Research methods

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Scale 1 : 500,000

LOCATION MAP Corella & Tagbilaran City

PROVINCIAL PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Republic of the Philippines

Province of Bohol Ubay Carmen Loon Bilar Pilar Talibon Danao Alicia Mabini Dimiao Jagna San Miguel Lila Balilihan Trinidad Batuan Valencia Inabanga Catigbian Clarin Guindulman Dagohoy Duero Buenavista Anda Calape Getafe Loboc Dauis Sierra-Bullones Candijay Sagbayan Tubigon Loay Garcia-Hernandez Sevilla San Isidro Antequera Panglao Cortes Maribojoc Corella Baclayon Sikatuna Bien Unido Pres. C. P. Garcia Tagbilaran City Alburquerque B O H O L S T R A I T M I N D A N A O S E A 5 0 5 10 15 20 Kilometers LEGEND: Source: NAMRIA

Processing: Digitized in PPDO-Bohol GIS Section Personnel. Editing and Layout by W. Bueno.

Notes: Boundaries and other features may not be accurate.

Purpose: This map is produced per request by Karen Fisher to be used for research and thesis concerning Boholano Communties.

National Roads Coastline Municipal Boundary Subject Areas Corella Tagbilaran City

Figure 2-1: Map of Bohol showing location of Tagbilaran City and the Municipality of Corella Source:Obtained from PPDO, 2004

Interviews were employed to obtain empirical data. Interviews have become a customary technique used in qualitative research that allow for gaps in knowledge to be filled and a diverse collection of opinions and experiences to be aired (Dunn, 2000; Holstein and Gubrium, 2004). Dunn (2000) notes that it is important for geographers to recognise that interviews provide a means to gain insight into different opinions and perceptions about events or issues; they do not, however, provide the (singular) truth or the (singular) public opinion on a matter. In keeping with feminist methodology, however, discovery of singular, universal truths was not intended.

There are three major types of interviews: structured, semi-structured and unstructured (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003; Dunn, 2000; Robinson, 1998). Structured and semi-structured interviews were the primary interview types employed in this research. Where the opportunity arose, structured surveys gave way to conversational/unstructured questioning to ascertain deeper understanding of particular ideas or perceptions held by the respondents.

Structured interviews are interviews that use an interview schedule with a list of carefully worded and ordered questions (Dunn, 2000). The structure is such that the questions are repeated for each person with whom the interviews are conducted in order to allow a degree of comparability and replication (Dunn, 2000; Robinson, 1998). Structured interviews in this research took the form of Household Surveys and Privatisation Surveys. Household Surveys were undertaken in Tagbilaran and Corella to illustrate the complex nature of water supply and management in Tagbilaran. The surveys sought to uncover people’s impressions, perceptions and opinions concerning waterworks services, government, understandings of environmental and development issues, ownership and rights of water resources, water sharing as well as ascertaining what is important to the people in terms of meeting their water needs. It was my intention that the surveys were able to be answered easily and quickly by respondents. On occasion respondents discussed the questions with others present during the interview. The ordering and wording of questions in the interview schedule were carefully considered, tested, and adjusted as deemed necessary (Dunn, 2000). On occasion additional questions beyond those listed on the interview schedule were also asked and interviewing came to resemble semi- structured interviews.

Semi-structured interviews are interviews in which an interview guide is used to prompt the interviewer on particular areas that the interviewer wants to explore. This approach is more flexible than structured interviews and as such, the order of questioning is not as important. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants representing government agencies, the NGO community and the private sector. All semi-structured interviews were undertaken in English without an interpreter and were not tape-recorded. Dunn (2000) identifies some of the disadvantages and advantages of recording interview sessions. Advantages include enabling a more natural conversation style in which the interviewer is not so pre-occupied with taking down all information thereby also allowing the interviewer to read

the interviewee’s expressions and gestures, as well as capturing verbatim responses. Disadvantages include creating a sense of formality that may inhibit the responsiveness of participants or stultify spontaneity. In considering the advantages and disadvantages of whether to record interview sessions, I decided that I wanted participants to feel as comfortable as possible in conversing with me, hence my decision not to record sessions.

I met with each key informant more than once and was able to clarify ideas and meanings. Because I commenced writing up my findings while still in the Philippines, I was also able to provide drafts of work pertinent to material obtained from participants for clarification and further information. By providing drafts to participants, I was able to illustrate the way in which their contribution would be presented and participants were invited to make amendments16 to the drafts as they saw fit.

Unstructured interviews are concerned with personal perceptions and personal histories and as such are guided by the informant. Questions are guided by the informant’s responses and are more conversational than structured or semi-structured interviews (Dunn, 2000). In this research, unstructured interviews and conversations with a range of different people provided important contextual information about the subject under research as well as broader social, cultural and political facets of the community in which the case study was located. Such interviews tended to be opportunistic and spontaneous. Table 2.1 below presents an overview of the types of interviews conducted for each sector and organisation/location.

Sector Organisation/Location Interview type

Government officials National Government Unstructured

Provincial Government Semi-structured

Unstructured Tagbilaran City Government Semi-structured

Unstructured Corella Municipal Government Semi-structured

Unstructured

NGOs Tagbilaran Semi-structured

Unstructured

Cebu Semi-structured

Unstructured Private sector Tagbilaran Semi-structured

Households Tagbilaran Unstructured

Structured (N=241)

Corella Unstructured

Structured (N=25)

Table 2.1: Interviews conducted and type

In addition to interviews, I employed participant observation as a research method in order to obtain empirical information as well as to improve my understanding of the context and location within which my research was sited. Participant observation is an ethnographic technique which allows the researcher to observe and interact with people in their natural

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setting. Participant observation enabled me to be involved in the everyday lives of the research participants while at the same time observing, reflecting on and recording my experiences in more generally in Tagbilaran/Bohol/the Philippines (Patton, 1990). I participated in everyday life in ways similar to those living in Tagbilaran. In so doing, I was also able to observe and record experiences and information obtained through informal discussions and anecdotal information. Beyond personal/informal spaces such as my home and homes of friends, public places including public transport, public transport terminals, market places and shops, churches, public meetings and hearings, public streets, and work places such as offices provided opportunities for me to enrich my empirical material as well as my understanding of my research project and case study.

Where I wanted to validate ‘facts’ or formal material obtained from formal, informal and anecdotal sources, data was triangulated with documentary sources. These included plans and reports prepared for and by various government departments and agencies at the city/municipal, provincial, regional and national scales. Local newspapers were also employed as a source of information concerning water supply in Tagbilaran City. There are three newspapers in circulation in Tagbilaran: the Bohol Chronicle, the BoholTimes, and the Bohol Sunday Post. The Bohol Chronicle was used as the primary newspaper source and editions from the mid- 1990s until the present were canvassed in order to find articles relating to municipal water in Tagbilaran City. This proved to be a very time consuming exercise hence the decision to focus mostly on the BoholChronicle and not the other newspapers.

An additional method employed in this research to enrich the material obtained in Tagbilaran was photography. Photographs were used as a visual method in order to convey information about the land uses, population densities and character of locations in the field study areas. Photographs were also used to provide snapshots of people’s experiences of water and municipal supply.

In utilising these methods in Tagbilaran, language emerged as a challenge to obtaining empirical material. The means by which I addressed difficulties with language are discussed in the following section.