DATA COLLECTION .1The Sample

4.6.1.1 Sample Selection

Arkava and Lane (cited in De Vos, 2001) explain that a sample represents the population considered for actual inclusion in the study. Qualitative research usually focuses on using small, purposefully selected samples, so that an in-depth understanding of a phenomenon can be obtained (Patton, 2002).

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112 Moustakas (1994, p. 107) cites the following criteria as essential parameters for the

selection of participants: the research participant must have experienced the phenomenon of interest to this study, must be interested in understanding its nature and meanings, must be willing to participate in a lengthy interview (and perhaps a follow-up interview), and must grant the investigator the right to tape record, possibly videotape, the interview, and publish the research information in a thesis and other publications. The participants in this study met these parameters, considered essential to this study.

4.6.1.2 The Sample Size

Patton (2002, p. 244) states that “there are no rules for sample size in qualitative inquiry”.

Patton stresses that the size of the sample is dependent upon what the researcher wants to find out, the reason for wanting to find it out, how the findings will be used, and what resources (including time) the researcher has for the study. This research study made use of a sample of four subjects. Owing to the small sample size, the results cannot be generalized to the population of all divorced fathers whose contact has been denied or withheld. The goal of this research is to gain insight into certain experiences and not problems faced by the participants, and it does not claim to be a comprehensive or exhaustive description.

4.6.2 Sampling Strategy

In this study, a non random, purposeful sampling method was used. Non random samples are samples in which “not every element in the population has a chance of being selected for the final sample” (Reamer, 1998, p. 145). According to Osborn (1994) the

phenomenological researcher tries to find those potential participants who have experienced the phenomenon in question and are able to communicate their experiences. Participants were therefore not randomly selected, but were rather selected according to certain criteria:

• divorced or separated fathers who have not had contact with their children for at least 3 months

The researcher initially approached psychologists and social workers working in the field of forensic custody evaluations, the Johannesburg Office of the Family Advocate, as well as Father 4 Justice, which is a fathers’ rights organization, asking after appropriate participants.

A list of names was provided. The researcher contacted these individuals and asked them whether they would be interested in participating in this study, repeating the search process, until a sufficient number of candidates were found.

4.6.3 Method of Data Collection 4.6.3.1 Interviews

According to Patton (2003, p. 340) we “interview people to find out from them those things we cannot directly observe”. Patton (2002, p. 41) states that “the purpose of interviewing, then, is to allow us to enter into the other person’s perspective [...] we interview to find out what is in and on someone else’s mind to gather their stories.” In face to face interviews, participants provide us with their experiences of the world from their own personal point of view, in a “formatted” discussion, which is guided and managed by the researcher and later integrated into a research report (Henning, 2004).

The interviews in this study were opened-ended and an interview schedule was used as a guide. This interview schedule (Appendix B) was developed as a guideline for the interviewer to use during the interview. It was used to ensure that the same basic lines of inquiry were followed with each participant. The interview schedule, as suggested by Marlow (2005), consists of questions and themes which are relevant to the research study. De Vos (2001) contends that the main advantage of unstructured interviews with a schedule is that they ensure a reasonably systematic collection of data and at the same time make certain that important data is not omitted. The issues that appear to be relevant to the research study as well as the research questions were clearly defined and questions were then generated to cover each of the themes and research questions.

The interviews ranged from an hour to an hour and 45minutes in length, depending upon the amount of information the participants had to share. During the interviews, the researcher engaged interactively with the participants, asked them questions, listened to them speaking and gained access to their accounts and articulations in order to obtain descriptions of their lives regarding the interpretations of the meaning of the described phenomena. In summary, the researcher adopted a non-judgemental, empathic attitude and immersed herself in another’s world by listening deeply and attentively, so as to enter the other’s experience and perception as “being-in” another’s world (Moustakas,1994).

4.6.3.2 Recording of the interviews

All the interviews were tape-recorded on numbered audiotapes and were later transcribed verbatim onto a computer disc. Participants were informed about the use of the tape recorder in the consent form, and again at the start of the interview. The researcher informed the participants that she wanted to record the interviews, as she did not want miss any

114 aspect of what they had to say; neither did she want to inaccurately record what the

participants had said.

The use of a tape recorder or other electronic recording device increases the accuracy of the research information and at the same time it allows the researcher to focus on the participant and to be more attentive to them. Patton (2002) contends that when the researcher tries to make notes and to record every word whilst interviewing, they are unable to respond appropriately to the participant’s cues. Additionally, verbatim note taking can also interfere with the researcher’s ability to listen attentively.

4.6.3.3 Transcription of the interviews

The transcription of the tapes was carried out by two professional typists, who were unaware of the identity of the participants and who undertook to ensure confidentiality of the material.

The researcher later checked the transcriptions in order to ensure that that representation of the interviews was as accurate as possible.

4.6.4 Analysis of Research Information

Researchers analysing qualitative research information should make every effort to understand a phenomenon as a whole. Patton (2002) contends that this holistic approach assumes that the whole is understood as a complex system, which is greater than the sum of its parts. When the research information is collected, each case under study is treated as a unique entity with its own particular meaning and its own constellation of relationships emerging from and related to the context in which it occurs. Additionally, it is also seen as a window into the general patterns that may emerge across individuals.

Qualitative inquiry is especially inclined towards exploration, discovery and inductive logic.

Inductive analysis begins with specific observations and moves towards general patterns.

The qualitative analyst tries to describe a situation and extract meaning, rather than looking for structural relationships among pre-established variables or testing formal hypotheses.

As previously mentioned, the purpose of this study was to understand and explain the experiences of fathers whose contact with their children post-separation and/or divorce was withheld or refused for prolonged periods of time. Accordingly, a phenomenological research method lent itself well to this study. Welman and Kruger (cited in Groenwald, 2004) state that

“the phenomenologists are concerned with understanding social and psychological phenomena from the perspectives of the people and individuals.”