Plate 9.5: Gas Welders Working along Madzindadzi Road
3.3 Research Design
A research design feeds from a needs assessment. Its function is to detail the sort of data needed to answer the research question, its uses and intended users. This is essential in ensuring that only relevant data is collected with the intention of responding to the research question in an explicit manner. The current study seeks to develop a geo-database model for the informal
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industrial sector in Harare and analyse the implication of its building blocks on planning law.
A database feeds from a wide array data expressed in the gap analysis, Section 2.10. These data needs are expanded and packaged in Chapter Four, and the sources of these data sets are described in Section 3.4. Clearly described data needs partly enabled the progression of a plan on how, when and where data addressing the research question was collected and analysed. It is briefly summarised that research design is a procedure of transforming research questions into a research project (Robson, 2002). It collectively encompasses settling on research strategies, research choices, and time horizons (Saunders et al. 2009). It is must be observed that research design is independent of research methodology and sources of data (Yin, 2003).
The research plan of this thesis was twofold. The current study officially started in January 2015. The first leg of the research was approximately a two-year period, November 2012 to December 2014, before the onset of the study. This was followed by the second part of approximately two years, January 2015 to February 2017, after the onset of the study. When the GoZ called for the growth of an informal trade sector database, the researcher had collected unstructured and unsystematic data on compositional fundamentals in informal manufacturing.
This data was gathered as a daily record of the researcher’s interaction with car mechanics at Gazaland and it partly contributed to the database that was called for. Upon embarking on the research January 2015, the first three months ending 31 March 2015 were devoted to literature review whilst sorting data collection clearance issues. After getting the clearance, systematic and structured data was then collected from Gazaland, Siyaso and the Complex.
To gather primary data, a situational study research design was employed. In this scenario, a situational study denotes the sampling window (Baddeley, 2010). This decision was largely influenced by the point that the situational study strategy enables gathering extremely rich,
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detailed, and in-depth information characterising a particular group of people or sector of the society (Champion, 1993; Robson, 2002; Yin, 2003; Saunders et al. 2009). Case studies can be categorized using two discrete dimensions; single versus multiple cases and holistic versus embedded cases (Yin, 2003).
Using the first dimension, single situational study focuses on one case only and aims to reveal unusual or peculiar issues whereas multiple case studies focus on similar, but not identical cases. This study used the multiple case study of three home industries (Siyaso, Gazaland, and Complex) inside Harare, Zimbabwe. Section 3.5.2 gives concrete information on the reasons why these three sites were selected. A somewhat similar strategy was employed to study informal employment in three Brazilian cities (Despres, 1988). The current study is different on its scale of operation because it centred on three sites in one city and this offered scope for cross-examination of issues and generalization of study findings.
Concerning the second dimension, it is observed that a holistic case involves studying selected case(s) in total whereas embedded case has a bias towards studying particular section(s) within selected case(s) (Yin, 2003). This thesis used the embedded case of informal manufacturing within the multiple case studies of three home industries in Harare. Perhaps, justifying why informal manufacturing was chosen as an embedded case will bring about clarity. Section 3.5.1, Selecting Informal Manufacturing, provides that justification. Figure 3.1 diagrammatically illustrates the numerous-embedded case study design adopted for this study.
Drawing up experiences from three different cases, arguably, guaranteed conclusive power (Yin, 2003; Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Creswell, 2005; Saunders et al. 2009). This strategy is essential since the multiple-embedded case study design helped in tracing
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similarities, congruencies and variations in behaviour trends and assumed positive association between operators working in neighbouring areas. Within the multiple-embedded case study, ethnography and sample survey were used to collect data from the informal traders. It has been opined that research strategies should not be thought of as being mutually exclusive (Saunders et al. 2009). As such, more than a single strategy can be made use of in one study.
Figure 3.1: Multiple-Embedded Case Study Strategy (Adapted from Yin, 2003; Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004)
To get an accurate profile of behavioural and compositional data of informal manufacturers, the ethnographic strategy was used. Ethnography allows the researcher to explain and describe a phenomenon within the context in which it occurs and in a manner in which research participants would explain it (Saunders et al. 2009). It, therefore, occurs over a prolonged period (Yin, 2003; Creswell, 2005). Therefore, informal manufacturers working in Gazaland were studied over a four year period, two years before the onset of this research and then two years later its inception. For Siyaso and the Complex, manufacturers were studied for two years after the inception of this research.
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The results from the ethnography study ignited strong interests to know whether the behaviour of informal trade operators depends on their psychographics in view of town principles. Town planning principles rose as an important set of variables because they govern the usage of space.
A survey was then used to gather hard data on power and interaction of informal trade activities in space, and data on the relationships between psychographics of informal trade operators and town planning principles. That survey also helped in mapping the spatial distribution of informal industry activities in home industries. Figure 3.2 uses the set notation to summarise how the current study used three research strategies (case study, ethnography and survey).
Figure 3.2: Research Strategies (Adapted from Saunders et al. 2009)
Figure 3.2 depicts that ethnography and sample survey were used as sub-strategies within the multiple-embedded case study. The two sub-strategies where used in a sequential way with the sample survey being a follow up strategy to broaden and deepen the appreciation of how behaviour of informal trade operators relates to their psychographics in line with principles of town planning. Furthermore, the sample survey was employed to map the spatial and compositional fundamentals in informal manufacturing which were first viewed through ethnography. A summarised version of explained research design appears in Figure 3.3.
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Figure 3.3: Research Design in Summary (Researcher’s Compilation, 2018)
Figure 3.3 outlined that, when it comes to time frames, the research plan was two phases. The second phase was split into three sub-phases were the two main tiers are on data gathering and the last tier on data reduction, analysis and reporting. The last tier of the second part is expanded in Section 3.7. It is crucial to note that strategies adopted in the second phase were largely informed by the lessons obtained from the review of literature. Forthcoming sections detail the
Period: November 2012 to December 2015 Time Horizon: Longitudinal
Activity: Data collection Strategy: Ethnography
Intention: To compile daily notes on interaction with car mechanics at Gazaland
Organisation: Unstructured and unsystematic
Period: January 2015 to January 2017 Time Horizon: Longitudinal Activity: Data collection Strategy: Ethnography
Intention: To compile compositional and relational data on informal manufacturing Organisation: Structured and systematic
Period: February 2017 Time Horizon: Cross-sectional Activity: Data collection Strategy: Sample survey
Intention: To compile spatial, psychographic data, and predict informal operators’ behavioural response to the proposed tax measure
Organisation: Structured and systematic
Second Phase
Period: March 2017 to January 2018
Activity: Data reduction, analysis and reporting Strategy: Used Natural Language Processing (NLP), statistical tests and mapping narratology Intention: To reduce the results to familiar language
Organisation: Structured and systematic The second phase in its entirety was
informed by critical review of literature.
Activities and strategies used in this design were inspired by experiences of scholars who studied informality elsewhere. It must be noted that strategies adopted for this study were trimmed, carved, and manipulated to tally with the slant of objectives set ahead of the study (see section 1.3) and field experiences (see section 3.11).
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determinants of study population and sampling procedure used; the methods, tools and strategies made use of to gather data; the techniques used in data reduction and analysis; how ethical issues were handled; and matters related to reliability and validity of study findings.