Data collection techniques

According to Cosley and Lury (1987) the case study method usually uses a mixture of methods (more than one), including the use of informants for past and current details, personal observation and the study of relevant documents. Yin (1989), on the other hand, suggests that a case study use as many methods as possible. Three techniques were used for the study.

3.5.1 Semi-structured Interviews

Interviews are a common feature of qualitative research methodology and there are a variety of possible forms and array of uses. One may conduct individual or group interviews, structured, unstructured or semi-structured interviews to access people’s perceptions, meanings, definitions and constructions of reality (Punch, 1998). They can be done face-to-face and one-to-one, in written form with the researcher sending typed questions and receiving typed responses via a computer network, telephonically and through simultaneous video transmission (Murray Thomas, 2003).

The limitations of interviews are that they take up a lot of time since they require meetings (Murray Thomas, 2003), they take a great deal of time to transcribe and analyse (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 1996), the researcher receives different information from different people and may not always be able to make interview comparisons (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) and the subjects may be reluctant with sharing what the interviewer hopes to explore (Marshall and Rossman, 1999).

I used individual semi-structured interviews as a primary data collection method. The planned period of interviewing was mid-March to mid-April 2005. After deciding the form the interview would take, I drew up a semi-structured interview schedule for the

categories of the subjects to interview. These categories comprised the research subjects at Makana Local Municipality and a few from outside the Makana area. Subjects were selected using purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is a type of sampling in which subjects that fit a study are selected based on the researcher’s assessment. Members of Makana Municipality bargaining structures and members of key organisations of the study (ANC, SACP, SAMWU, SALGA and SALGBC) were selected.

After the schedule was drawn up, I then moved to a process of identifying specific subjects to interview. The process of identification involved searching organisation websites and conducting telephonic enquiries to find the people who were best suited to provide responses to the questions. The result of the process of enquiry was a list of contacts that were reached for interviews. The case study was based on Makana Municipality and most of the subjects were from Grahamstown. National representatives of SAMWU were included for a holistic perspective of issues. Time and resources did not allow for an analysis for the other key organisations at those levels as well.

After the particular subjects were selected, it was possible to begin the thorough interview process. Some of the interviews were undertaken in person in personal offices and others were conducted over the telephone during working hours. In each case, the subject received a briefing of the purpose of the research where the interview information would be used, and was made aware of their anonymity in the research. Most of the interviews were tape-recorded to enable the researcher to easily refer back to the data. In view of this, consent for the tape-recording was sought from the subject before the interview was conducted. These steps were taken to maintain good ethics which are so highly esteemed in social science research (Punch, 1998:281).

The estimated time frame of one month of interviewing was reconsidered as the research unfolded. The interview process was extended to early July 2005. Many interviews were postponed because of busy schedules. Most of the interviews (personal and telephonic) were conducted at places of work and during working hours, which may have constrained responses. Some subjects eventually declined being interviewed because of unavailability. This necessitated replacements and even

abandonment of some of the subjects. Some unrecorded interviews were done intermittently with SAMWU members and representatives. Notes were taken of these. After the interview process was completed the interviews were then transcribed for analysis. Interviews were conducted again between July 2007 and August 2007 to augment the interview data obtained in 2005.

3.5.2 Observation

Observation entails the “systematic” noting and recording of behaviours, events and objects in their natural social setting. It incorporates “listening” and “looking” (Marshall and Rossman, 1999). Punch (1998) differentiates between “structured” and “unstructured” observations. In the former, the researcher uses a detailed, pre- developed observation schedule to develop predetermined categories and classification and in the latter, the researcher makes observations in an open-ended manner as events naturally occur (Punch, 1998). Conducting observations tends to be very flexible, allowing the researcher to “easily shift focus as new data come to light” (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001:158).

Observations can, nonetheless, be problematic. They tend to be potentially very time consuming (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 1996). A major disadvantage is that written notes may not capture the “richness” of what is being observed (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001). The presence of a video or tape recorder may very well alter behaviour or even be undependable, and this leads to errors in interpretation. I followed the “unstructured” method of observation to observe subjects during the interview process, SAMWU members at two strikes (July 2005) and two SAMWU general meetings at the site (August and November 2005). Field notes were taken at these events in as detailed manner as possible and transferred into a journal.