CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.3 TARGETED POPULATION AND SAMPLING
Youth between the ages of 18 and 24 (both male and female) who knew about and had used sexual and reproductive health services at Mutale community health centers were the study's target group. Because they are still too young to commit to serious
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partnerships or marriage, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are picked because this is the beginning of their sexual activity.
An equal number of youngsters from Mutale village were given self-administered questionnaires (online and in person), with the expectation that at least 100 of them would successfully complete the survey. An online sample size calculator called Raosoft was used to calculate the sample size. The estimated sample size of 700 young people living in Mutale is used to calculate the sample size of young participants, with the response rate estimated to be around 28% of the total population (Fatoki, 2010). The estimated sample size is calculated with a 5% margin of error and a 90% confidence level.
The study used non-probability sampling technique to choose appropriate individuals for both the quantitative and the qualitative components of data collection (both youth and healthcare workers). Because of this non-probability sampling, not every member of the community had an equal chance of being chosen for the sample or being included in the sample. Both snowball sampling and purposive sampling were used.
To ensure that the sample is made up of elements that include the majority of features, representatives, or typical attributes of the population, purposive sampling is said to be entirely dependent on the researcher's judgment, according to Blanche, Blanche, Durrheim, and Painter (2006). As a result, the features that the study was seeking for in the adolescent participants were present. The study used non-probability sampling technique to choose appropriate individuals for both the quantitative and the qualitative components of data collection (both youth and healthcare workers). Because of this non-probability sampling, not every member of the community had an equal chance of being chosen for the sample or being included in the sample. Both snowball sampling and purposive sampling were used. To ensure that the sample is made up of elements that include most features, representatives, or typical attributes of the population, purposive sampling is said to be entirely dependent on the researcher's judgment, according to Blanche, Blanche, Durrheim, and Painter (2006). As a result, the features that the study was seeking for in the adolescent participants were present.
The specific characteristics were informed by the socio-ecological theoretical framework employed in the study and included the following:
• Age (18–24-years)
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• Sex (both male and female)
• Ethnic/cultural diversity
• Religious diversity
• Sexual orientation
• Level of education
In addition, snowballing sampling was used wherein participants who were sampled and agreed to participate helped to identify other potential qualifying participants.
In order to find volunteers for the study, the researcher went door-to-door and asked for young people who fit the criteria listed above (i.e., they were between the ages of 18 and 24 and had used any health care facility in the Thulamela area). The researcher next informed the household's eligible member of the study's purpose and requested their voluntarily participate. The qualified participants were given a questionnaire to complete once they had consented to participate. To provide participants time to respond as truthfully and privately as feasible, the researcher gathered it the following day for some individuals and after two days for others. A question to help recruit young people to take part in the qualitative interview was included in the questionnaire's final section. This question specifically asks if the young participants would be interested in additional interviews about the study's topic. The researcher then chose participants for a semi-structured interview based on their response to that question, using the demographic characteristics mentioned above as guidance.
An additional strategy to reaching participants that was used was google docs. An online google document youth questionnaire was created and distributed on social media platforms that a lot of youth in the village tend to access such as WhatsApp, WhatsApp groups and Facebook. In cases where the researcher had email addresses, some questionnaires were distributed through personal emails address to access as many participants as possible within a short space of time to collect the required data.
For qualitative component of data collection, eight 24-28 years old youth (purposefully sampled based on sex) were interviewed in this study. As previously mentioned, participants were enlisted during the administration of the survey by being asked if they would be interested in additional interviews. To gain a thorough understanding of
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their knowledge and experiences on how youth use their services, at least four healthcare professionals who have been providing sexual and reproductive health services in these facilities for at least a year two of each sex were interviewed. Male and female youth were included in the study. The precise number of participants needed to gather qualitative data was determined by the researcher's perception of data saturation. This meant that there was no need to interview more participants for the research
As already indicated, purposive sampling was also used in identifying the four health care workers to be interviewed in this study. Four healthcare professionals who have been working in Mutale for at least a year and are actively involved in the technical and professional delivery of sexual and reproductive health services were particularly sampled by the researcher. This was to ensure that they can offer their insights based on some level of accumulated experiences. The health care professionals were accessed at specific clinics and hospitals; however, they were interviewed at the comfort of their homes since the researcher knew them. They were from the same community which made it easy to collect data faster compared to going through the health care administrators which was the initial plan. Data were only collected from health care workers only with their full consent and at times it was most convenient for that specific health care worker because most of them the time was during their off days or after their shifts.