The History Of Ethical Considerations

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS

3.1 Introduction

All research is based on fundamental philosophical assumptions about what constitutes knowledge and which research methods are appropriate for development of that knowledge. Research methodology entails the ontological and epistemological assumptions of the research design and methods the researcher is intending to use in a research project (Ross & Matthew, 2010). This chapter therefore presents the discussion of the methodology and methods that will be employed in the study. It starts with a discussion of the philosophical perspective, followed by the research design and a summary of the pilot study findings. The chapter then discusses the ethical issues that will be considered in the study and the research site procedures for participants’ selection and data collection and analysis methods. Lastly conclusion is given.

3.2 Philosophical Perspective

This study draws its knowledge base from interpretive paradigm. Interpretivism views reality as a social construction; meaning that what people know and believe to be true about the world is constructed or created and reinforced as people interact with one another over time in specific social settings (LeCompte & Schensul, 2010). It further contends that people’s interactions are diverse and contextually situated and thus their perceptions and experiences are subjective. Hence there are multiple versions of reality rather than a single truth as proposed by positivism (LeCompte & Schensul, 2010; Creswell, 2007). It is therefore important to understand meanings that individuals ascribe to social phenomena and how socio-cultural context influences individuals’ experiences and interpretations of reality (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003). Interpretivism assumes the epistemological stance of understanding (Schwandt, 2004). Understanding as associated with hermeneutic tradition which is about seeking a deep understanding of a phenomenon by interpreting the meanings that interactions, actions and objects have for the people and as constructed through interaction between human and objects (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2010). Understanding is therefore inseparable from human conditions and that the best way of understanding social reality is from the perspectives of those enmeshed within it.

The proposed study espouses this view and seeks to understand the issues and conditions that particularly prevent pastoral communities’ girls from participating in formal education. The study seeks to understand the way culture, power relations, identity, inequality and other lived experiences in the Maasai community exclude girls from formal education. This motive resonates with feminist studies in general and postcolonial feminist theories in particular, which believe that construction of knowledge begins from the world of those who have been marginalized (Khan, et al, 2007; Schwandt, 2004). Interpretive paradigm therefore employs research strategies which allow intensive interaction between the research participants and the researcher and require the researcher to be absorbed in the participants’ world over a long period of time (Ponterotto, 2005). This study therefore uses ethnography to construct an understanding of the meanings and interpretations that participants ascribe to girls’ education (Hennink, 2011).

Building knowledge from this perspective is ideal since peoples’ perceptions, attitudes and ambitions are different hence may influence provision of education to girls differently. It thus guide in explaining and appreciating the way individual differences in creation of formal education are related to their priorities and considerations in providing basic education to girls. Given that for the interpretivists meaning is situated, thus understanding of the social, cultural, economical, gender and other contextual characteristics of pastoral community, will give a picture of what it takes to educate a girl child in their community. Again since capabilities are situated it is the pastoral community members who can identify the capabilities they have the reason to value and which can improve their wellbeing in their particular context (Walker, 2006). The next section discusses the strategy that will be used in this study

3.3 Research Strategy

The study adopts ethnographic approach because I am intending to understand the pastoral community context in relation to girls’ education in-depth. This resonates with the focus of the study as it claims its epistemological base from interpretive theoretical tradition (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006). Again a postcolonial feminist approach begins from the women’s everyday life realities and experiences from which they examine social, economic and historical circumstances in a particular context in order to make visible the interconnected factors that organize these experiences (Khan, et al, 2007). I anticipate therefore conducting an ethnographic study in Engaruka juu village with the aim of exploring and understanding social, cultural and economic context of the pastoral community from the perspective of the community itself (the ‘emic’ perspective) (Hennink, 2011).

Unlike other methods in the social sciences which use more formal instruments of data gathering and analysis, the ethnographic method relies on an observer going into the field and ‘learning the ropes’ through questioning, listening, watching and talking with the participants (Fetterman, 2010). I will thus spend an extended period of time with participants in Engaruka village in their normal surroundings watching them, talking to them about what they do, what they think and say and see how they understand their world as related to girls’ education (Delamont, 2004). My participation in the life and activities of pastoral community will follow the selective intermittent time mode (Jeffrey & Troman, 2004). This is a technique in which, time spent for research is long but researcher has flexible approach to the frequency of the site visit. This means that after the initial familiarizations and observations I will select specific areas for observations and interpretation. In this study I will overall spend three months in the field where as after one month of familiarization and initial observations, I will see areas which need further examination and I will be going back to the field after every two weeks to observe those areas. I will also start organizing and analyzing data between these field visits.

