RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY AREA
MAP 4.1: MAP OF KWAZULU-NATAL SHOWING THE LOCATION OF NHLAZUKA
4.6 Sampling
4.6.2 Simple random sampling
In this study a simple random sampling has been applied to select a total of fifty (50) households in the Saint Bernard community. Mclntyre (2005) defines simple random sampling as a procedure that allows every element in the population the same chance of being included in the sample. According to Lin (1976), in simple random sampling 90
each case has an equal chance of appearing in the sample, as does every combination of cases. That is, every case not only has an equal chance of being selected to be in the sample, but also has an equal chance of being selected after one or more other cases have been selected. It has been mentioned earlier that both the quantitative and qualitative methods of social research have been employed to generate the data for this research. Therefore, the sampling procedure used in the selection of the samples for the questionnaire survey has been different from that of selecting a sample for the focus group discussions.
According to Magasela (2001), the adequacy of the random sample depends on the adequacy of the sampling frame. The sampling frame is defined as the list of all units from which the sample is to be drawn (Bless and Higson-Smith, 2000). Magasela (2001) further argues that all that is required to conduct a random sample, after an adequate sampling frame is constructed, is to select persons without showing bias for any personal characteristics. In this research, a complete list of all the households in the Saint Bernard community was furnished by the community committee. This list was accurate and contained recent information about the number of households in the community since it was recently used in the discussions about the transfer of land ownership to the community. In this light, the list was subsequently used as a sampling frame from which the samples for this research were drawn. All the households in the list were assigned numbers which were then used to identify the houses that were selected as part of the sample. The procedure used in the selection of samples from the sampling frame was that in the table of random numbers, the first three numbers that range between 1 and 50 were vertically selected in each column of the table of random numbers. Out of all the numbers that were assigned to individual households, a total of 50 households were selected as a sample for this research.
In the selection of the samples for the PRA exercises, the study area was first divided into different zones using an aerial map of the Saint Bernard area. Lines were drawn on the map to divide the study area into six pie-like zones. In each of the demarcated zones, the researcher allocated numbers to the households, and in the process, the numbers of the households in each of the zones were randomly chosen to get a specific number of participants. The procedure used in the selection of samples for focus group discussions was that the list of all households in Saint Bernard was also 91
used. Each household in the list was assigned a number. The numbers were vertically selected from the table of random numbers by choosing the first three numbers within a range of 1 to 12. Two participants from each of the six demarcated zones were selected and thus a total of twelve participants constituted a sample for the PRA sessions in this research.
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> 4.7 Qualitative method
Qualitative research methodologies deal with data that are principally verbal. Kent „ (2001) defines qualitative data as isolated words or statements made by respondents and captured by the researcher in response to a series of open-ended questions in a ' survey. In this approach, techniques such as in-depth interviews, participant observation, and group discussions are used to gain information (de Vos, 1998; Kent, 2001; Royse, 2004). Based on the use of the above techniques, it is clear that in social research there are some kinds of information that cannot be adequately recorded using statistical enquiry. In many cases language provides a far more sensitive and meaningful way of recording human experience. In these cases, words and sentences are used to qualify and record information about the world (Bless and Higson-Smith, 2000). Davis et al (2003) argue that in qualitative research emphasis is placed on individuals' perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, feelings and behaviours as well as the meanings and interpretations that they attach to certain situations. According to Mclntyre (2005), qualitative researchers study things in their natural setting, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. The fact that words are the medium of data collection reinforces de Vos' (1998) assertion that in qualitative approaches procedures are not as strictly formalized and the scope is more likely to be undefined. Linked to this, Neuman (2003) asserts that qualitative researchers often rely on interpretive or critical social science and are often likely to follow a non-linear research path.
Reid and smith (1981 cited in Fouche and de Vos, 1998) provide a brief description of what a qualitative approach to social science research entails:
• The researcher attempts to gain a first-hand, holistic understanding of phenomena of interest by means of a flexible strategy of problem formulation and data collection; '.%...
• This becomes shaped as the investigation proceeds;
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• Methods such as participant observation and unstructured interviewing are used to acquire an in-depth knowledge used to guide further study; and
• Qualitative methodology thus rests on the assumption that valid understanding can be gained through accumulated knowledge acquired first hand by a single researcher.
In this study the qualitative participatory approach has been employed in the collection of qualitative data. The focus group discussion was used as the primary technique through which the participatory exercises were facilitated. The focus group members discussed community issues through the use of the ranking exercise, venn diagram and mental mapping participatory research techniques.