Research Methodologies

The broad methodological framework of the thesis is based on a combination of positivist principles and the Pacific research paradigm, the specific nature of the study necessitating the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. As Roundtree and Laing (1996) observe, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies operate from fundamentally different epistemologies and deliver very different information. It is therefore important that researchers have some understanding of the applications and limitations of both (Miles and Huberman 1994:5), since there are certain types of research projects which can benefit from the application of both. In the context of this research project, the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods is intended to increase the robustness of the data. Because I use both quantitative and qualitative research methods in this thesis, a brief outline of both types of methodology is in order.

2.3.1 Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is viewed as the traditional, positivist, experimental, or empiricist type of research which is statistical in nature and is designed to give a numerical result, emphasizing the measurement and analysis of causal relationships between variables, not the processes between variables as such. As Creswell (1994) observes, quantitative research may focus on an area previously studied by other researchers, an area in which a body of literature already exists, one in which there are also known variables and existing theories. Quantitative

research emphasizes the measurement and analysis of causal relationships between variables, not the processes between variables as such.

According to Denscombe (Denscombe 1998:177), the major attraction of quantitative research is that it carries with it an aura of scientific respectability.

Because quantitative research uses numbers, and because the findings can be presented in the form of graphs and tables, quantitative research conveys a sense of solid, objectivity (Denscombe, 1998:177). In this thesis, the demonstration of causal relationships between identifiable and measurable variables plays a critical role, and quantitative forms of presentation, such graphs and tables, are used to present some of the research findings.

2.3.2 Qualitative Research

Perhaps one of the key differences between quantitative and qualitative research is that in the former a great deal of effort goes into the preparation of questionnaires, the setting up of equipment and experiments and the selection of groups or variables for purposes of comparison (Bouma 1996:176).

Qualitative research is difficult to define clearly because it has no theory, or paradigm, that is distinctively its own. Rather, it is an inductive, descriptive and explanatory method that crosscuts disciplines, fields, and subject matter (Denzin and Lincoln 1994). Although qualitative research is a field of inquiry in its own right, it is nevertheless exploratory in nature, the variables often being unknown while the context is very important. Basically, qualitative research is interpretive in nature and practice, and therefore has no single methodology (Creswell 1994).

Banister et al. (1994) have noted that the nature of qualitative research is to attempt to capture the sense that lies within, that which structures what we say about what we do. Thus, qualitative research involves exploration, elaboration and systematization of the significance of an identified phenomenon and the illuminative representation of the meaning of a delimited issue or problem. It uses humans-as-instruments in identifying problems or defining a situation (Maykut and Morehouse 1994).

As Cohen and Manion et al. (2000) observe, qualitative research is non-empirical but is nevertheless extremely useful in collecting, classifying, categorising, synthesizing, evaluating and interpreting raw data. In the case of this research project, a number of qualitative research methodologies, including surveys (interviews and questionnaires), case studies, and participant observation, are used in the collection of data. In view of the fact that the research reported here is underpinned by the Pacific research paradigm, I believe that it is particularly important that qualitative research methods should be used to highlight the value of understanding and appreciating differences in cultural, economic and environmental components of the human society that is examined (Babbie 1998:297)

A case study approach was found here to be best suited to closely investigating Tonga‟s fisheries at the micro level – the domestic fisheries sector; while the survey method was found to be best suited to better understanding and explaining Tonga‟s fisheries at the macro level – the fisheries export sector. One qualitative research method used extensively in this study is the interview, these interviews often involving, in a way that is consistent with the Pacific research paradigm, extended dialogue. Pacific communities in general, (in this case the Tongan community in particular), are oral societies, and so interview and extended dialogue are particularly appropriate.

2.3.3 Talanoa

At an immediate and more specific and personal level, much data was collected through talanoa², a qualitative methodology that is conducted mainly through dialogue and conversation. Talanoa is a framework or methodology that emerges from within Tonga's own cultural and social context. As a method of research based on the Pacific research paradigm, talanoa is also a Tongan approach to data collection which is also widely used by Pacific researchers today. In this study,

2 Talanoa has been used widely in the Pacific to settle political disputes. This methodology was used during the Fiji coup in 2000 and again during the political dispute in Tonga in 2006 as foundational principle in dialogue. This talanoa provides an open forum for addressing different perspectives on the issues of disputes in the hope for reconciliation and taking account of and learning from reality of the past to ensure future stability

talanoa is considered a very appropriate and meaningful way of collecting data in the context of a Pacific society such as Tonga in which many customs and much indigenous or traditional knowledge are conveyed through stories, songs, dance and poems. Hence, the use of talanoa in collecting data and information which seeks to explain why things happen as they do in a Pacific context.

Talanoa allows for extended dialogue and conversation that leads to better knowledge and mutual understanding between the researcher and the researched.

Basically, it allows the researcher to nofo or live in the community for a few days or hours, sharing food and thus cementing relationships and enabling the researcher (usually a visitor) to become an accepted member of the community.

Invariably, however, the data collected through talanoa are insufficient in themselves. What they do is allow the researcher to emerge from the community with added knowledge and insider information that contribute to a more holistic understanding.

As a Tongan researcher, one who believes in the importance of the talanoa methodology, the extensive use of quantitative analysis throughout this thesis clearly indicates my own philosophical position. In particular, the use of talanoa challenges me to think beyond my own personal biases and extend my understanding. As a Tongan educator, rural dweller and advocate of sustainability and development for the grass-root level, I have very real concerns about any research that impacts on communities that lacks a quantitative dimension. For me, talanoa as a research tool provides a bridge from observation to understanding. It allows the experiences, texts and narratives of those for whom the research is most pertinent to contribute to and inform the work in a way that justifies use of the term „research participant‟ (Wodak 1996). At the same time, the use of quantitative research methods reduces the inevitable dangers of subjectivity.