PART 2 Chapter 5 NEGOTIATING MEANING
5.2 RESEARCH METHOD
5.2.2 Recruitment of participants
In total, 74 readers of the Son participated in the study, of whom 59 completed questionnaires, and 17 participated in personal interviews (note that two respondents who were interviewed also completed questionnaires). Ten of the respondents completed the long-version questionnaires, and the other 49 readers completed the short version. The longer version resembles the interview guidelines and since it took almost the same amount of time for the participants to complete the longer questionnaires as it did to participate in the interviews, the researcher decided to conduct personal interviews with the respondents who had the time and were willing to participate. Of these 74 respondents, 38 were male and 36 were female. Thirty-one women and 28 men completed questionnaires, while ten men and seven women participated in interviews. Table 5.1.
summarises this grouping.
Number of respondents who
completed questionnaires Number of respondents who
were interviewed Total number of participants
Female Male Total Female Male Total
31 28 59 7 10 17 76
minus number of respondents who participated in both
questionnaires and interviews 2 74
Table 5.1: Readers who participated in questionnaires and interviews
The table shows that male and female respondents were equally dispersed. This balance was not deliberate, since any willing reader was welcome to participate. Respondents were recruited by means of deliberate, convenience and snowball non-probability sampling in three main areas (see Babbi, 2011:206–8; Du Plooy, 2009:122–4; Lindlof, 1995:127): the small town of Montagu and its surrounding farms; the town of Oudtshoorn; and the city centre of Cape Town and its suburb Parow (see section 4.4). It is important to note that a non-probability (or non-random) sample does not enable the researcher to generalise fndings because it does not represent the target population and is, therefore, not externally valid (see Du Plooy, 2009:122). This study explored the relationship between the Son and a small group of its readers. This did not require a large sample, and a random sample was, therefore, not necessary. In fact, a smaller sample allowed the researcher to conduct a more in-depth exploration of media use. Convenience samples are also referred to as accidental, available or opportunity samples (see section 4.4). The researcher recruited respondents by means of know-group convenience sampling because she used her own judgment based on prior knowledge about the readers. Volunteer samples consist of people who voluntarily elect to participate in a study. Du Plooy (2002:115) warns against this type of sampling because volunteers often share characteristics in terms of approval-seeking needs, intelligence and education levels. This could contribute to the sample being unrepresentative of the population.
However, this possible threat to the reliability of the fndings does not apply to this study because the fndings will not be generalised. Moreover, only the respondents in the suburb of Parow voluntarily took part in the study. The researcher approached many of the respondents by means of convenience and snowball sampling. Some respondents noticed their friends or co-workers taking part in interviews, and this encouraged them to participate. Some participants referred the researcher to their friends, spouses and siblings. Respondents were, therefore, also included in this study by means of snowball sampling. These non-probability samples mean that not all readers of the Son had an equal opportunity to participate in the study, and the sample does not represent the population (i.e. all the readers of the Son; see Du Plooy, 2002:113). The researcher had much control over the selection of the participants. The chosen methods of sampling were appropriate for fulflling the aim of this study, in other words to explore reader experiences within a critical reception framework. The feldworkers administered questionnaires and conducted interviews until a point of saturation was reached (i.e. the respondents did not provide any new information) because the fndings will not be generalised.
The empirical audience study included participants who resided in Montagu and nearby farms because this provided an opportunity to explore how readers in rural areas experience the Son.
The researcher also identifed the Cape Town city centre as an appropriate place to recruit
readers who come from different parts of the city, since many of them used the train services to get to and from work.
Farm owners in Montagu agreed to ask their workers whether they would be willing to participate in this research endeavour. The researcher interviewed most of these volunteers at work, or in their homes. This presented the opportunity to interview the workers' spouses. The interviews in readers' homes, as well as their spouses’ interpretations, offered valuable information regarding the use of the Son in a family context. Discussing the newspaper with men who worked together was also useful, since it elucidated how peer groups, members of the same sex and readers with similar socio-economic circumstances arrive at interpretations of the same newspaper. Some of the readers who had heard of the research from friends or family on nearby farms also volunteered to share their experiences (see section 4.4.2).
The feldworkers randomly approached readers in Montagu, Oudtshoorn and Cape Town, and identifed people who were either busy buying or reading the newspaper. Most of the respondents were willing to be interviewed and some, who were in more of a hurry, completed the questionnaire. While it was diffcult to fnd appropriate candidates in the busy city centre, it was not diffcult to get readers to agree to participate in the study. Most of them were highly enthusiastic about discussing their perceptions and interpretations. The researcher also spent time with the newspaper sellers in the city centre, while waiting for Son readers to buy the newspaper. In these cases, the researcher offered to pay for their papers if the Son readers had the time and were willing to be interviewed or complete a questionnaire. The researcher, therefore, offered a copy of the newspaper as an incentive. The fower sellers in the city centre provided valuable information because they had strong opinions on the popularity of specifcally the Afrikaans-language newspapers Die Burger, Daily Voice and the Son.
While recruiting readers in the city centre was fairly straightforward, it was more diffcult to reach large groups of people in the Cape Town suburbs. Shopping malls appeared to be good options, but the idea presented problems, since most shopping mall managers would not allow research activities if they were not accompanied by large promotions. A manager of a shopping mall in Parow, however, agreed to provide space and a table in the shopping mall. Large posters attracted readers, and the research team offered each participant chocolate, that day's issue of the Son, as well as the opportunity to participate in a lucky draw in which readers could win between R5 and R20. For the lucky draw, the researcher offered participants R300. Contrary to what the researcher anticipated, the response from readers was overwhelming, and they started to form
long queues. Most of them stated that they were on their way to buy that day’s Son. It could be argued that readers only took part to receive the incentive, yet their actions contradict this notion.
Few of the participants took newspapers, as some of them had already bought their own copies.
Moreover, not every participant took the chocolates offered or participated in the lucky draw.
Moreover, many of them continued to talk about the newspaper long after their questionnaires had been completed, and thus it is evident that readers took pleasure in the rare opportunity to convey their own experiences and opinions of the newspaper.