When working with humans it is imperative to be ethical and to do no harm (Gray2009) and in order to ensure this, all research conducted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal has to receive ethical clearance before proceeding. Ethical clearance was received on 16th January 2013 (See page ).
There are several aspects to doing ethical research with humans. The first, as Merriam (2009) suggests, is the stance of the researcher: their training, experience, competence and personal integrity. Thus although there are set ethical guidelines, which the researcher needs to comply with and will be discussed below, the researcher’s own ethics will determine how incidents in the field are dealt with, and how the information obtained is analysed and disseminated. As Merriman (2009) stresses, researchers are seen as participants in the process of the whole research, and therefore need to be self-aware of how they impact the process, and so need to use reflexivity effectively. Snyman and Fasser (2004) concur with this: when using a theoretical postmodern stance, such as social constructionism, ethics may be compromised by the therapist (researcher)’s own perceptions, which are influenced by their own norms, values, class, gender and ethnicity. There may also be a difference in power between the researcher and the research participant, which could cause ethical issues. Similarly boundaries may be crossed, particularly when using in-depth interviewing, as the researcher may become the therapist if the research questions evoke the participant’s problems; so it is important to maintain the role of researcher and refer the person for the help they need appropriately (Gray 2009). In this study the contact details of FAMSA were on the letter given to the participants, and in one case where the participant asked for counselling, a colleague’s contact details were given.
As a result of the fluidity of doing research from a social constructionist point of
Page | 97 view, it is extremely important that the researcher is self aware and has high integrity in order to manage the dynamic relationship of researcher-participant (Snyman and Fasser, 2004). There are two other role players in the research process – the funder of the research, and the university itself. In spite of the expense of the transcriptions, I was fortunate to be able to fund the research myself. Potential ethical issues could result from the question ‘Who owns the research?’ and how do the politics of research impact the process and the findings. This is part of the minefield that the researcher needs to be aware of in maintaining an ethical stance in the research process.
The second aspect to consider about ethical research practice relates to the participants in the study. Alston and Bowles (2003); Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest and Namey (2005); and Babbie and Mouton (2001) all discuss the main aspects of ethical research as follows. There needs to be autonomy for the participants, which includes the right to decide whether to participate so that they are voluntary participants, and thus they need to understand what the research is about and to give informed consent. No inducements are allowed to be offered as this will contaminate the results. In this study the participants were informed of the purpose of the study when they were approached for an interview, they were given a letter that explained the purpose, and it was explained again at the start of the interview when they were asked to sign the informed consent form. They were told about the right to privacy and were offered individual interviews, as opposed to couple interviews, if they preferred. They were informed about confidentiality, and told that their identifying details would not be used, although their words may be used to explain something.
They were asked if they minded me using a tape recorder for this purpose, so their permission was sought before commencing with recording. They were also informed that they could stop the research interview at any time. Examples of this occurrence are when the toddler was bitten by mosquitoes, and when time was short after my car was stopped by a very rocky road, and so the family elder had to walk to the car for her interview because both my sister-in-law and I have health problems with our legs and could not walk to her home.
As mentioned the main issue is to do no harm – non-maleficence. In this study there was no stigmatisation, or secondary victimisation; there was no task or procedure that
Page | 98 diminished self respect; and there was no deception. Only one person appeared to find the questions about her marriage stressful, and she was referred to FAMSA for marriage counselling. Ethically, in fact, it is important to do good - beneficence; and Alston and Bowles (2003) mention that as research is mentioned in many social workers’ Code of Ethics this can include empowering the participant and being fair and just. The final consideration for ethical research is whether it is making a positive contribution to knowledge. Most of the research respondents commented that they were pleased that they were helping the social work students to learn about Zulu beliefs, values, and practices so that they could help others.
The third consideration about ethical research relates to the data collected. Due to confidentiality, it needs to be kept stored and locked up for 5 years in case the raw data is needed. Babbie and Mouton (2001) suggest removing any identifying information as soon as possible in order to maintain confidentiality, in case for whatever reason, the court wants access to the transcripts during this time. After the 5 year period, any hard copies need to be disposed of by shredding the transcripts, and the electronic data needs to be destroyed. This study’s data is in a locked room when I am not using it, and will be stored in a locked cupboard afterwards.
4. 11 Limitations of the study
Despite efforts to enhance the trustworthiness of the study, it must be acknowledged that there are several limitations to this study due to its methodology. Some of these have been discussed in the body of the text above, but are summarised here.
The first limitation is that this study could only be conducted in a small area of KwaZulu-Natal. Although, as mentioned in Chapter 1, the Zulu nation consists of the largest tribal group in South Africa and they are based in KwaZulu Natal, this study was exploratory, and thus the sample was small and consisted only of Zulu people
Page | 99 living in Durban and in the centre and surrounding rural areas of a town in Northern Zululand.
The second methodological limitation of this research study is due to the method of sampling. Purposive sampling was used and snowball sampling was the method for obtaining a sample. This may have resulted in some bias in the sample as the people who agreed to participate in the study may not represent the general population of the area. The youngest couples in Durban, and the youngest couple in Zululand, were in their early thirties, so younger couples’ opinions were not heard. The people who sourced the sample both in Durban and in the town in Northern Zululand and its surrounding area, were all employed, and so their sample base may have been biased towards being employed as well. This is mentioned, in particular, as most people were employed in this study, which is not a typical demographic of KwaZulu Natal as mentioned in Chapter 1.
The third limitation of this study is also due to snowball sampling. As mentioned above and in the following chapter, in spite of a lot of interest and promises of assistance, only a quarter of the married couples came from Durban. This difficulty in sourcing Durban couples meant that collecting data took much longer than expected.
The fourth methodological limitation, as mentioned previously, was that the research participants’ home language was isiZulu, which I do not speak. Fortunately my sister- in-law assisted me with translations where necessary, and these translations were checked by the staff of Typescript (Pty) Ltd.
The fifth limitation was that as a white, British/Austrian, middle-class, middle-aged, urban female, I may have not understood various nuances of meaning in the language and in the culture. However, reflexivity was taken into consideration, and regular consultations with Zulu people occurred throughout the study to avoid this problem.
In particular when Mr M.N. reacted in shock to my question about ubuntu, I clarified this with the translator immediately, and then discussed it with Ms Mkhize from the Department of Zulu at the UKZN, and with my colleagues at FAMSA Durban, and with FAMSA Pietermaritzburg.
Page | 100 4.12 Summary of chapter
The theoretical framework of this study is based on social constructionism, and therefore a qualitative research design is appropriate. The study is descriptive, as the participants described their experiences growing up and their marriage as Zulu people;
and also exploratory, as I used this information to interpret the data using thematic and discourse analysis so as to develop guidelines for marriage counselling with Zulu couples. The sampling is purposive in that three groups who described themselves as Zulu were used the first phase. The first sample group consisted of couples who indicated that they had been married for at least two years; the second sample group consisted of elders who had given advice to their family; and the third group consisted of Zulu social workers who are employed by organisations in the community. In the second phase this information and the themes derived from it were shared with the FAMSA (Family and Marriage Society of South Africa) social workers in Pietermaritzburg and Durban who specialise in marriage counselling, in order to develop best practice guidelines for couple counselling with Zulu couples. An in depth interview guide was used to collect data after the guide was piloted. The research participants were sourced and a translator was used in the interviews, where necessary. The interviews were tape recorded and then transcribed and analysed.
Reflexivity, issues of trustworthiness and the ethical considerations of the study, were discussed in this chapter in order to illustrate the depth of rigor in the research.
Page | 101 CHAPTER FIVE
DATA ANALYSIS