THE METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
3.2 Research Methodology
3.2.1 Study Data Requirements
The use of primary and secondary data was required. The primary data sources were face-to-face interviews that were conducted to obtain the views of station board members, personnel and local business people on their roles at the station and their perceptions of the station and the way it operates. Secondary data was derived from a range of documents.
3.2.1.1 Primary Data Sources
The interview method to obtain primary data was selected over observation as the former was deemed to be more advantageous. Unless the participants were observed over a long period, not much would have been known about their ideas, their drive, their thoughts, their opinions, their attitudes and what motivates them. However, this information could be discovered by asking them about it and asking the right questions. In making a case for the interview as a method of choice, it is said that in many cases, when possible, the two approaches are used together but this is not always practical (Berger, 2000).
Observation does give us a sense of context, which often helps explain what people do.
But it doesn't help us get inside people to understand why they do things, what motivates them and what anxieties they have (Berger, 2000).
To gain an insight into the above-mentioned aspects, the researcher employed three of the four kinds of interviews found in scholarly research. These interview types are informal interviews, unstructured interviews, semi-structured interviews and structured interviews (Berger, 2000: 111-112):
• Informal interviews - There are few controls in this type of interview which is in essence a conversation; they just take place, are not organised or focused, and are generally used to introduce the researcher to those being studied.
• Unstructured interviews - In these interviews, the researcher is focused and is trying to gain information, but he or she exercises relatively little control over the responses of the informant.
• Semi - structured interviews - Here, the interviewer has a written list of questions to ask the informant but tries, to the extent possible, to maintain the casual quality found in unstructured interviews.
• Structured interviews - In this kind of interview, the researcher uses an interview schedule - a specific set of instructions that guide those who ask respondents for answers to questions.
Before the formal research was conducted, the researcher held informal interviews in the form of casual discussions with radio participants. These conversations were conducted at the radio station as well as in social environments outside of the station and were not recorded. The goal of these of interviews was to familiarise the participants with the purpose of the research and to introduce the researcher to members who had joined the station after 2001 and were unknown to the researcher. The discussions were very useful and the subsequent formal in-depth interviews were an extension of them. When selecting interview methods for the formal phase of the research, structured and unstructured interview methods were proscribed in favour of the semi-structured method.
"The middle semi-structured path struck between rigid formality and informality [is]
deemed most appropriate in research that seeks to elicit as many free flowing responses from the respondents as possible" Hosany, 2004: 55). The advantage that the semi- structured interview has over the structured or standardised interview is that the former
"provides the interviewer with latitude to move in unanticipated directions. The interviewer is free to deviate and ask follow-up or probing questions based on the respondent's replies - especially if the replies are unclear or incomplete" (du Plooy, 2001: 177). The main disadvantage of unstructured interviews is that because the questions are mainly open-ended, a vast quantity of information is revealed and recorded
and it takes nine hours to effectively transcribe an hour of recorded interview material (du Plooy,2001).
Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were held with board members of Radio Al- Ansaar, the station manager, presenters, technical staff and other personnel to solicit their views on the role, governance and success of the station in terms of aims, objectives, ethos, editorial policy and financial management. This method of interview was also conducted with some of the community's business people to assess the efficacy of Radio Al-Ansaar as an advertising medium. The use of a tape recorder was crucial with the relatively large amount of information that was gained from each interview. However, upon request, the recording was stopped when some respondents felt more at ease not to have some of their opinions taped.
3.2.1.1.1 Sampling Method for Interviews
The sampling method preferred in qualitative research is the non-probability sampling technique. Drawing a non-probability sample means that every unit in the population does not have an equal and therefore probable chance of being selected as part of the sample, implying that the sample will not necessarily have the same parameters as the population (du Plooy, 2001: 113). This denotes that the researcher predicts or controls the choice of units of analysis. This method is preferred when "information about a small subgroup (and not a sample of a target population) is to be collected" (du Plooy, 2001:
113). Within this research, the choice of respondents was made in order to understand the hierarchical organisation of Al-Ansaar and how each level and department impacts on the others. Each interviewee was selected on the basis of his role at the radio station as well as the individual's depth of knowledge about the organisation and his purpose and role within it. This method "allows the inclusion of varying and different categories of people, signifying to a large extent, an attempt to legitimise different knowledges" (Hosany, 2004: 61). From within the board of management, the station manager, programme manager and finance manager were interviewed. The presenters who were interviewed were selected on the basis of age, race, religion, gender and age group. This endeavour was in keeping with the desire to ascertain how these demographic factors informed their
decision to work at the station as well as how they impacted upon their experience there.
A representative of the company outsourced to produce adverts was interviewed to investigate the parameters within which he had agreed to work, i.e. the station's policies informed by ICASA's stipulations and Islamic ethos. Three business people from the Muslim community were interviewed to elicit their views on Al-Ansaar as a publicity- generating platform. They were: An advertiser, a former advertiser and a business owner who has never advertised on the station.
Although the interviews were overall successful, it is felt that in response to questions based on governance and community participation, some sketchy and evasive responses were at times received from interviewees who held positions in management at the radio station.
3.2.1.2 Secondary Data Sources
Secondary data was derived from available literature, namely books, journals, newspapers, magazines, internet publications, example, government documents, ICASA documents as well as radio broadcasts and supporting radio station documentation.
Documents are studied to understand the array of objects, symbols, and meanings that make up the social reality shared by members of a society (Altheide, 1996: 2). This enables us to place symbolic meaning in context, to track the process of its creation and influence on social definitions and let our understanding emerge through detailed investigation (Altheide, 1996: 2). Station documents were analysed to assess the policies of the station. Other secondary data was examined to understand how internal and external factors shaped or ought to have shaped the station policies. Such factors include the dynamics and tension within the Muslim community and Islamic precepts as outlined in Chapter One and the theoretical assumptions around community radio as well as ICASA's polices as discussed in Chapter Two. Secondary data also informed the questions that were posed to the interviewees. Further to this, interviewees were asked to elaborate on, clarify, and/or justify some of the station policies.