I will find out the way members of pastoral community understand their situation, the meaning they attached to happenings and the way they perceive their reality in order to grasp community members’ point of view on aspects of their life and world that relate to girls’ education (Denscombe, 2010). I’ll go inside the social world of the community members in Engaruka, ‘hanging out’, observing, recording and analysing social structures within their settings paying particular attention to social, cultural, familial, political and economic lives. I will thereafter provide detailed accounts (thick description) of the everyday practices and customs and culture of the Maasai as related to girls’ education (Geertz, 1973; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006).

The strategy is considered suitable because it will enable me to provide an in-depth understanding of pastoral communities’ social context in their particular culture as related to girls’ education. It will give me an opportunity to engage in with community members’ lives though interacting with them, listening to their stories in relation to provision of formal education in general and to girls in particular and the way behaviours are understood and related to their construction of girls’ education. It will enable me to get holistic picture of their situation, their life, activities, experiences and the meaning they attach to girls education. This approach will also help me understand the kind of capabilities the community in general and girls in particular value from their own experience and perspectives. More details on data collection and analysis are given in section 3.8. As part of the process of designing this study I conducted a pilot study in Monduli district whose summary is presented in the next section and a detailed discussion is given in appendix A.

3.4 The Pilot Study

An ethnographic pilot study was conducted from 2nd -16th August 2012 to explore the perspectives of the pastoral community members regarding basic primary education provision for girls in Monduli district. Negotiation for the access to the study area started on 2nd August, 2012 and the actual field work followed on 11th August 2012 as explained in details in Appendix A. Broadly the aim of the pilot study was to establish access to the study site and the participants; establish the homesteads from which the participants will be selected; develop techniques for participant observation; field notes taking and start establishing relationship with key gate keepers and informants. Lastly I hanged around with the community and establish possible angles through which I would begin observation.

Through the pilot study I was introduced to the study site that is Engaruka Juu Village and this enabled me to establish a deeper understanding of the research problem, an understanding the pastoral communities’ environment and the context in which girls’ education problem occurs. Methodologically using this study I have started establishing connection with the key gatekeepers and informants who will facilitate my access in the main phase of data collection. It also has helped me to refine research questions and develop the techniques for participant observations, recording field notes and handling the practical ethical issues arising in pastoral community context. Details on what was actually done, the emerging issues that are so far anticipated to influence girls’ education and the lessons drawn from the study are given in the Appendix A. Throughout this chapter, I will show how insights from the pilot study have informed research design. The following section presents a discussion about ethical issues that will be considered in the study.

3.5 Ethical Considerations

As ethics is fundamental to methodology, especially in ethnographic research, I will identify and briefly discusses key ethical issues for this study before detailing data collection methods. The key ethical issues considered are discussed here under:-

3.5.1 Negotiating Access

Negotiating access to the field and with participants is important because one can not begin the study without accessing the field. Hesse-Biber & Leavy ( 2006) argue that gaining access into the community is critical in determining the kind of data the researcher will be able to collect and how difficulty or easy the process will be. It is important however at this juncture to mention that the community proposed for this study is a rural community, located in remote part of Monduli district in Tanzania. The majority of community members have not had any formal education and therefore can not even Kiswahili (Tanzania’s national language and the language used for public primary education). Therefore accessing such community and the participants involves a number issues and people. I therefore have identified key people during the pilot study that will facilitate my access to the site, people and events (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2005). In this regard I will first obtain a letter of introduction, notifying ethical clearance, from University of Bristol which will introduce me to the Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS). Thereafter the RAS (Arusha region) will write a research permission letter which will also be my introduction letter to Monduli District Administration Secretary (DAS), who will again introduce me to the Ward Education Officer who will then connect me to the Village leaders and my research assistant. I will access participants using the research assistants, a female assistant will facilitate my contact with female participants and a male assistant will connect me to male participants. It is important to note here that all conversations in research will be done using Kiswahili. Thus among the major responsibilities of these assistants is to facilitate communication between me and my participants, by translating Kiswahili (the language I share with them) to Maasai language and the vice versa. Since they are residents of Engaruka juu village they will also facilitate my access to different events which will take place in the community from both females and males.

