Chapter 3

Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design

This study is prompted by the lack of existing research on relation between quality of life

and helping attitude among the old age peoples. The decision to use a qualitative research

methodology for this project was based on the context that the intent of this study was to explore,

understand and explain the experiences of the people in this group (Patton, 1990). Being able to

explore ways in which people understand and interpret their social reality is one of the hallmarks

of qualitative research (Grewal et al., 2004). In-depth interviews were conducted as the emphasis

of this study was on the processes and meanings as emergent from the participants’ experiences

(Denzin & Lincoln, 2000).

The particular intent of this project was to understanding the co-relation of Quality of

Life and helping attitude among these older adults. As Grewal and colleagues maintain, as the

meaning of Quality of Life can be explained and experienced differently among different ethnic

groups, a qualitative approach is optimal to gain an in depth understanding of this concept in

older community (Nandan, 2007). Furthermore, this approach helps to ensure that the

information gained was based on older people’s accounts of the issues which are relevant and

meaningful from their subjective perspectives (Grewal et al., 2004).

This study used convenience sampling as the primary way of recruiting participants.

Different locations (of Multan-Punjab) were chosen where members of this group frequent

weekly to participate in activities. Although attempts were made to solicit an equal number of

males and females for this project, due to participant availability and willingness to be
interviewed, in the end five women and three men were interviewed. The inclusion criteria for

participants were that they were Urdu speaking or at least were able to converse in English and

60+ years of age. The older adult who attend these conversations were all urban dwellers.

It used comparative analysis as a technique to examine the status of old age persons’ life

and their attitude in the present era. Because there are currently two broad research approaches,

namely quantitative and qualitative research. Case based design has been chosen for this study

where the quality of life relation towards old age peoples helping behavior has discussed,

evaluated, and interpreted qualitatively. Inductive strategy is used for this study because this

approach is from specific to general. Data has been collected and analyzed qualitatively.

3.2 Theoretical Framework

Based on a critical review of the current literature on quality of life and social support,

I established in the previous chapter the theoretical framework of this study. My discussion about

the subjective approach to studying quality of life, together with the critique of the objective

approach provided the methodological basis for this study. This chapter provides a detailed

discussion of my methodological framework and methods adopted for data collection and

analysis. My choice of qualitative methodology is determined by the research purpose, which

focuses on the perceptions of individuals rather than objective measures of quality of life.

Surveying the methods commonly used by previous researchers, I present a rationale for

choosing semi-structured in-depth interviews and secondary data analysis as the two methods for

this research. I do so while critically evaluating and discussing alternative methods.

I further detail the application of semi-structured in-depth interviews, including sampling,

recruitment, interview schedule design, inquiry techniques, and the approaches used to analyze
data. Towards the end of the chapter, I reflect on my position as a researcher in the context of the

project and discuss the reliability and validity of qualitative methods and data.

The subjective approach to studying an individuals’ quality of life emphasizes the

perceptions and interpretations of their lived experience. The rationale behind the subjective

approach is that quality of life can be defined by people’s conscious experiences – in terms of

affective appraisal or cognitive evaluation (Diener & Suh, 1997). Therefore, as Campbell (1972,

p. 442) has cogently pointed out, “the quality of life must be in the eye of the beholder”. This

notion forms the cornerstone of the overall methodological framework of this research. As a

cognitive ‘construct’, subjective quality of life is shaped by collective notions of the good life, as

well as the individual’s own evaluation of their life (Veenhoven, 2008).

3.3 Research Methods

The qualitative methodological framework of this study consists of two

research methods – secondary data analysis and semi-structured in-depth

interviews. The following section details the rationale for choosing these two

qualitative methods for my research. Secondary data analysis was conducted

at the early stage of this research. This was crucial because it helped to

clarify the research questions and the nature of the research cohort. Most

importantly, it guided the design of the sampling procedure and interview

questions. The semi-structured in-depth interviews were then conducted to

generate the primary data for this study.

3.3.1 Secondary Data Analysis

The sources of secondary data used in this study were primarily from government

statistics and documents, published and unpublished reports released by the United Nations and
other government or non-government organizations. Reports and statistics relating to the ageing

population were surveyed to obtain an overall understanding of elderly peoples. The purpose

of using secondary data analysis in this study was twofold. First, it provided

fundamental information for the research design. The analysis of statistics

helped to build demographic knowledge about the research topic, which

subsequently guided the design of the sampling and interview questions.

