ENCOUNTERING THE FIELD: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS
ANALYSING THE DATA
In adherence with the grounded theory tradition, I began analysing the data concurrent to conducting interviews with participants. This approach allowed the research topics to develop somewhat ‘organically’ and, importantly, for the dataset to become richer over time as I probed different points of interest at different stages of the research. This, I believe, resulted in a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the topic than had I conducted interviews and then analysed the data in a linear fashion.
With the permission of participants, interviews were audio recorded. Audio files were then transferred to a password protected laptop computer and labelled with the pseudonym assigned to the participant. Interviews were transcribed verbatim in a Word document. All identifying data were removed from the data during the transcription process. Memos (see Appendix F) were written during the transcription process, and notes were also made in the transcripts. Coding, following Strauss and Corbin (1994; also Corbin & Strauss, 2008), involved two overlapping early stages – open coding and axial coding – followed by the later stage of selective coding.
The initial, or ‘open’, round of coding involved studying the transcripts closely, by asking questions of the data and making comparisons, and identifying key anecdotes and phrases contained in the data (Charmaz, 2006; see also Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Glaser,
1978; Kelle, 2007; Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990, 1994; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). During the open coding stage I remained open-minded and coded with a ‘brainstorming’ approach to ensure that the data remained open to all possibilities and potentials (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Data (anecdotes and/or phrases) were labelled with a category, or set of categories, that summarised the essence of the participant’s statement (for an example, see Figure 3 below). The term ‘category’ is used to identify the initial, descriptive level of open coding (Bazely, 2009; Corbin & Strauss, 2008).
The second ‘axial’ stage of coding often occurred in tandem with open coding. The processes were not sequential, though axial coding could not occur without some degree of open coding having first occurred. Axial coding involved mining the initial categories to identify and develop concepts, and to identify relationships between categories (Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). That is, to reassemble the data that were deconstructed during the initial phase of open coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). The term ‘concept’ is used to identify this more abstract level of coding, in which themes and theory begin to be identified – or emerge from the data (Bazely, 2009; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Axial coding involved identifying relationships and commonalities between categories and developing concepts by interrogating these relationships and commonalities (see Figure 3). In this way, codes were deducted based on the information contained in the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1994).
Figure 3: Diagram illustrating example coding process
Open and axial coding were continuously undertaken, and interviews continued to be conducted until I determined that conceptual saturation had occurred (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Saturation was deemed to have occurred once new interviews were not yielding new concepts or categories and the research process had therefore accounted for variation. At this point, data collection ceased and open/axial coding was finalised. Once data collection had been completed and the open and axial stages of coding were largely finished, the data were transferred to NVivo to allow for easier management (Bazeley & Jackson, 2013). Here, the concepts and categories developed during open and axial coding were recorded in NVivo. The process of re-recording categories and concepts acted as a pseudo third stage of coding. Through this process some categories and concepts were clarified, and occasionally, categories or concepts were added as a result of this clarification process.
CONCLUSION
In this chapter I have presented the methodology and methods that I employed in the current research. I designed this study using a combination of approaches from the grounded theory tradition(s), including developing a set of research questions based on existing knowledge and assumptions prior to entering the field; theoretical and purposive sampling of participants using a number of different recruitment techniques; semi- structured interviewing; and three rounds of coding conducted simultaneously to interviewing with the aim to develop a set of key themes and/or findings that arise from the data. In this chapter I have also reflected on the nature of the field in terms of Mumbai as a city (also discussed further in the next chapter) as well as my subjectivity and positionality as a researcher.
Before moving to the empirical chapters of this thesis, I wish to make a brief note on limitations and boundaries of the study. While this study strives to honestly reflect the experiences of participants, it is limited by the very nature of research. Qualitative research produces reams of rich data, however, a need to focus on the research question means that not all experiences and opinions can be unpacked within this thesis. A second limitation of this study lies in generalisability. The breadth and complexity of India means that ‘the Indian experience’ is multifaceted and irreducible.
While I have attempted to account for and be sensitive to variations and intricacies, I must acknowledge that I will not be able to cater to all perspectives. I was also unable to access Muslim student participants, despite this minority being a significant portion of Mumbai’s population. This was likely a shortfall resulting from snowball sampling, as well as a possibility that less Muslim students seek international education compared to other religions and communities due to their lower socio-economic status as a community (Khan, 2007; Basant, 2007). There is also a possibility that Muslims access international education via different channels or agents/counsellors to those that I was able to recruit to the study. Lastly, the present fieldwork site is incredibly fluid and complex, making it difficult to understand and anticipate. The current research aims to capture and explore complexities raised in the data. It does not, however, aim to present totalising understandings of India or Mumbai – such a task is folly. With these limitations in mind, the chapters that follow present empirical data collected form fieldwork in Mumbai.