3.5.2 Informed Consent

In ethnography informed consent is part of respect for people (Pole & Morrison, 2003). From the pilot study experience, it is clear that consent for this study and most participants needs to be understood in terms of the relationship that I will establish with the participants rather than on procedures. This is due to the fact that I will largely have to negotiate it verbally because the majority of people can not read or write. Besides signing consent form in Tanzania context sometimes creates distrust between researcher and participants because participants feel they may be held responsible for the information they give (Makoke, 2005). People may agree to take part in the study as ways of helping their fellow Tanzanian succeed. In this regard I will inform all participants about what the study intends to explore and what will be done with the information that will be given to me. I will also inform them of their right to participate or not participate in the study and ensure that only informants that are willing to participate will be involved in the study (Walford, 2008). The consent that will be negotiated will spin around participation in observations, interviews, conversations and photos where they will be taken and the use of the information that will be obtained. For different participants therefore I will seek different informed consent from different people.

For the in school children I will ask permission from the school head and/or from the parents. The head teacher will be requested to sign the informed consent form and parents’ permission will be sought verbally. For the out of school children I will ask permission from the parents by having verbal agreement with them. For the female participants verbal consent will be sought from their husbands and from themselves. Although this may sound as if I am accepting the communities’ gender norms, from the pilot study experience this is the only option available for now to access these participants. Much critical discussion will be offered in the main thesis on the way relationships with women and men are negotiated within Maasai society. District educational officer will be requested to sign informed consent form. I will translate the consent form into Kiswahili and request the parents and elder who can read and write to sign it if they will feel comfortable to do so. If they will not be willing to sign consent form then like for those who can not read and write the consent will be negotiated verbally.

3.5.3 Privacy and Confidentiality

Assurance of privacy and confidentiality is considered to be a way of reducing people’s fear and encouraging them to take part in the research (Pole & Morrison, 2003). In this study confidentiality and privacy is expected to be assured to both research site and to people involved in the study (Walford, 2008). The study will use pseudonyms for both the site and the participants as a way of concealing peoples’ identities and the information given in that particular study site. This will serve in protecting the people from being hurt since to an ethnographic study like this during observation it is likely that some confidential materials/information may unknowingly fall into the hand of the researcher.

For the protection of data, while in the field the note book and the camera through which some photos will be taken will be kept in my suitcase which will be closed and locked all the time. After field work all the interview transcripts, photographs and field notes will be kept in my laptop having a password only known to me. After coming back to Bristol, all materials will be kept in the university server which is more secure than a mobile device.

3.5.4 Ethical Issues in Pastoral Community

Despite that any research has to abide to the ethical principles established by different research bodies, it is important to note that some principles are challenged for not being sensitive to certain research methods hence unnecessarily constrains research like this one (Murphy and Dingwall, 2001). Besides, various principles are not applicable to some circumstances and contexts as observed in some situation in Tanzania (Makoke, 2005). Based on the pilot study experience therefore, as it is among the Maori (Smith, 1999) ethics in the Maasai pastoral community extends beyond consent, confidentiality and other principles. It requires considerations and respect of Maasai culture and people, listening to people, being generous to people, not criticizing people and not assuming that you know more than they do and other relational issues. It depends more on the quality of the relationship that I will develop with the participants, than following principles. Feminist researchers argue for the considerations of context, personal experiences and nurturing relationships when conceptualizing ethical issues in research (Edward & Mauthner, 2012).

In this regard my ability to develop and manage relationships as experienced in the pilot study is very important in the research process. I have to see to the situation and experiences as it happen in and beyond the field (Pole & Morrison, 2003). My moral sense and the ability to make reasoned decision in the field is very important and may resolve better some of ethical issues arising from ethnography than simply following the regulative codes of practice (Murphy & Dingwall, 2001). I also have to consider the way I will represent the voices of these marginalized community in general and marginalized girls in particular in the writing of the report. I ought to prudently and pertinently handle the situation in order not to disrupt the entire research environment.

3.5.5 Researcher’s Safety

Researcher’s safety is another ethical issue that requires attention in ethnographic research with rural communities (Pole & Morrison, 2003). In the beginning I had planned to conduct this study in Ngorongoro district, but during pilot study I observed that it was not safe for ethnographic research hence moved to Monduli district. Find the discussion in Appendix, A & H. In Monduli district therefore I first established study site which does not experience the problems of constant violent clashes between the Sonjo and the Maasai and does not have dangerous wild animals. Secondly, when taking off for the fieldwork my employer, family and my relatives will be informed and there will be constant communication with them using mobile phones (few areas in the village have access). Third, one of the research assistants is familiar with me as we already met during the pilot study and I was assured by the village leader that he is not a bad person. Besides, I alongside being affiliated with Engaruka Juu primary school which is the known and secured formal institution in the area; the school will also partly ensure my security in the area. I will also be accommodated by one family which I already know and will be part of it, hence receive the necessary care available.

