CHAPTER THREE - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the methodology that was used in this study. The term 'methodology'
is used here to show a number of general and specific methods and approaches used to make
this study a reality. It gives an outline of the methods used by the participants’ entry into the
research sites, methods used when collecting data and those used during for exits from the
sites. The key elements here will be the research approach, research design, target population,
sample size and sampling procedures. Others will include the instruments for data collection,
data collection procedure, data presentation, data analysis and research ethics. Here the
researcher identifies, defines, explains and justifies each component used for the purpose of
clarity.
3.2 Research Approach
A research approach is a broad procedure in collecting, organising and presenting evidence
that a researcher chooses to apply in guiding a study in the selection, planning and using
specific methods including suitable designs, sampling, collection data, presenting of findings
and in discussing the findings. In line with this research topic, the choice of the qualitative
approach to guide the study has been found to be appropriate (Chilisa and Preece, 2005 and
Creswell, 2009 and Patton, 2015). This approach allows researchers to investigate, explore,
describe and explain the everyday lives of the researched as individuals and collectively.
3. 3 Research Design
A research design is a specific plan or framework or types of strategy of inquiry that
strategically explains how a researcher intends to conduct a specific study. Patton (2015: 244)
observed that Since this study will be a qualitative inquiry whose intent was to explore
components of culture, the indigenous technologies and cultural, the ethnography as a design
was found suitable as it helped the study search for in-depth study and construct culture-
oriented knowledge through the interaction of the researcher and the researched in the
researched people's way of life, their knowledge systems and their lived experiences. (Chilisa
and Preece, 2005, Creswell, 2009, Yin, 2010, Patton, 2015).
Mouton (2011: 149-150) advises that “Ethnographic research can use case studies in
qualitative studies with the aim of providing in-depth descriptions of small numbers. As a
result, ethnographic principles such as the engaging in intense fieldwork for six months while
living among the Batoka and Baleya people was prominent (the researcher may not live
longer as strict ethnographic requirements. Bryman (2004: 293) citing Wolcott (1995) calls
this “micro-ethnography … where a researcher focuses only on a particular topic and can use
a few weeks to a couple of months in an organisations or community as a fulltime or part-
time worker.”
3.4 Target Population
This is a large and universal set of people affected by a given problem where research is to be
conducted. A population is where a sample will be selected from to represent all the elements
of the whole. It is where the findings of a study apply. In quantitative and mixed methods
research, a population is an identified group to which the findings are generalised. This
study's population will largely be constituted by Batoka and Baleya people. Since in
qualitative research numbers and statistics are not very critical in determining the population,
what is more relevant was the categories of informed respondents as sources of primary data
on IKSs and indigenous knowledge of Batoka and Baleya people. The key subjects of this
population will be young people (boys and girls), the middle-aged men and women and the
local sages such as local experts in language, indigenous knowledge and indigenous
technologies including some traditional custodians of Batoka and Baleya people's culture.
Others will be government officials who deal with chiefs and traditional affairs and culture.
3.5 Sample size
This is the constituency where respondents and subjects of the study come from. This study
will heavily rely on the sampling frame of local sages such as experts in language, experts in
indigenous technologies and traditional custodians of the people's culture. Others will be
government officials in culture and traditional affairs, ordinary adults and young men and
women in the chiefdoms in question. Three (3) focus group discussions will be used in the
three chiefdoms (one for boys and girls in each chiefdom made up of 6-8 participants per
group resulting into 21 boys and girls). The study will sample seven (7) middle aged men and
women and seven (7) cultural sages/experts and cultural custodians to attain data saturation,
six (6) government officers (three (3) district cultural officers of Zimba, Kalomo, Kazungula
and Livingstone, one (1) Provincial Cultural Officer based in Choma and one (1) officer in-
charge of cultural heritage at the National Heritage and Conservation Authority in
Livingstone and one (1) from Lusaka National Museum. A total of fourty-one (41)
participants will actually be involved (Lincoln and Guba, 1985 and Yin, 2010).
3.6 Sampling procedures
A sampling procedure is a specific method a researcher chooses to use in a study to select
would be respondents or participants in a study. Since this will be a qualitative study, it will
use non-random methods to select respondents. The key sampling techniques will be
purposive and snowball (Kombo and Tromp, 2013). The purposive method is a method by
which a researcher targets specific participants or groups that are well vested with knowledge
related to the research topic. This method will be applied to cultural gate-keepers in the three
chiefdoms, government officials in culture and traditional affairs and cultural heritage,
ordinary adults and young men and women in the three chiefdoms in question. On the other
hand, the snowball procedure is also a non-random sampling technique which enables a
researcher to use local people to identify one or a couple of informants who in turn lead the
researcher to others. This tracing continues until the researcher is satisfied that no new data
emerges (data saturation) to end data collection. The snowball technique will be used to trace
some sages (experts) in IK and indigenous technologies as key informants that also helped in
identifying or referring to other sages while the researcher will be in the field (Chilisa and
Preece, 2005 and Creswell, 2009).
3.7 Instruments for data collection
Research instruments are specific tools a researcher employs to collect data from participants
specifically and from the field in general. The instruments can be structured (for quantitative
studies), unstructured (for qualitative research) and semi-structured (for the mixed methods).
This study will be qualitative in nature and thus it will rely on unstructured tools such as
unstructured interviews for sages, young adults, cultural gate-keepers and government
officials. The researcher will also utilised Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) for boys and
girls, smartphone camera and field notes for some observation and other data. Field notes will
be used to collect data on what the researcher heard, observed and experienced during the
fieldwork.
3.8 Presentation of research findings
The findings of this study were highly qualitative and thus appropriate means of presenting
such findings were used. Data will first be cleaned for relevance, clarity and consistency
before being coded qualitatively and categorized according to the research objectives in
respect to major and sub themes emerging from data. The sub-themes will be placed under
major themes hence the use of the thematic approach (TA) to present the findings. These
themes and sub-themes will create headings and sub-headings for chapter four and five.
Tables, pictures and voices of respondents.
3.9 Discussion of research findings
This is the systematic way of arranging findings to ensure that data has meaning. The
discussion of findings is important as it helps the researcher to reduce the amount of data
while maintaining the needed meaning of the research findings. This study will use the
thematic analysis guided by objectives and research questions.
Chapter summary
The chapter has presented constructivism as the research paradigm that guides the study, the
qualitative approach used, and specific methods used in sampling and how data was to be
collected, presented and analysed.
The next chapter presents the findings of the study based on the data collected from the field.