4. METHODOLOGY
4.2. Methods and techniques used in the study
8. Acasestudy approachto reportin gresearch outcomes
Case studies are often the most con structi ve means of presenting qualitative data and analysis of an area or socia l situation. A case study is descripti ve and explains to the reader the different aspects of the case.A case study can be as long as abook , or as short as a page or an article. However , the case study must provide the reader with enough information tobe understandable,usable and comparablewith other case studies .
A potentially negati ve aspectof conductingcase studies can be that theparticipantsin the research could potentiallybe offended if people and their livesare made into "cases".It is import ant to emphas ise that the use of the word "case" is referring to the setting or situatio n, notthe person.
The qualitati vemeth ods used in this study were chosen because theywereconsid ered the most useful for obtaining the most rele vant data for the purpose ofthe study according to itsaim and objectives.
man agement, sha rk man agem ent and con ser vati on and marin e touri sm . The NSB also pro vid ed detailed scientific articles and pap ers on the shark net s in KwaZulu -N at al and onsha rk biology.
4.2.2.1. Historical review ofmarin etourism andsharkson theSouth Coast
New sp ap er articles from the NSB Librar y wer e exa mine d for rele vant histori cal back ground from the medi a for the study area and used for the histori cal re view in chapte r4.1.
4.2.3. The Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI) Library
The ORI Librar y conta ins a wide rang e of inform ati on on marin e issues, from marine biological dat a to biodi versit y literature and intern ation al marine poli cies. Speci fic informati on on marine prot ect ed areas, marin e env iro nme nt and user conflicts was also collect ed from this librar y.
4.2.4. The Internet
The Internet was mainl y used for informati on on the study area. Much informat ion on Protea Banks and in parti cul ar the user conflict and court case bet ween the local fishing cha rte rs and dive operators was found in an online local new sp aper and other medi a archives . Addition ally, the NOO called Sharkli fe based in Shell y Beach has a compre he ns ive web-page which pro ved useful for backg round inform ati on and pro viding contac tdetai ls for direc tsta keho lde rs at Prote a Banks.The Intern et was also practi cal for finding contac t det ail s for dive ope ra tors and othe r stake ho lde rs in the Shell y Beach and Margate area.
The Intern et was used for accessing South Africa n govern menta l documents suc h as poli cies and leg islati on , throu gh both nation al and region al authorities' web-pages.
Intern ati onal regulati on s, guide lines and poli cies were also located via the samesource.
4.3.Primary data collection and techniques
A total of 15 inter view s were conducted. Please see Appendi x I for more detailed information of the interviewparti cip ants .
4.3./.Semi-structuredill-depthinterviews
The primary researc h data for the study was collec ted in the form of interviews with direct and indirect stakeho lde rs in association with Protea Banks. Using inter view s as a method for prim arydata collect ion is a typical socia lscience approach (and not common within natural sciences). Interviewscan be structured with aspec ific and prepared setof question s the inter viewer asks one by one in a certa inarrange ment. Prepared and strictly struc ture d inter views allows for compa rative ana lysis onselected topi cs.A less structured inter vie w could, howe ver , lead to a more true present ation of the inter vie wee' s per cepti on , opinio ns and attitudes. The inter viewer might not use preci se questions, but rather a checkli st of rele vant topics to be cover ed throughout the inter view . A combinat ionofthese twotechniques canalso be used (Preece, 1994 ).
The inter views for this study were conducted in-depth with a semi-structured approac h, utilisin g open-ended quest ion s allow ing for flexibilit y and a conve rsa tionsty le dialogue (Jord an & Gibson , 2004).The choice ofusin g aqualitati ve primar ydata meth od is based in the interest of understand ing the detailed need s for a poten tial manage ment plan for Protea Banks. A more quantitative approach might be inter estin g (for example, approaching the loc al resident s in association with the area), but for the purpose ofthis specific study in-depth inter view s with key person s is hoped to contribute to spec ific, detailed and use ful informati on .The main question s used in the various inter views were similar, but withadd itiona lspec ific questions depending on the inter viewee' s association with Protea Bank s. The questions were kept relati vel y open to change during the interview,dependin g on the process ofthe interview.
The purpose of the inter vie ws was not on ly to obta in a "sna p-sho t" of the curre nt situation, but to crea te an understanding of the history,de velopment and present use of
Protea Bank s as a natur al resource and mari ne touris msite (setting), in orde r to progress tow ard sthebest possibl e andsustainab le future use of Protea Banks.
Semi-structured in-depth inter viewing as a method for collec ting prim ar y data has both advantages and limitati on s. The inter views are flexibl e and ada ptab le, allowi ng for new ideas and topics to emerge throu gh out the actua l inter view. However,spec ific question s can be present for every inter vie w, ope ningfor direct compariso n ana lysis.