3.5.6 Trustworthiness in the Study

Qualitative researchers strive to ensure that participants’ perspectives are authentically represented in the research process and the interpretations made from information gathered (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Fossey, Harvey, McDermott & Davidson, 2002). Reflexivity therefore is one of the important ways of ensuring authenticity and trustworthiness in this study. It involves my reflections and making explicit the way my social background, position and interest impact the research process, and how participants react to me and research setting (Hennink, 2011). I therefore should be spontaneous in a number of issues throughout the study.

I will have to consider my position and role in the study. This involves an interrogation of my position as insider or outsider throughout the research process. Feminist scholars concerned about the complexity of determining ones position before getting into the field; since this can better be understood by examining the shifting nature of their roles and identities in the field (Hesse-Biber & Piatelli, 2012). In the pilot study I found that people in the Maasai community were sceptical of me as a new comer (I felt I was an outsider) but with time rapport was established and acceptance gained (I regarded myself as insider since I was part of them). I therefore have to continually examine and learn about these shifts and the way they influence my interaction and the quality of data I collect and in the representation of their views/voices in the report.

I ought to be aware of power relations in the entire research process; during planning, field work, transcription and writing of the report. This requires me to recognize the shifting nature of power relations in different stages of research, from one participant to another, between me and participants and in different contexts (Hesse-Biber & Piatelli, 2012). In the pilot study the power difference between me and participants (both male and female) was observed. Women and girls considered me as superior to them. As some one who is town-based and educated, some were even afraid of talking to me. I however had to get down to them, talking to them freely and encouraging them, to show that I am a woman and we still have something we can share. For Some men and boys, thought that as a woman I had nothing to tell them, like any other women in the community. Others requested me to clarify some issues and others asked me to give my opinion on issues like female circumcision. All these however were bridged by establishing good relationship with community members and encouraging them to participate in the study (Hesse-Biber & Piatelli, 2012). In the study I will have to be simple and get down to people in order to gain more trust from them something which may increase participants’ contributions to the study.

Moreover I have to establish good relationship with my participants in the field. I have to show that I care for them, and comfortable being among them and able to cope with their lives (Edward& Mauthner, 2012). In the pilot study I observed that the quality of relationship I will be able to establish will to the large extent influence the trust the community will place in me and the quality of data collected. In this regard I have to listen to the participants, interact with them, answer their questions and sometimes share my experience, establish good rapport with them and enable them to express their feelings freely (Hesse-Biber & Piatelli, 2012).

On top of that in the transcription of interviews and writing of the report, I will also have to ensure that their voices are well represented. I therefore will have to hold back my personal beliefs before making judgement of the phenomenon that emerge from the participants and as observed in the field. Feminist scholars argue that research practices should seek to reveal voices of the marginalized and sound out the silences (Morsley, 2006). I therefore should use the experiences of the pastoral community members and seek to represent their voices authentically in the report (Angrosino & Perez, 2003).

In addition, I have to be reflexive in developing the methodology of the study. Feminist researchers’ believe that knowledge is socially constructed and constitutes multiple realities (Hesse-Biber & Piatelli, 2012). The methodology used therefore should involve the participants and allow them to share their construction of reality. As a way of ensuring trustworthiness I have ensured that the methodology matches with the research problem, methods and the context of the study. In consideration of the focus of the study, the selected interpretive paradigm and ethnographic study that aims at collecting data using the ethnographic interview and participant observation gives ground for gathering varied participants’ standpoints from themselves in their local context so making the study more trustworthy. Since this is an ethnographic study, the longer time I will stay with the participants will also help in developing adequate understanding, relationship and trust with the Maasai, which in turn help in generating data which are more dependable and which are representative of the community itself.