Second, secondary data analysis was used as a strategy to identify, explore,

and understand different dimensions of the topic by studying the research of

other scholars, thereby strengthening the findings of this study and enriching

the interpretations (Given, 2008, pp. 892-894).

3.3.2 Semi-structured In-depth Interviews

Interviews are a common means for collecting data in quality of life research. More

specifically, this study employed semi-structured in-depth interviews. Compared to researcher-

dominated structured interviews or participant-oriented unstructured interviews, semi-structured

in-depth interviews allow the researcher/interviewer to retain some control over the direction and

content of the interview yet provides participants sufficient flexibility to take the interview in

unexpected but related directions. This approach encouraged informants to provide a first person

account “in their own words” (Packer, 2011, p. 43). During semi-structured interviews, the

conversation “oscillates among the researcher’s introduction of the topic under investigation, the

participant’s account of his or her experiences, and the researcher’s probing for further

information” (Given, 2008, p. 422). The purpose of the in-depth interviews was to gain deep

understanding of the topic. The word ‘deep’ carries two meanings: first, the interviewer seeks to

achieve the same level of knowledge and understanding of the topic as the participants and in-
depth interviews are a way to learn the meanings of participants’ actions. Second, in-depth

interviews go beyond commonsense explanations and aim to “explore the contextual boundaries

of experiences or perceptions, to uncover what is usually hidden from ordinary view, or to

penetrate to more reflective understandings about the nature of that experience” (Johnson, 2002,

pp. 106-108).

Data collection was undertaken by conducting in-depth face to face interviews. The

interviews lasted from 52 minutes to 77 minutes in length. Prospective participants were first

contacted by telephone and asked if they might be interested in this project. If the response was

favourable, a time was set at a location convenient for the participant. At the outset of the

interview session, I provided an overview of the study and sought formal written consent from

the older adult to participate in the interview. Interviews were conducted in English, digitally

recorded and transcribed verbatim. This study used a semi structured interview guide with 8-10

probing questions. Interviews began with a structured questionnaire collecting demographic

information such as education, residencel, employment and general health histories to set the

context (See Appendix C); a summary of the demographic information of the participants is

presented in Table 1.

A pre-designed interview schedule was used to facilitate and guide the interview process

(See Appendix C). Both background contextual questions and open-ended questions were

included so that participants could talk at length about their personal circumstances and

experiences in regard to migration and social support. During the interviews, I followed the

interview schedule to make sure that key issues were discussed, while at the same time paying

close attention to newly emerging themes as well as outliers from the participants’ responses. I

then used probing questions to discover how these themes were related to the topic under
investigation. During the interviews, I encouraged the participants to recall their past life stories

when they were describing or evaluating their current life. By using this approach, this study

successfully avoided the snapshot view of quality of life, and addressed how elderly migrants

link their past life to present quality of life.

Table 1: Participants’ Demographic Profile

Living
Gender DOB Marital Status Education Occupation
Arrangement
Female 1953 Married High School Seamstress Alone

Female 1952 Widowed Less than High School Seamstress With Son

Male 1959 Married University Degree Accountant Alone

Female 1951 Widowed High School Nurse With Daughter

Female 1958 Widowed University Degree Teacher Husband & Son

Male N/A Married Less than High School Book Keeper IT Expert

Male 1961 Widowed High School Businessman Mechanic

Female N/A Divorced High School House Wife Husband

The current literature helped identify relevant substantive issues used to structure the interview

guide. Issues were identified in the different domains of quality of life amongst immigrant older

adults, which helped to guide the probes. However, due to the level of English comprehension,

on certain occasions, the researcher needed to rephrase questions and use examples to help

expand the answers of the respondents. Examples of quality of life issues that were explored

were how the respondent perceived their physical, psychological, cognitive and spiritual health,

and the reasons for their perceptions. This study has operationally defined social capital to

include social support networks and involvement in traditional culture. These two overarching
ideas and were used as probes to discover how both of them may influence quality of life .

Interviewees enjoyed speaking about certain topics particularly religion and spiritual

experiences, and they were encouraged to elaborate. The interview was structured around the

interview guide comprised of overarching questions based on the literature around quality of life

and helping attitude among old age peoples.