In-depth semi-struc tured inter view s can poten tiall y provid e detailed and comp lex descriptive informati on, which is usuall y not gained thro ug h surveys or questionnaires. Face to face inter views also (almos t) elimina te the risk of the inter viewee misunderstanding thequestion (high validi ty), inaddition to crea ting a more person al and comforta blesetting for both parties. Minima leq uipment is needed and interviews can be cond ucted witho ut any specific time or spatial restri cti ons. Semi-structured inter views allow for some structure, whi le simultaneous ly allow ing inexperienced researches to de velop their own inter view style(Jorda n& Gibson,2004).
There are some potenti al limitation s to the semi-struct ured in-depth interview method.
Misinterpretation by the research er (or the parti cip ant) might occur. The interviewer might consc ious lyor uncon sciou sly manoe uvre the interviewee in a certain direction of opinions. The accuracy of the data rel ies on the knowled ge , but more importantly the hon esty of the part icipant. The interviewer might be stee red away from the actual topic due to the flexib ilit y of the interview struc ture (however, this migh t be a way of collec ting other import ant information ) . Interviewin g and the follow ing orga nising and ana lysing of the data collec ted can be very time-cons uming. But, maybe one ofthe most rele van t poten tial limitati ons is the willing ness of the participant to be inter view ed , as each interview cantake upto an hou r or mor e (Jorda n& Gibson , 2004).
4.3.2. Interviewquestions
The inter viewquesti on s were based in the objectives for thestudy. The inter vie wees were first asked to present them sel ves and their association with Protea Bank s.Secondly, they
were asked to describe Protea Banks and their use of the area.Question s abo utother user groups' utilisati on ofthe area and user conflictwere also adde d. Gen er alquestion s abo ut marine tourism and shark man agement in South Africa were asked.The second part of the interview regard ed the man agemen t of Protea Banks recreation al fishing and diving. This segm ent also included the issu e of marin e con servati on and marin e protected areas. The ope n structure of the inte rv iew lead to very differing add itio na l question s, and a varie tyof add itio na l themes emerge d durin g the inter views.
4.3.3.Equipment for recording data
The foll owing equipme nt was used for recordingprimary:
./ Dictaph one and tapes ./ Digital camer a
./ Field not eb ook for observations ./ Gen er alnot eb ook s
./ Diary andcontac t lists ./ Mobil e phone
Reco rded dat awasnumbered and transcribed as itwas gene rated .
One interview was cond ucted as a phon e interview on account tha t the interviewee is based in CapeTo wn (Marine and Coast al Man agem ent).
4.3.4.Sample methods and criteria
The most sig nifica ntaspec tofanysamplesize in qualit ati ve research sho uld be the actua l quality ofthe in formati on and data gathered, not necessarily its quanti ty.The samplesize sho uld reach a stage of satura tio n of inform ati on (Maykut & Mor eh ou se , 1994 ). In this study the main aimwas to cover allthe releva nt user groups at Prote a Bank s thro ugh key infor ma nts. The divers, fishe rme n, laun chin g area representatives, marin e scientists, sha rkscientists and the rele van t authority for marin e touri sm and conse rva tion.
The rese arch er atte mpts to understand a setting or situatio n and its stake ho lde rs by contac twith its key representatives and rel ated instancesor organisations.The aim is then to reg ister and presentthe fullscaleof all the vario us opinions within that spec ific setting.
The criteri on of sampling approach is called maximum variety sampling. It is necessary to recognise that the data or answers in the inter views can not be gene ra lise d . Howe ver , the goal is not a random sample, but selec ted ke y represent ati ves from the vario us user groupsand related author ities and institu tion s (Maykut& Mor eh ou se ,1994 ).
The snowba ll samp ling approach is described by Maykut & Moreh ouse (1994) as the process where the contact with one research participant lead s to contact with anothe r (or snow ba lls). It is emergent and seque ntia l, and practi cal to use in combina tion with maximum variatio nsampling.The sample in this study was much based on both snow ba ll and maximum variation samp ling techn iqu es (please see Appendi x I for a list of all the inter view parti cipant s).
4.3.5.Field visits,observation of the study area and participant observation
A total of three trips to Shell y Beach were cond ucted . The maj ority of the inte rv iews (direc t sta keho lde rs) wer e carried out during these field trip s. Obser vati on of the laun chin g site and the gene ra l Shell y Be ach area, in addition to informal conve rsa tio ns with local peopl e and users ofProt ea Banks,pro vid ed for inform ation regi stered in field notes.The tourist inform ati on centre located at Shell y Beach was visited fo r the purpose of finding brochu res fro m the vario us tourism ope ra tors in the area, and to obta in contac t det aiIs of marin e tourism pro vid ers inassociatio n with ProteaBanks.
Four dives with two differen tdive ope ra tors were conduc ted. Three of the dives were at theSouthern Pinnacl es and one at theNorthern Pinnacl es.
The Natal Sharks Board based in Umhlan ga pro vided in kind entrance to their exhibitio n, shark dissecti on and film presen tation . Add ition all y, an in kind observat iona l tri p onboard one of the NS B's boats for the purpose of view ing the sha rk netting maintenan ce was contri buted.