The study will also collect data by using various methods and participants (see part 3.7 and 3.8) as a way of ensuring trustworthiness (LeCompte & Schensul, 2010). This deepens both inquiry and understanding of the studied problem and increases the likelihood that findings emerge from participants. This phenomenon ensures also the conformability and dependability of the study findings (Shenton, 2004). Again, despite that the study does not aim at generalisation, the thick descriptions of the research process will enhance transferability so that the findings can be inferred to other pastoral communities in Tanzania and other parts of the world with similar characteristics by extrapolation from Monduli district members’ points of view (Geertz, 1973). On top of this enough evidence to support the results will be provided as a way of ensuring conformability of findings (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). This will be done by presenting excerpts from the interviews which will be an evidence of the originality of data. This is also a way of representing the voices of the participants in the writing of the report

Besides I shall have frequent de-briefing sessions with my supervisors to share what transpires in the field. This will be done by phone or skype since there will be no possibility of face to face meetings during fieldwork. This shall be used to share experience and discuss if there will be a need of having an alternative approach in relation the kind and scope of the data generated from the proposed approaches.

3.6 Research site

As already mentioned in the preceding discussions the study will be conducted in Monduli District, Engaruka juu village. Monduli district experiences severe challenges in relation to basic primary education provision to girls as discussed in Appendix G. Together with the low literacy rate among children and adults; only a quarter of primary school aged children have access to primary school. Always fewer girls than boys enrol in primary school (DEO, 2011).

I selected Engaruka ward and Engaruka juu village because they lag far behind other areas in Monduli district educationally. In fact the village is the last in the district ranking. About half of the people in Engaruka juu have no education and more men (46%) are educated than women (34%). Of the school aged children in the village, very few girls are enrolled in school compared to boys and the attendance and completion rates among girls in this village are lower compared to that of boys (DEO, 2011; Head teacher, 2012). Find details in part 1.2.2. The study anticipates using various categories of participants whose selection procedure is discussed in the following section.

3.7 Participant Selection

Although it is hard to determine the list of participants before an ethnographic research starts (Walford, 2008); the proposed study anticipates involving different categories of participants, who will be selected using purposive sampling and opportunistic sampling. Purposive selection of participants is commonly used in qualitative studies that intend to gather in-depth qualitative data (Ross & Matthew, 2010). It is usually done to enable the researcher to explore the research questions and not to represent the population.

In this study I will choose participants based on considerations that they possess particular characteristics which will enable me explore and understand the perspectives of the pastoral community members in –depth (Rose & Mathew, 2010; Cohen, et al, 2011). I will select the Maasai traditional leaders (Laigwanan) and the district education officer (DEO) purposively. The two are selected based on the position they hold in relation to pastoral community and Tanzania education system respectively. The Laigwanan is expected to share information related to culture, economy and attitudes of pastoral community members in Monduli district as related to girls’ education. Consideration will be taken to understand the responsibilities they handle and what guides them in order to avoid basing individual’s point of view in relation to girls’ education. DEO is anticipated to inform the study about Tanzania’s education system in general and in relation to formal education provision to pastoral community as whole and to girls in particular.

Children are selected to contribute to the understanding of what is experienced in school and out of school in relation to girls’ education. They will share their understanding of their situation and aspirations to participate in primary education. Parents will enlighten the study on their anticipation and aspirations of sending or not sending the daughters to school, their involvement in education provision, and the kind of education they consider relevant in their context. Elders will inform the study about the cultures and the way decisions are made in the community and the outlook of this cohort and other people in relation to educating girls.

The children (in and out of school), parents and elders will be selected through opportunistic procedure. This selection is done based on the participants’ availability and willingness to participate in the study (Onwuegbuzie, 2007). Selection of out of school children therefore will depend on their availability since most boys move with cattle in search for water and pastures. Parents’ selection will be done from the five homesteads (bomas) estimated reachable during the pilot study; although their actual number will depend on their willingness to participate in the study. Elders will be selected from different homesteads irrespective of distance in order to get a wider wisdom regarding the culture, education history and activities of the community in relation to education provision to girls. The grasp of participants’ views and experiences requires the using various ways/methods. The following section therefore discuses methods that will be used to gather information for the study.

3.8 Data Collection Methods

The study will collect data using participant observation, ethnographic interviews and documentary review. These will be supplemented by photographs where I will find necessary.

3.8.1 Participant Observation

Participant observation is the main research tool in ethnography (Punch, 2005). It requires researchers to make extensive visit to study area observing what happen as well as participating in some activities of the people they are researching (Atkinson & Hammersley 19980). Researchers live and concentrate on participants’ daily activities and are required to preserve the naturalness of the site in order to enable things happen naturally (Denscombe, 2010).

