Pilot Study

In terms of qualitative research, the researcher undertook observation of the women living in the Rubats, with a particular focus on how they spent their time.

Further, semi-structured interviews were conducted to establish the women’s views on the Rubat buildings. From these, the researcher gained an understanding of whether women’s experiences met the requirements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Most of this research involved a social research epistemology and, while it was necessary to gather quantitative data to provide factual data on the state of the buildings, management agents’ attitudes, and statistical information on the residents’ socioeconomic characteristics, the majority of the work was qualitative in order to gain an understanding of the Rubats’ resident’s life experiences.

3.4.2 Pilot Study

According to Teijlingen and Hundley (2001, p.4); ‘pilot studies can inform us about the best research process and occasionally about likely outcomes.’ Prior to the pilot study, the researcher had access to previous studies and relevant research that helped in the design of the research methodology. A pilot study was undertaken to test the research tool with the women residents. From a list of Rubats obtained from managing agents, three Rubats were chosen – one from each city area – and a small number of women were approached. During these encounters, both the questionnaire and the follow-up interview questions were tested and subsequently adjusted to include participants’ concerns.

This research contributed to the case study selection and preparation of the trial questionnaires for the residents, Rubat management and a building audit for the Rubat

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building. This pilot study was carried out in July 2011. Sixteen residents were chosen for the pilot sample. The participants were residents of three Rubat buildings located in different areas (Historical, Traditional and Modern) in Jeddah. In addition, the sample for the Rubat management comprised three Rubats, and sketches and photographs were taken.

The pilot study’s aim was to identify the difficulties and barriers to the research, or weaknesses in the questionnaires. It also sought to identify the research methods that would be used, as well as to determine which form of interview would occur (structured, semi-structured, and so forth). Doing so enabled discovery of participants’ receptiveness to the research. The researcher found that the pilot study was useful to test the questionnaire, to make improvements and to discover if any questions needed alteration or rephrasing for clarity. Moreover, the pilot study had the advantage of testing the amount of time required with each participant, which allowed the researcher to plan their time for the remaining fieldwork.

The first stage in pilot study preparation was to collect data, reports and statistical materials, such as the number of residents and their nationalities, from the bodies responsible for the Rubats. These bodies included the Ministry of Pilgrimage and Endowments; the Director of the Women’s Charity Association in Jeddah; a social worker from Al Faisaliah Charity Association for Women in Jeddah; the Director of one modern Rubat; the Sheikha of one Rubat centre manager employed by the ministry; and the social worker responsible for the Rubat of Women Charity Society in Jeddah.

In addition, a map of Jeddah was consulted to identify Rubat locations. While the researcher studied in England, there were many changes in the layout of Jeddah, especially in terms of development, new buildings and overcrowding. Many routes around the city changed; new roads, flyovers and motorway bridges were built; and old roads were blocked. Consequently, many routes changed in the city’s traditional and historical areas. Therefore, the researcher experienced some difficulty in finding the field sites, especially the Rubat buildings.

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Two questionnaires were piloted; the first was for residents and was divided into three sections. The first section asked for basic background information such as marital status, age, education and health status. It proceeded to obtain data about income, relatives and finally housing facilities, for example the number of rooms in the Rubat unit, and also what problems, if any, were faced. The second questionnaire was for the management and include questions about services they provided to residents and responsibility for inspection, maintenance and so forth. The building audit was designed to gather information about the surrounding environmental conditions, the interior living environment of a residential unit and the building’s architectural condition. The researcher completed the audit, the aim of which was to obtain information about the Rubat buildings—specifically, whether the area in which it was located was suitable for the residents.

The researcher’s first visit revealed that the women reacted differently from what was expected. Firstly, the women all came to see who was visiting the Rubat;

they wanted to know why the researcher was there and were happy that someone had come to visit. The researcher encountered some difficulties, as she had to explain to all residents why she was visiting the Rubat, the purpose of her research and what she wanted to learn. The women were pleased that someone was taking an interest, but were also intrigued to know what help the researcher could provide. All of the women wanted to speak with the researcher, who agreed that she would speak individually with each of them. This was very useful to the researcher, as it allowed her to speak directly with them and it generated many questions that were useful for the questionnaire—for example, what problems did the female residents experience in terms of not being able to inhabit the Rubats once their sons became adults.

The researcher spent one week in each selected Rubat building; during this time the researcher drew sketches and photographs; met with the residents; and administered the questionnaire, which facilitated the researcher’s identification of additional questions to ask the residents. The researcher met with three managers of the Rubats to pilot test and check the the building questionnaires’ suitability.

The pilot study was crucial because it enabled the researcher to understand fieldwork realities and any associated obstacles. The researcher collected data and

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analysed questionnaire responses. Based on the pilot study responses, the questionnaires were revised and finalised for use in the Main Study. For example, the management questionnaire was revised to include questions relating to the issue of 18 year old sons and what plans were being made to address the issue. Also, questions were included with regards to what steps the management officials were taking towards improving support to residents and general steps taken towards improving the Rubats’ effectiveness in meeting the residents’ needs. Based on participant comments during the pilot study phase, the framing of questions were revised to ensure appropriateness of the language and clarity of the questions (e.g. Opute, 2009;).

Pilot study results indicated the need to improve some areas of the questionnaires; the results also afforded the opportunity to reorganize the sequence in which questions would be asked during the fieldwork phase.