi-structured interviews often use interview schedules consisting of the general types of questions to ask, but they are not in a questionnaire format. Sometimes semi-structured interviews are referred to as open-ended interviews. Interviews are usually appropriate in scenarios where respondents are usually of low literacy levels. In most third world countries literacy levels are usually low in rural areas and since my study is in rural setting, interviews would be the appropriate tool for data gathering. Hence, instead of asking respondents to read questions and enter their own responses or answers, researchers send interviewers to ask questions orally and record respondents' answers, (Babbie and Mouton, 2001 :249). However, the question of neutrality comes to the fore when dealing with interviews. Although structured and semi-structured interviews are more neutral than unstructured interviews, in general, the neutrality of interviewing is limited. This is because people respond differently to different people depending on the way they would have been approached. Marlow (1998: 161) states that the answer to an interviewer's question will be influenced by several factors: the interviewer's age, gender, ethnicity and dress,the context in which the interviewer approaches the interviewee and the manner in which the interviewer speaks. In other words interviews have a problem of reactive effect, that is, the degree to which the researcher's presence affects the behaviour being observed. For this study 10 household interviews would be conducted.See interview schedule in the appendix.
Secondary sources of data were also used. According to Marlow (1998: 178) secondary data are data collected for another research project or data that were not collected with research in mind at all. Such data includes case records, monitoring and evaluation reports, minute books, policy documents, and census data among others. Such data will be integrated with data obtained from interviews in an attempt to add any other nuances that may reside in these sources. The documentary sources will be compared with data already gathered, and then added as new information to the
present study where they can be of use. Hence, the data from the available sources that were utilised during the research process will be integrated and collated, to conclude the data collection stage.
There are various uses/advantages of using secondary data. For example, secondary data may provide a context (geographic, temporal, and social) for primary data. This enables researchers to see where primary data "fit in" to the larger scheme of things.
Secondary data may provide validation for primary data,whereby the secondary data allow us to assess the quality and consistency of the primary data.In some situations, it may be difficult to collect data, for reasons of access, cost or time or the data may have been collected once and to repeat the collection process would be undesirable.
Secondary sources are not threatened by reactive effect (http://www.deakin.edu.au/-agoodman/sci I01/chap6.php). However, secondary sources have their own disadvantages. This is because the method by which secondary data were collected is often unknown to the user of the data (apart from the major sources like the census).This means that the researcher is forced to rely on the skills and propriety of the collectors - usually, but not always, a safe proposition.
Also with secondary data users have little or no direct knowledge of the processing methods employed, and we will rarely have access to the original raw data to check them. Again reliance is on the skills and integrity of the people who collected and analysed the data, (http://www.deakin.edu.au/-agoodman/scil01/chap6.php).
These techniques have strengths of high construct validity, provide for in-depth insights and establishing rapport with research subjects.
To some extent simple observation will be employed to see physical developments linked to the project. According to Babbie and Mouton (2001: 293) simple observation IS where the researcher remains an outside observer. In this study observation would be unstructured. This would complement findings from other techniques. However, this may raise ethical questions as to whether respondents would have consented to being observed.