In this regard I will live with pastoral community for three months as a participant as observer to familiarize myself with the Maasai behaviours as lived by them (Angrosino & Perez, 2003). I will first engage myself in holistic observation in order to get the overall picture of the community situation in relation to girls’ basic education. I will there after focus observation on issues, which emerge as important, strange or unusual in relation to girls’ education in the community. I will also observe phenomenon ought not to happen and issues or problems which participants regard as important in relation to girls’ education (Denscombe, 2010). I will observe how people view the situation they face, how they regard one another, how they see themselves, their interactions, relations, division of labour and the general life routine from morning to evening while focusing on the themes of the study.

In this process my identity, presence and research role will be open to participants and other community members (Ross & Matthew, 2010). This is important because in one way or another, my identity will influence what I observe (Angrosino & Perez, 2003). This openness will allow me to closely relate to people and freely observe things in their normal life, culture, activities and other events as related to girls’ education. This is in line with post colonial feminist theory which requires that the researcher becomes conscious of their own gendered and classiest biases while acknowledging that they speak from the position of social privilege (Racine, 2011). In this regard I should be open about my position as a woman, member of the mainstream society in Tanzania, raised, educated, socialized and maintained within the postcolonial system of knowledge at home and now studying abroad. From the pilot study experience, owing my different identity with the Maasai I need to be ordinary in every aspect in carrying out this study because from my appearance the community will consider me as an outsider. I need to be composed while using my skills and effort to establish and maintain relationship which will enable me to gain acceptance and trust by the community and enhance my interaction and simplify my observation. This will also help avoid ethical issues that would arise from misleading the participants about the research role; although I am aware that when they know that they are studied they may change their behaviour.

This method is considered appropriate because participant observation is at the heart of ethnography and is the best way of seeing things as they actually happen in the participants’ context. It will also allow me to enter into close and prolonged relationship and interaction with Maasai in their everyday lives which will allow me to better understand the beliefs, motivations, and behaviours of community in relation to girls’ education than using other approaches (Tedlock, 2000; Angrosino & Perez, 2003). As postcolonial feminist studies require, observation will also enable me to work with women at grassroots level and experience what women experience in their natural setting (Racine, 2011).

Writing field notes is part and parcel of observation. They are the foundations from which ethnographic study is constructed (Fetterman, 2010). They are the ways of reducing observed events, persons and places to a written account (Emerson, et al, 2001). In this study, I will take field notes on daily basis and my recording will base on what will be deemed noteworthy. From the pilot study experience in instances where it will not be acceptable to take notes on the spot (eg in funerals), key events and conversations will be completely reconstructed at a convenient time (ibid, 2010). This means that I will recall and write down this information as quick as possible before absorbing new information.

3.8.2 Ethnographic Interview

In order to capture pastoral community perspectives the study anticipates using ethnographic interview. This is a form of interview that is conducted in a form of relationship with participants with whom the researcher has, established rapport and respect sufficient for genuine conversations that enable shared utilization of meanings the participants relate in their social world (Heyl, 2001). This is good in grasping the native point of view, which is the core of ethnography and in assessing peoples’ perception, meanings, definition of situations and their construction of reality (Punch, 2009; LeCompte, et al, 2010). In this regard I will carry out an in-depth interview using unstructured questions. Interviews will be done alongside observation because it is where I will be related closely to the participants and able to establish enough rapport with the participants which will enable me have enough time and genuine exchange of views with regard to girls education (Heyl, 2001).

This implies therefore that the quality of relationship I will establish with the participants, the duration and frequency of my contact with them and the meaning they attach to actions and events are fundamental in understanding issues of girls’ education in the community from their point of view (Heyl, 2001). I will therefore have to communicate openly and genuinely that I would like to know what participants know in the way they know it. Interviews will be conducted to all categories of participants using different questions to each category. The purpose is to ensure that voices from all segments of the local society are represented in the study. Interviews will be done more than once across participants and the length will depend on participants’ convenience.

Feminist researchers prefer ethnographic interview because it helps in hearing peoples’ voices, ideas, memories and interpretation of their own worlds, to hear difference among people and meaning they construct with regard to certain social phenomenon (Racine, 2011). In this regard the study considers ethnographic interview appropriate as it gives freedom to participants to use their own words to develop their own views about girls’ education (Denscombe, 2010). It will therefore increase participants’ ability to develop detailed, coherent narratives and trace with the interviewer how they have made sense of events and experiences. It gives the participants equal opportunity in hearing and representing their voices because it will enable them to shape their world in accordance to their own understanding and in accordance with the focus of the study (Heyl, 2001).

