CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.2. Ethical Issues
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CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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4.3. Stakeholders or main informant interviews
Main informant interviews were done with a focus on the questions of flood risks and EI. Stakeholders were identified using the snowballing4 and purposive sampling techniques5. From this, many interviewees were derived from the local government and other government representatives’ e.g. Planning officials, disaster managers, environmentalist, Flood Liaison Committee Members, and ward councillors (please see Table 4.1 and the list of respondents below the references). Other stakeholders interviewed included business leaders, church leaders and NGO representatives, teachers, workers and the flood and climate affected citizens. These stakeholders were chosen because they are both experts in the field of flood risks and environmental management while others are the victims of and are susceptible to flood risks. Interviewees who are located close to EI were also selected to assess their perceptions of the value of these environmental services.
In terms of the type of questions asked, the researcher used open and close ended questions. The interview schedule was long and each respondent was therefore only asked the questions and sections that they were familiar with. For example, the rural and town communities who had been impacted by floods were asked more of the open-ended questions based on their knowledge about the areas such as flood risks, the solutions to flooding, and also the use or understanding of EI. On the other hand, the government actors were asked similar questions that were both open ended and close ended. However, they were also asked to respond to the questions that were most relevant to their job specification. They were asked to comment on issues related to responsibilities of other departments, it they were knowledgeable about these matters. (See Appendix C1 and C2 for the interview schedules used for the stakeholders and focus group meetings held with the respondents).
4.4. Sampling
In order to determine the main actors to be interviewed, the researcher first used the snowballing technique. This technique was useful as it was possible to map out or select the main informants to be interviewed in relation to the themes of this research. This means that this sampling technique was used successfully. Even though the researcher needs to control the subjectivity or bias created
4Snowballing is referred to as a type of non- probability sampling technique used to locate the information rich participants or key informants in the area being studied. It helps the researcher identify other participants using the recommendations given by other participants (ACAPS, 2011).
5Purposive sampling is a form of non- probability sampling technique also known as judgemental sampling. It is called this way because it use the subjective knowledge of the researcher to judge the most authoritative participants whom he thought represented the actual population (ACAPS, 2011). In this case, the theme of ecological infrastructure and flood risk.
48 | P a g e by the selection of respondents by key informants, who can act as gatekeepers, this method does enable the researcher to identify the main actors related to a particular issue, in this case flooding.
by the selection of respondents by key informants, who can act as gatekeepers, this method does enable the researcher to identify the main actors related to a particular issue, in this case flooding.
This is important to note as some scholars in social science and planning state that even though key actors are identified as being knowledgeable or an expert in a field of work, they will be influenced by their own ideology and framing of the world and hence may not provide truly objective information (Lubke, 2004., and Yu 2014). For example, Yu (2014) further argued that planning proposals are not objective because after all their intensive work that determines good professional practice, planners still use their training, knowledge, own discretion, gut feeling to decide on what is right. In this process, there are winners and losers showing that there is a need to understand the politics and power dynamics involved. With this, it is clear that planning proposals are not value neutral.
Because the authorities such as the municipal manager, ward councillors, and Izinduna6 were identified, they then helped in the identification of other informants that could offer the relevant information in the subject being researched. After many respondents were identified and recommended by others, the researcher ensured using purposive and judgemental sampling that there were a diverse set of participants that contributed to the research questions being asked. The purpose of this was to find more knowledgeable actors who could represent the voice of diferent communities and other stakeholders. The subjective knowledge of the researcher was required to judge the most authoritative person whom he thought represented the actual population for the users at risk of environmental change and flooding.
Since EI is regarded as an adaptation tool for flood risks and climate change, the focus was also oriented towards identifying actors who were located close to main EI as this help the researcher to understand their attitude and use of this infrastructure.
4.4. Research participants
The researcher traced the diversity of actor groups such as the stewardship groups, famers and farmers’ association’s representatives (i.e. commercial farmers, communal and subsistence farmers), old residents, teachers, NGOs, church leaders or members, and many others. In terms of coding, the researcher grouped these stakeholders in order to ensure that their identity is hidden and
6 Izinduna is a plural Zulu word for Induna which means the headman (under the Zulu King) and responsible for mediating between the king and the respective tribal clan
49 | P a g e confidentiality is ensured to those who shared their knowledge with the researcher (See Table 4.0.
and Figure 4.1 below)
Table 4.1: List of respondents, their affiliation, location in proximity to Klip River, and the date of interviews Broad Category of
Stakeholders
Affiliation Location Date of
Interview National Government Environmental Affairs Ladysmith town (floodplain)
and eZakheni
24/02/2015 Provincial Government Amafa AkwaZulu- Natal
Official
Pietermaritzburg 27/02/2015
Local Government
Town Planning Unit Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 24/02/2015 Environmental Hygiene Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 06/05/2015 Disaster Management Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 06/05/2015 Flood Liaison
Committee Member
Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 06/05/2015 Parks & Gardens Section Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 06/05/2015 Parks & Gardens
Municipal official
Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 06/05/2015 Engineering Municipal
Official
Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 13/05/2015 Flooded Town Community Elder Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 11/05/2015 Flooded Town Business Store Manager Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 10/05/2015 Photographer Ladysmith & Acaciaville 10/05/2015 Farming Representative Farmer Ladysmith Town (floodplain) 17/05/2015
Semi- Urban Politicians Driefontein, Upper Klip River
Catchment
15/05/2015 Anonymous NG official Driefontein, Upper Klip River
Catchment
24/02/2015 Anonymous NG official Driefontein, Upper Klip River
Catchment
24/02/2015 University student Driefontein, Upper Klip River
Catchment
03/06/2015
Rural Community Elder Emachibini, MTA(confluence) 04/05/2015
Elder Emachibini, MTA (confluence) 06/05/2015 Focus Group- Youth girls Emachibini, MTA (confluence) 05/05/2015 Focus Group- Elders Emachibini, MTA (confluence) 06/05/2015
50 | P a g e Figure 4.1: Percentages of the participants in each Stakeholder Group
There were twenty-nine total interviews done with the respondents in three case studies within the ELLM. Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1 above; indicate that there were many participants from the Local Government Stakeholder group contributing 33% of the population interviewed. As table 4.0 shows many of these participants are the municipal officials representing various departments such as Disaster Management, Environmental Hygiene, Parks and Gardens, Spatial Planning, and Engineering Services. The second most dominant participants in the interviews were from the Rural (19%) and Semi-Urban (19%) stakeholder group and they reside in the upper and lower catchment of the Klip River. Other participants were drawn from the business sector, flood affected community residents/elder, National and provincial government.
Some of the participants were specialists in their field whereas others (more experienced) were familiar with many issues outside their current occupations. Due to the aforementioned blurring of the boundaries, the researcher noted that there are some instances where some of the participants would talk on behalf of other departments. For example, some of the participants such as the community members in Ladysmith town were linked to knowledge and activities that broadened their experience such as being a retired geographer, teacher, old resident, and a representative of the Church and NGO member.
5% 5%
33%
9% 5%
5%
19%
19%
Figure 4.1. Percentages of the participants in each Stakeholder Group
National Government Stakeholder Provincial Government
Stakeholder
Local Government Stakeholder Flooded Town Community Stakeholder
Flooded Town Business Stakeholder
Farming Stakeholder Representative
Semi- Urban Stakeholder Rural Community Stakeholder
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