METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

This section explains how the researcher decides on the research methodology, chooses the research method and identifies a qualitative-interpretivist paradigm.

Research methodology

Research methodology refers to research methods and the logic behind the methods that is used in the context of the research (Kumar, 2008). Hence, the researcher has to choose the correct research methodology that can best answer the research questions. Whether the research is quantitative or qualitative is a methodological choice. The choice depends on the research questions and the suitable methods to collect data to answer the research questions (Bryman, 2008). Denzin and Lincoln (2000) discriminate between quantitative and qualitative methods by explaining that quantitative research is based on data, measurement and relationship between variables while qualitative research emphasises how to construct social meanings, and stresses the relationship between the researcher and the research topic. Based on the research aim and research questions, the use of a qualitative-interpretivist method is the most suitable method for the present study.

Research aim

The aim of the research is to explore the pre-course expectations of a cohort of international students from China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan who are attending a 10-week CIE course at Kia ora Polytechnic. The study also investigates factors

influencing pre-course expectations and subsequent experiences, and whether their expectations are fulfilled.

Research questions

The three research questions are:

1. What pre-course expectations do CHC international students from China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan have before they commence their CIE course at Kia ora Polytechnic?

2. How do these international students’ subsequent experiences compare with their pre-course expectations?

3. What factors influence the formation of their pre-course expectations and subsequent experiences?

To answer the research questions, the most appropriate methodology choice is a qualitative- interpretivist approach using in-depth research interviews.

Research method

Research method is the technique or procedure used to gather and analyse data related to the research questions (Crotty, 1998). However, before doing a research, the researcher has to identify the thesis’s epistemology (Crotty, 1998) so that the researcher can justify the choice and use of a particular research method.

Epistemology deals with ‘the nature of knowledge, its possibility, scope and general basis’ (Hamlyn 1995, as cited in Crotty, 1998, p.8). Bryman (2008) explains that an epistemological issue concerned the question of the underlying beliefs of the researcher, whether the researcher can study the social world according to the same principles, procedures and ethos as the natural sciences. The epistemological position of the researcher is very important because it determines the way the research is carried out. Hence, it is critical that the researcher understands the prior knowledge informing the research, what kind of new knowledge and outcome can be further attained through the new research works so that other readers will take the new findings seriously.

The interpretive paradigm fits well with the researcher’s epistemological beliefs because interpretivism requires the researcher to grasp the subjective meaning of certain social action (Bryman, 2008). Interpretivism suggests that the facts are produced as part and parcel of the social interaction of the researchers and the participants (Klein & Myers, 1999). An interpretive approach attempts to interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them when they are in their natural settings (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). In this qualitative-interpretivist research, the researcher has to be aware and be sensitive to biases, distortions, contradictions and possible differences in interpretation in the narratives that are collected from the participants (Klein & Myers, 1999).

In qualitative research, methods include surveys, interviews, observations and other techniques. Of the many methods, this study used face-to-face qualitative research interviews to collect qualitative data related to the research questions. Qualitative data from participant interviews facilitates the researcher to “understand” any social phenomenon from the perspective of the actors involved, rather than explaining it (unsuccessfully) from the outside (Ospina, 2004).

Qualitative research interviews

Kvale (1993, as cited in Opdenakker, 2006) defines qualitative research interview as an interview that gathers descriptions of the life-world of the interviewee with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the described phenomena. There are several ways to conduct research interviews: face-to face interview, telephone interview and computer mediated interview such as the use of Skype. In this research, face-to-face interviews were used.

In face-to face interviews, there is no time delay between question and answer because the interviewee and interviewer can react directly on what the other says or does (Opdenakker, 2006). However, the interviewer has to be attentive to the narratives of the interviewee, allowing time for the interviewee to talk at the level of depth and detail, but also bearing in mind that all the questions have to be asked within a time limit. Interviews can be digitally recorded, but transcription of the tape recording is very time-consuming. Bryman (2008) warns that it takes

five to six hours to transcribe one hour of speech in a verbatim manner, but can be longer for an unskilled researcher.

Qualitative-interpretivist paradigm

The interviewee’s personal narratives in the in-depth interviews offer a good source of evidence and provide a rich source of information. These allow the researcher to glimpse into the complex and creative ways that individuals make sense of social reality through the causal logic of how the world around them works and how they negotiate between subjective and inter-subjective meanings.(Heitz, 2007) However, Heitz (2007) also comments that the qualitative-interpretivist approach does not ‘discover’, or ‘recover’ evidence. Instead there are three aspects of meaning construction from an interpretivist perspective: the subjective meaning of the interviewee, the inter-subjective meaning and the position of the researcher. Hence, the researcher has to be discerning and include triangulating the interview evidence with other sources if necessary.