Data Instruments

The study used two primary data collection instruments, namely existing records and a questionnaire. It used data from the NRS, which provides all the names of children born in Scotland from 1974 to the present day, and a questionnaire whose aim was to collect names and also address their socio-linguistic aspects. The NRS provided the data for the Unusual names and such data is not readily available in Botswana so it had to be solicited through a questionnaire. Although school, birth and university records might have been used to get name tokens, these are documents that are not readily available in the public space and obtaining them is usually a difficult process with much red tape and hence the decision to use questionnaires. The Botswana data was collected through a similar questionnaire to the Scotland one. In Botswana the questionnaire was at times filled in as though it was an oral

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interview which helped to incorporate another type of research method. Although this method resulted in the process taking longer than anticipated, it produced high quality data as compared to when the respondents did the writing themselves. The use of various data gathering techniques in a single study is essential because it helps to achieve a kind of triangulation which minimises bias and helps to extend the scope of the study (Green et al in Creswell 1994:175). Triangulation also enables studies to be multi-faceted and interdisciplinary.

3.2.1

Questionnaires, like all other data collection instruments have advantages and disadvantages so their success rate will differ from study to study. The main advantage of a questionnaire (online and hard copy) is that it is an efficient way of collecting data in terms of its preparation logistics, distribution and the time involved to administer it. It also enables one to access many respondents at the same time. Furthermore, a questionnaire is practical and easy to use for both the researcher and the respondent. The researcher has the freedom to construct the questions the best way they see fit (open or close ended) to successfully answer their research questions. Also, the questionnaire format facilitates comparative analysis of the data. The questionnaire also has several disadvantages, the most common being that there is often no interaction between the researcher and the respondent so the questionnaire attempt becomes an impersonal process which may not yield the desired outcomes. This may result in the respondents not being truthful in their responses or not answering all the questions and the researcher ends up with incomplete questionnaires. The respondents may not understand or may misinterpret the question and because there is no prompting from the researcher the question may be wrongly answered or left unanswered. Questionnaires cannot capture the respondents’ emotions such as anger or pain which may be triggered by the questions and would be otherwise be vividly captured in an oral interview. Despite its disadvantages, the questionnaire was chosen as the most appropriate method of data collection for this current study.

The study used an open-ended questionnaire in both countries which was to be completed by the respondent. The Botswana questionnaire was also translated into Setswana for those not familiar with English or who preferred Setswana. As previously mentioned, the Botswana questionnaire was in some instances tackled as an oral interview, mostly with illiterate people. However, some literate people preferred to answer the questions orally. This is in cases where people were busy with their normal daily activities in the homes or the market places but were

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willing to give interviews while they carried on with their duties. Generally, the questionnaire addresses meanings of personal names and their motivations. The first section of the questionnaire requires respondents to give names of their family members, their meanings and significances. This section of the questionnaire is aimed at addressing the research questions on the semantic and grammatical categories and the sociolinguistic factors of the names. The second part of the questionnaire tackles the Unusual names; their meanings and motivations. The last part asks general questions on names and naming, for example, what respondents consider when they give a name and if the meaning of a name is important to them (Appendix 1). The purpose of this section is to garner the respondents’ general feelings particularly about meaning in a name and all other factors related to names and naming for comparative purposes between the two countries.

The Scotland questionnaire slightly differs from the Botswana questionnaire in terms of structure although they address the same research questions. This questionnaire was also put online because it was observed that it would reach more respondents that way than as a hard copy. The questionnaire appears longer than the Botswana one because it gives the lists of the most popular and Unusual names in Scotland, both adapted from the NRS (2015a). The first section gives 10 of the most popular names, 5 for each gender, adapted from the NRS and requires respondents to give their meanings and origins and their personal feelings about the names. The second section also gives a list of Unusual names as adapted from the NRS and asks the same questions on the meaning and origin of the names. The third section requires respondents to give their own names, those of their family members, their meanings and motivations. The aim of all these sections is to address the research questions on the semantics, grammar and sociolinguistic factors of the names. In the first two sections the names are presented in a table format and respondents are asked for their views and opinions on each of them. This was deliberately done to act as a prompt because there was no face to face interaction with the respondents. The lists of names were meant to interest and urge the respondents to give comments about each of the names, although it did not always work because some of the respondents did not complete the whole questionnaire (Appendix 2). The last section of the questionnaire requires respondents to give their general feelings about the meanings of names and other factors they consider important during the naming process.

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