Sampling Methodology 1 Target Population

The target population was the women in Sohan village who were or had been married. To be eligible to participate in the study the women had to have experienced some form of domestic violence in their marriages. The study included women who were over 18 years of age and resided in the Sohan village. As it was mentioned earlier, Sohan village was chosen due to its close proximity to Islamabad. I had friends and family in Islamabad who could come and get me in case I needed to quickly evacuate the area due to an unforeseen event. Hence, in light of the recent terrorist threats in the country, safety was the foremost concern when choosing my research site.

3.4.2 Sample Size

Qualitative research draws from a smaller group of participants to understand intimate details about their lives (Ambert et al., 1995). The goal of the qualitative sampling approach is to draw a representative sample from the target population, so that the findings of the study can be generalised to the population being studied (M. N. Marshall, 1996). Another consideration in determining the sample size was the time availability and cost of completing the fieldwork. The idea was to obtain sufficient data to effectively address the research question. Based on my conversations with the women at the village, I did not

believe that adding more participants in the study would result in additional or new information on domestic violence. M. N. Marshall (1996) and Mason (2010) suggested that a qualitative sample must be large enough to assure that all or most of the perspectives related to the research questions are uncovered.

A small sample size was also used because of the nature of the data collected. The participants were asked to share their life story accounts, which involved in-depth intimate details of each participant’s life. It was determined that a sample size of four women would be manageable, and large enough to provide sufficient data. The sample was obtained with ease as I had spent abundant time at the village building rapport with the potential participants prior to conducting the actual interviews.

3.4.3 Research Process

In August 2014, interviews were arranged with the four women selected to participate in the study. During the preliminary conversations with the potential participants the issue of confidentiality and anonymity was raised. The right of the participant to decline involvement in the study at any time was recognized. The following paragraphs describe the research process of this study.

3.4.3.1 Selection Procedure

The participants for the study were selected after a discussion with the host family who was introduced to me by the gatekeeper upon gaining entry into the village. The host family acted as an informant or guide (Fontana & Frey, 1994) who not only looked after my safety

in the village, but also interpreted some of the cultural jargon I came across in the village. The host family who had been a long-time resident of Sohan, was trusted and well connected with the other families in the village. Figure 3.2 in appendix IIA shares a picture of the host family. Upon regular trips to the village I visited the homes of several women who had expressed a desire to meet me for a chat. When the news of my research reached women in the village, I was invited over to their place for tea. This gave me an opportunity to get to know these women and develop a trusting relationship with them.

As noted earlier, the gatekeeper was instrumental in identifying potential participants for the study. Since the gatekeeper was a social worker who distributed free medication and health care information to the villagers, he was often consulted by battered women in the area regarding injuries they had sustained as a result of beatings at home. During some of his visits the gatekeeper introduced my research to the battered women and asked if they were interested in participating. The women who voluntarily wished to speak about domestic violence in their marriages were invited to participate in the study. The aim was to recruit three to four women to participate in the research. After discussion with the host family a number of women were identified as the potential candidates for the study. Some women showed resistance as they were concerned about how others in the family might react to the research. The four women who came forward and provided their voluntary consent to participate in the study were selected.

3.4.3.2 Participant Profile

The study involved the participation of four women aged between 24 and 50 years old. All four women were residents of Sohan village. Ethnicity of the participants was reported as being Punjabi. The participants belonged to the Muslim faith. Their education level ranged from no schooling to a Bachelor’s degree. All four participants belonged to the low-income households. Low-income households/families in Pakistan are characterised by poverty which constitutes the family’s inability to fulfil its basic needs (Jali & Islam, 2018). In Pakistan, families whose total monthly income falls in the range of PRs. 4000 (approx. GBP 22) – PRs. 20,000 (approx. GBP 133), or lower, are considered part of low-income group (Subohi, 2006). Only one participant had a personal source of income and earned a living by catering for small private weddings and teaching Quran recitation to local children. The participants reported to have come from very poor natal families. As far as their marital status was concerned, two were married, one participant was divorced and one was separated. All participants had children. Table 3.1 summarises the participants’ profile. To maintain anonymity pseudonyms have been used.

Table 3.1: Participant profile