Although I belong to the same community as the participants, I needed to build rapport

by creating a reciprocal relationship, showing genuine interest and making the participants feel

comfortable in the interviews. I needed to gain their trust to allow for a candid and open

discussion. Out of respect to the older adults and in accordance with customs of this culture, I

had a cup of tea with them and inquired about their family. When I visited the respondents’

homes, I was served lunch and had pre-interview discussions with all the participants which

sometimes lasted upwards of 75 minutes. Spending this extra social time with the older adults

allowed me to build rapport with them and enhance their comfort level. This method seemed to

be effective, as in several interviews, the participants seemed to open up by sharing their spiritual

experiences and letting out emotions.

3.4 Sample
Given the qualitative nature of this research, my sampling did not aim to be

representative. Instead, richness and sufficient depth of information was the major concern so

that the phenomenon being studied could be described fully (Fossey et al., 2002). To these ends,

a purposive sampling approach was employed to collect information from the targeted cohort.

Although the original intent of this research was to recruit a maximum quantity of elderly

persons but I stopped interviewing when I had 8 participants. The reason is that at that point I

was confident that subsequent participants would offer no new relevant data, but only
corroborating information. This situation signaled that “theoretical saturation” had been reached

(Bryman, 2008, p. 416).

3.4.1 Sample Type and Structure

This research is based on a purposive sample, and three criteria were

used to recruit my participants.

1. Both male and female old age participants

2. Aged 60 years and over;

3. Living in Pakistan.

In the pilot interviews, the participants who had lived in Pakistan

demonstrated distinctions between Quality of Life and their helping attitude.

The original sampling strategy was designed to pursue a gender balance quota. In addition, there

was a distinct age difference between male and female participants. When the interviews were

conducted, the average age of male and female participants was 74.2 and 65.2 respectively.

Although realizing that studying ethnic elders might generate some

interesting findings related to this topic, I feared that the social and cultural

distinctions between them might make it difficult to draw valid research

conclusions. I decided that studying social support and quality of life among

elderly could produce more policy-significant findings for the selected type of

research.

3.4.2 Participant Recruitment

Participants were recruited through personal networks. Initial contacts were made with

several neighbors and friends who fitted the participant criteria or had family members who did

so. In doing so, I not only asked the person in charge to help by passing on the research flyers,
but also visited several community places to gain access to potential participants. In order to

facilitate the recruitment process, I also used direct approaches to access potential participants.

As some scholars suggest, direct approaches to older people are most successful in gaining

access (Rubinstein, 2002; Wenger, 2002). This is primarily because rapport is easier to establish

when the potential participant receives a face-to-face invitation in a public place and can see the

interviewer and form an impression of them.

3.5 Conducting the Interviews

The field work was conducted during the month of September, 2018. A number of

important ethical issues, including informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity were

considered in the design and implementation of this study.

I started each interview with a brief introduction of myself and the research project.

Participants were asked to sign the Consent form (Appendix C). The two documents informed

participants about how the interview would be conducted and how their data would be used and

protected. Issues associated with voice-recording and anonymity was then discussed. Data

security and participant confidentiality was assured. During the interviews, participants were free

to interrupt or to ask at any time that the recorder should be stopped. At the end of the

interviews, I reiterated the participant’s right to withdraw data within two weeks. A copy of the

interview transcript was sent to the participants if they required. They were also welcome to

make further contact with the researcher if they had additional comments.

Interviewing older people, as Wenger (2002) states, should not be conceived as a one-

size-fits-all set of procedures. It is a form of inquiry that should take into account the diversity of

older people. As people grow older, they are more likely to become frail and bereaved, to suffer

from mobility and hearing problems, and to need health services. Thus, interviewing people in
their 80s or 90s is different from interviewing healthier young elders in their 60s and 70s. In this

study, several participants were suffering from chronic illness or hearing impairment. To ensure

the quality of interviews, specific strategies were developed.

All the interviews were saved in written form and fully transcribed by myself to avoid

information loss during data processing. This procedure was important for the subsequent

detailed analysis and ensured that the participants’ responses were captured in their own words.

Field notes were taken during the interviews and analyzed together with the interview transcripts.

Much of the detail based on observations was included in the field notes. For example, unusual

facial expressions or body language contradictory to the content of the narrative were noted. In

order to eliminate difficulties and mistakes when transcribing, unique terms or unclear accents

used by participants were also clarified and noted during the interviews.