From the pilot study experience, ethnographic interview is a flexible way of gaining insights about peoples’ behaviours, opinion, beliefs, feelings, emotions, and experience about their social life, culture, economic activities and their relationship provision of basic education to girls. It is also a good way of exploring the way decisions are made in relation to girls’ education, the meaning people attach to experience and other contextual issues surrounding their thinking about girls’ formal education.

3.9 Data Analysis Methods

In ethnographic studies data analysis is an on going exercise and description is the bedrock of ethnographic analysis (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006). The researcher is therefore required to be exposed to data collection and analysis procedures simultaneously. Although there exists different ways of analysing ethnographic data, this study will use the following methods.

3.9.1 Narrative Analysis

Narrative analysis is an approach to analysis of qualitative data that emphasizes the stories that people employ to account for events (Bryman 2008). All narratives are concerned with what is said, written or visually shown (Riessman, 2008). Although there are various narrative analysis models such as structural analysis, interactional analysis and performative analysis (Riessman, 2004); this study will use thematic analysis which focuses on what is said (Riessman, 2008). This is commonly adopted by studies that develop their knowledge from interpretive, phenomenology and hermeneutics because it enables them uncover studied issues thematically.

In the context of the current interpretive ethnographic study, narrative thematic analysis will be used to analyse stories from in-depth interview, informal conversations and participants’ observations that will be carried out with all categories of the participants. This analysis according to Riessman (2008) make use of the ‘told’ (content of the speech) by the informants in reporting events and experiences rather than the aspect of telling (minimal focus on how the narrative is spoken).

In particular I will adopt the analysis outline provided by (Riessman, 2008 p.57-58). Following this layout I will be able to grasp, evaluate and interpret stories as they are composed in the interview and observation materials. After transcription and translation of data from Kiswahili to English; the following layout will guide my analysis:

I will work with a single interview at a time, separating and putting in order relevant events and experience into sequential life history explanation. It will help me to become familiar with what data entails and I will give attention to pattern that occur in the data.

Then I will identify the underlying beliefs/viewpoint in each account and code them. Here I will develop comprehensive codes

There after I will choose particular themes to identify pattern and variations that arise from the data. I will combine codes to form themes and then the underlying assumptions of different themes will be compared with the purpose of giving holistic picture of the accounts.

I will generate excerpts of fair length from interviews that will be interspersed in the written report. I will have to see how themes support the data.

Lastly I will write a research report, where I will provide the detailed description of the results.

Trahar (2009) asserts that narrative inquirers do not collect stories for their own sake and that identifying meanings embedded in them is intrinsic to the entire process and Riessman (2005) criticizes thematic narrative analysis for not attending to language form and interaction. Nonetheless, it is considered appropriate for this study and was used with the pilot data to identify patterns, themes and accounts of events arising across interviews. Since the study anticipates using various categories of precipitants, it will help to develop a holistic understanding of diverse community members’ perspectives. It is also appropriate in comprehending contextual influence of the narrator about the girls’ education because as they will be telling stories participants will be giving some explanation and interpretations of those events (Cortazz, 2001). This will make it easier for me to understand the world of the participants. Emerging issues from the pilot study are presented in Appendix A which were identified through thematic narrative analysis of interview transcripts in Appendices B, C and D and observational data presented in Appendix F.

3.10 Conclusion

The discussion in the chapter has shown the way the choice of ethnography is related to study’s philosophical perspectives and intension of exploring community members’ perspectives with regard to girls’ education. The methods for data collection will enable me to relate closely to participants in order to develop a deeper understanding of people’s context and experience. Ethical considerations are more relational hence I have to develop quality relationship with participants. In the analysis and the writing of the report, I will give close attention to the representation of participant voices as members of a marginalized group within society and the voice of girls and women in particular, as a group that are marginalized within their society. This is based on postcolonial feminist considerations for the need to consider that the subjugated voices from marginalized groups are acknowledged in a research process (Hesse-Biber and Piatelli, 2012). As feminist researchers I ought to create a situation in which marginalized pastoral groups in general and girls in particular can speak for themselves and participate in defining different issues that relate to girls education (Ibid, 2012).