4.5 Methods and the Process of Data Collection 128
4.5.1 Methods of Data Collection 128
‘communicative validity’ and that this can be achieved by arranging other meetings with the participants, to give them an opportunity to verify the content. In this study, all transcribed versions of oral history interviews were sent to participants to double-check the correctness of facts.
With regards to the generalizability of data, Cohen et al. (2007) cautioned that the goal of qualitative research is not that of generalizing, but rather the ability to gather in-depth and rich data. Chilisa and Preece (2005) confirm this when they discuss context sensitivity.
They point out that ‘the purpose of research in qualitative research is not to generalize findings, but to describe each setting in its uniqueness; leaving the reader to decide whether what is described is transferable to other settings’ (p 142). Berteaux (1981) explains that if generalization is the goal, then the researcher needs to take several life histories from the same set of socio-structural relations. If the data supports other data and reaches saturation point, this can make for a strong body of evidence which can enable generalizations to be made. Twelve TVET college lecturers from different backgrounds participated, but proving generalizability of the findings was never part of the plan in the present study.
In spite of all the criticism discussed above, there is still wide acceptance that oral history as a biographical research methodology is valuable in understanding human phenomena (Miller, 2000; Cohen et al., 2000), as it attaches importance to experiences and knowledge of individuals and meanings attached to personal life experiences.
4.5 Methods and the process of data collection
Bell (1999, p 102) echoes this argument, when he describes triangulation as gathering data from a number of informants and a number of sources with the aim of cross- checking information to produce a well-balanced study.
4.5.1.1 Open-ended life history interviews
As this study dealt with lecturers’ subjective experiences of educational change and how these have affected them, it adopted an interactional epistemological stance. This means that the study involved intense direct interactions of the researcher with the participants within their contexts and spaces, using open-ended life history interviews as a technique for data collection. Blanche et al. (2006), state that ‘intersubjective or interactional epistemological stance towards reality relies on a subjective relationship between the researcher and the subject’ (p 7). They add that this is characteristic of the interpretive approach, which aims to interrogate ‘the subjective reasons and meanings that lie behind social action’ (p 8).
The life history interviews were semi-structured, as I used an interview guide with issues to be covered. The interview guide was very useful, in that it ensured that I collected similar types of data from all participants. Questions were open-ended and their sequencing was not the same for every participant, as it depended on the process of the interview and answers from each individual participant (Chilisa & Preece, 2005). Cohen et al. (2007) confirm this by stating that in a ‘guided’ interview approach, issues and topics to be tackled are expressly named in advance and an outline is provided to make data collection somewhat systemic for each participant.
I found open-ended interviews to be very useful. Plummer (1983) emphasizes that open- ended interviews are the cornerstone of life history data collection. They were deemed relevant for this study because they gave the researcher and the participant a chance to
‘engage in creating the meaning of the questions and answers that constitute the narrative as they negotiate understanding through language’ (Alvarez & Urla, 2002, p 3). Through dialogue, open-ended interviews allowed the life stories to unfold and eventually helped to capture the salient experiences of participants’ lives and their definitions of those experiences (ibid).
My earlier experiences of conducting open-ended, in-depth interviews made me realize that they are long and detailed and that not everything can be written by hand. They demand intense concentration, without shift of focus, from a researcher. As a result, a tape recorder was used to allow the interview to flow uninterrupted by the pace of note- taking. Cohen et al. (2007) support this when they recommend that data be captured on tape recorders before transcribing, editing, developing codes and finally storing or filing it.
According to Nieuwenhuis (2007), open-ended interviews may be spread and may consist of a series of interviews. As a result, I collected data over a period of six months and each participant was visited more than twice. The estimated duration of the first interviews was approximately two hours, with two breaks of 15 minutes each. The duration of subsequent interviews depended on the amount of work that still needed to be covered, or gaps in information already gathered. Besides the formal interviews, many follow-ups, telephonically and through emails, occurred from the beginning until discussion and analysis were completed.
4.5.1.2 Questionnaires
A questionnaire was given to participants for them to fill in, about three weeks before interviews started. The questionnaire was used as a baseline survey instrument to elicit preliminary data relating to biographical details, employment status, learning areas and subjects that lecturers teach, qualifications, teaching experience, a brief history of employment, short courses attended and professional development activities that they had been involved in.
4.5.1.3 Documentary sources
More data was collected through analysing government documents, policy documents, manuscripts, files, memoranda and other relevant documentation. McCulloch (2004) states that documents are inescapably an integral and an indispensable part of our daily lives and our public concerns. Arksey and Knight (1999) add that documents bear a set of
contents which need to be analysed by examining their inferences and patterns of production and used in their mundane context. Mukeredzi (2009) asserts that through official documents, researchers can access the official perspective, as well as uncover ways through which communication to staff in the institution occurs.
It was interesting, for example, to analyse the government document that instructed TVET colleges to allow students who have passed three out of seven subjects to be promoted to the next level. This issue kept recurring when lecturers were sharing their experiences of how hard it was to work with students who have nearly double the load of subjects as a result of that government directive. Other documents included ministerial speeches, for example, analysing that of the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, who was quoted in the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news (October 2, 2009) as saying that teachers in schools would be given a reprieve from heavy loads of administrative and portfolio responsibilities in order to increase productivity. It was interesting when data revealed that college lecturers faced the same situation. This led to more probing in follow-up interviews, to gain insights into the nature of administrative work that college lecturers do. Findings from data prompted by document analysis ended up confirming the existence of too many administrative and management tasks that eat away teaching time, leading to ‘reality shock’ (Huberman 1993), due to the complexity of professional work that comes with educational transformation in teachers’ lives.
Documentary sources proved to be very important. Their importance is confirmed by Blanche et al. (2006), when they point out that documents have been, for many decades, a hallmark of professional researchers, but have been used minimally in contemporary society. Due to technological advancement, new kinds of documents such as those available for scrutiny in the Internet and other electronic mail were used as cyber data sources. Blanche et al. (2006, p 316) state that documentary sources can be useful in all forms of qualitative research, as they have an obviously ‘constructed’ nature and are a means by which ideas and discourses are circulated in our society.
This study did not distinguish between primary and secondary sources of data, due to debates and scepticism concerning the divide between the two (ibid). Documents were chosen according to whether or not they would yield rich data with the potential for helping the researcher better understand the phenomenon under investigation.