3.6 Data Analysis

The analysis of qualitative interviews is a process of reviewing, synthesizing and

interpreting data to describe and explain the phenomena being studied (Fossey et al. 2002). In

this study, thematic analysis was employed due to the nature of the research topic and of the

research data. By using thematic analysis, the interview data “are segmented, categorized,

summarized, and reconstructed in a way that captures the important concepts within the data set”

(Given, 2008, p. 867).

In this study, all the interview transcripts were analyzed in their original language.

According to Suh, Kagan and Strumpf (2009), if not handled appropriately, the timing of

translation can significantly influence the findings of a study. They suggest that the post-analysis

translation approach can help capture “explicit and implicit meanings embedded in the Asian

language, as well culturally specific expressions and concepts” (Suh et al., 2009, p. 198).
Therefore, in this study, the interview transcripts were analyzed in Chinese and only illustrative

verbatim comments of the participants were later translated into English when writing this thesis.

The translations of their direct quotations were also edited to ensure that they were

grammatically correct in English. The post-analysis translation approach not only saved my time

from the full translation, but also avoided losing the original meanings of the participant

narratives in the process of translation.

3.7 Delimitations

The findings and analysis of this research is only applicable on the novels written by Bapsi

Sidhwa. The reason is that such situations and circumstances are only present in her novels.

These findings and analysis cannot be applicable on the other novels of any writer because every

writer has his/her own perceptions regarding the specific issues.

The analysis and results of this research study is limited. The results can only be applicable on

the selected novels of Bapsi Sidhwa. However the scope of this study is very broad.
 Appendix A
Background of Elder’s Questionnaire
1. What is your Gender?

■ Male ■ Female ■ Other

2. When were you born?

Ans:

3. What is your current marital Status?

■ Married ■ In a relationship ■ Divorced/separated ■ Widowed ■ Never married

4. What is the highest level of education that you have attained?

■ Less than high school ■ High school graduate ■ Some college or university

■ College diploma or other specialized non-degree training ■ University degree

5. What is/was your occupation?

Ans:

6. Who do you live with?

Ans:
 Appendix B
Participant Consent Form
‘Relation between Quality of Life and Helping Attitude among Elderly
Peoples’
M.A Student Name:

I have read the Participant Information Sheet and understand the

nature of this research. I understand that taking part in this study is
voluntary and I have the opportunity to have my questions answered to my
satisfaction.
 I agree to take part in this research.
 I understand that the interview will take half to 1 hour of my time.
 I understand that I may withdraw myself from the interview at any
time, and I may withdraw my data within two weeks of participating in
the interview.
 I agree/ do not agree that the interview be digitally recorded.
 I understand that I may ask to stop the recorder at any time during the
interview for any reason.
 I understand that the interview will be conducted, transcribed and
translated by . Only his/her supervisors will have access to this
data, helping to protect the confidentiality of the interviewees.
 I understand that if the information I provide is reported/published, this
will be done in a way that does not identify me as its source. However,
confidentiality and anonymity cannot be fully guaranteed.
 I understand that all the data will be kept for 6 years, after which they
will be destroyed.
 I wish/ do not wish to have a copy of the transcript of interview
recording.
 I wish/ do not wish to receive a copy of the summary of research
findings.
Name ___________________________

Signature ___________________________ Date ___________________________

 Appendix C
Interview Guide
General
 Could you please describe what it was like for you to immigrate to Canada?
 What were some successes and challenges during immigration? How did you overcome them?
Can you please describe your health history after you immigrated to Canada?
Social Support Network
 “Sense of belonging” is the feeling being involved, accepted and fitting into the environment you
are in. How would you describe your sense of belonging in this community?
 Would you like to be more connected? If no, why not? If so, can you think of any ways to
encourage this for yourself and other resident’s?
 Can you describe the types of relationships you have?
 How would you describe your social interactions with your family? Friends? Community?
 Can you describe the impact your social life has had on your overall health?

Involvement in Traditional Culture

 Can you describe to me the importance of your culture on your quality of life? What is most
important about your culture?
 How has being involved in your culture affected your quality of life?
 Can you explain some obstacles which you have encountered due to your culture?
 Can you describe some ways your culture has helped or supported you?
 Can you describe your role or type of participation in your community?

Unmet needs
 Do you have other needs that you feel are not being met? (physical, social, emotional,
spiritual) If so, what are they and how are those not being addressed?
 How do you feel they should be addressed?