ANÁLISIS E INTERPRETACIÓN DE RESULTADOS DE LAS ENCUESTAS

In the initial focus group discussions it became evident that terms such as ‘social

capital’ and ‘reciprocity’ were seen as academic terms rather than those that the average person might use or understand. The facilitator was able to explain these terms in a simple manner to provide a better understanding amongst the members. After discussion, terms such as social capital were explained as ‘friendship’ and

‘connections’, and reciprocity was described as ‘people supporting each other’, or ‘the give and take’ between people in clubs. Asthe focus group sessions progressed people were able to begin to analyse concepts such as reciprocity and interpret it as ‘favours’ and ‘helping people’. Other components, such as trust, relationships, and obligations were discussed with the members who provided insightful statements that illustrated the theoretical concept in practice. Thus rich statements were provided by members in the focus groups regarding trust, friendships, and the sense of acceptance and informal rules that exist in their clubs. Respondents were encouraged to explain and give any further examples in their responses at the end of the sessions.

4.4.1 Process Used in the Qualitative Phase of the Research

In both the interviews and in the focus groups a ‘funnel’ approach was applied which begins with more general questions then gradually moves to a narrower specific focus (Morgan, 1997). For example, it would begin with questions such as: ‘Does your club have a strong sense of belonging?’ This would be followed by questions such as: ‘Can you give examples illustrating this?’, or ‘How do you know this is true?’ The first question asks for their belief or attitude, the second for a specific behavioural example. Members often said ‘yes, there is a sense of belonging’ based on their belief of what their club appears to be to them. The second question allowed the respondent to provide an actual action or behaviour they observed that showed this sense of

belonging. This process is common in the social sciences, with attitude and behaviour studied through the theory of planned behaviour(Azen, & Fishbein, 1980; Madden,

Ellen & Ajzen, 1992). Much of this research focused on the wish or attitude to partake in something versus the actual act of doing it. This is based on the theory of planned action versus observed, recalled, and actual behaviour (Ajzen, 1985). This theory provided strong direction in both phases of this research.

The prompt questions in the semi structured format allowed for some flexibility, the opportunity to explore issues and responses, further proving good direction. Questions relating to trust, acceptance and reciprocity highlighted the specific importance that people in clubs gave to these themes which are incorporated in the literature (Onyx & Bullen, 2001).

This qualitative phase focused on both positive and negative aspects of social capital themes such as trust and distrust and how a club feels when trust is broken. Thus negative aspects and bad relationships in clubs were discussed and statements from the participants illustrated how important good relationships based on trust were in clubs.

In the conduct of focus groups and interviews the interviewer made respondents feel relaxed while remaining neutral and encouraging responses from the participants (Patton, 2001). In this manner the interviewer was able to address any issues of subjectivity and objectivity (May, 1997). The interviewer was familiar with the questions, used simple short statements, and allowed time for respondents to clarify their responses (Babbie, 2007; Neuman, 2012).

When completed the focus group and interview recordings and notes provided a significant amount of data, representing over 400 individual responses.

4.4.2 Qualitative Data Transcription, Entry, and Coding

Transcription and data entry were done soon after completion of the interviews and focus groups to address potential problems of recall. The researcher went through the data, checking to make sure the notes were full, readable and sensible (Paton, 2001). After the data was checked the researcher went back through the tapes and compared this against written notes. The data was analysed by identifying aspects of the data, coding it and putting it into categories (Patton, 2001). Data was coded manually with comments written on index cards, providing the researcher with a better understanding

and interpretation of the data. The use of index cards for the storage of data allowed the researcher to physically arrange statements into designated headings for further analysis before loading into the computer (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Coding often reflects the researcher’s interpretation and this was done by using descriptive words such as

‘support’ or ‘friendship’ which summarised the notes (Saldana, 2003). This initial coding allowed for data to be put into categories (labels) for the beginning of a filing system. Coding allowed the researcher to compare, questioning the data and

developing concepts with and about the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Data was categorised while looking for relationships and addressing assumptions that arose through the support of data (Basit, 2003). Similarities were noted, which highlighted relationships, allowing for data to be coded under common headings (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). This phase of data transcription provided an objective account of responses using the participants’ wording of their responses.

Strauss and Corbin’s work referred specifically to grounded theory. However, research not directly employing this method can use aspects of it to categorise data along the research aims noting relationships. By employing aspects of grounded theory the researcher repeatedly revisited the data, exploring links between themes to reduce data while at the same time being open to new themes (Neuman, 2012).

Attempts were made to understand social capital from the participant’s perspective while adhering to the research aims and the literature. The researcher explored the data for items, themes and categories signifying social capital in leisure clubs. Data

reflected the views of people in leisure clubs and social capital. This provided a

snapshot of everyday life in the clubs and is an important aspect of qualitative research. The initial analysis identified a large number of themes (categories) which were

reduced through further analysis and recorded. This initial recording included

statements and themes and linked them to a specific component of social capital. The data was put into Excel for initial refinement and analysis using open codes to discover major themes and sub-themes. Excel provides for flexible storage and manipulation, sorting, and for the transfer of data into other packages for analysis (Neuman, 2012). The data was recorded according to date and session. A number of additional themes were noted from the qualitative data in addition to that in the literature, which is often a

common outcome of empirical research (Jacob, 1987). This outcome was an important part of the rationale for this phase of the research, providing additional themes as highlighted in Chapter 3. Responses were categorized under the apparent theme or components that each related to, for example trust, reciprocity (Onyx & Bullen, 2000). Coded grouped responses were analysed for specific component characteristics and to indicateany additional components.