Estrategias de conmutación de inversores multiniveles

Prior to data collection, this research was approved according to the Ethical Guidelines stipulated by the Centre for Applied Linguistics Graduate Progress Committee at the University of Warwick. Having been given approval, I abided by these ethical guidelines in collecting data. Two noteworthy points are informed consent and protecting the privacy of the participants.

- 130 -

3.5.1 Informed consent

Informed consent is a crucial element in research ethics. Thus, the participants were given consent forms (see Appendix 4), and time to read and sign them prior to the first interviews. I have summarised six points below which I pledged in the consent forms, as has been recommended by several scholars (Dörnyei, 2007:70-71; Kvale, 1996:112-114; Wellington, 2000:77).

1. To seek permission to record the interviews.

2. To guarantee the anonymity and confidentiality of participants.

3. To notify participants of the vital information about the research itself, such as the purpose, reason for selecting the individual for research, duration of the interview and how the notes and recording will be handled afterwards.

4. To indicate that participation is voluntary and that participants can withdraw at any time without prejudice.

5. To offer to answer any questions regarding the nature of the research, with my contact details.

- 131 -

provisions stated between 1 to 5.

One dilemma was in respect of participant observation. Due to the exploratory nature of this research, when I distributed the consent forms to my participants, I did not have a clear idea about how to do naturalistic participant observation. Thus, when opportunities to spend time with them arose, at times I decided to ask them orally if I could observe them, and at other times when I was clearly in their company as a friend, I did not seek such permission and hence I did not collect signed consent forms at all. However, Dörnyei (2007:70) acknowledges that obtaining signed forms is not always necessary for some cultural groups, and I am aware that Japanese business customs are frequently based on oral rather than written consent. Nonetheless, I stress the fact that the participants were shown all their data I included in the current study prior to its completion.

3.5.2 Anonymity and confidentiality

Before the data collection began, I assured the participants that anonymity and confidentiality would be kept and that data would be protected. All the data used

- 132 -

pseudonyms, and specific names regarding their address and professional affiliations were not shown. Data were stored in computer hard discs protected by passwords, anti-virus software and anti-spyware to prevent file leak. As far as the photographs are concerned, I asked the participants for permission to include them in my research. In this way, I strove to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants.

3.6 Summary

In this chapter I have argued my paradigmatic stance as a social constructivist and detailed how and why I decided to adopt narrative case study. This helps explain the structure of how I will present my findings in Chapters Four and Five, in which each participant is treated as a case. Such a structure is rooted in the belief that I should represent holistically the story of each specific individual as a person in a specific time and place, instead of making componentised abstract psychological factors or my data collection methods as the protagonists. Each person‟s story will then be colligated through a cross-case analysis and discussion to answer the research questions in Chapter Six.

- 133 -

CHAPTER 4 MARI

I will now present the narrative of Mari, which will start with a table that describes how I obtained her data.

Date Location/ Situation Data collection

instrument

Code

1 20 February 2009 My house Interview 1 MA-200209-INT1

2 20 February 2009 Research

Diary 1

MA-200209-RES1

3 7 March 2009 E-mail 1 MA-070309-EMA1

4 7 March 2009 E-mail 2 MA-070309-EMA2

5 4 April 2009 Field trip organised by

Lucy for international

students

Participant observation 1

MA-040409-OBS1

6 23 July 2009 Field trip organised by

Lucy for international

students / Mari’s flat

Participant observation 2

MA-230709-OBS2

7 23 July 2009 Mari leading a Bible study

group for the international students at Julie’s house

Participant observation 3

MA-230709-OBS3

8 16 August 2009 Julie’s birthday party Participant

observation 4

MA-160809-OBS4

9 11 October 2009 Gracie’s birthday party Participant

observation 5

MA-111009-OBS5

10 9 December 2009 Story telling performance

as part of her master’s programme

Participant observation 6

MA-091209-OBS6

11 20 December 2009 E-mail 3 MA-201209-EMA3

12 25 December 2009 Christmas party at Julie’s

house

Participant observation 7

- 134 -

13 30 December 2009 University library Interview 2 MA-301209-INT2

14 30 December 2009 Research

Diary 2

MA-301209-RES2

15 31 December 2009 Dinner at Lucy’s house Recording 1 MA-311209-REC1

16 15 February 2010 My house Interview 3 MA-150210-INT3

17 15 February 2010 Research

Diary 3

MA-150210-RES3

18 17 February 2010 E-mail 4 MA-170210-EMA4

19 20 April 2010 After Mari returned to

Japan

E-mail 5 MA-200410-EMA5

20 27 December 2010 After Mari returned to

Japan

E-mail 6 MA-271210-EMA6

21 6 January 2011 After Mari returned to

Japan

E-mail 7 MA-060111-EMA7

22 16 April 2011 After Mari returned to

Japan

E-mail 8 MA-160411-EMA8

23 26 May 2011 Mari’s respondent

validation

Document MA-260511-VAL1

24 20 August 2011 Mari’s respondent

validation

Document MA-200811-VAL2

Table 4.1 Data on Mari