Researchers approach a problem from a certain paradigm or worldview; that is, a basic set of beliefs or assumptions that guide their inquiries (Creswell, 1998; Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Researchers with different paradigms or “interpretive frameworks” may arrive at very different descriptions of the same data because they examine the problem through different lenses. These “frameworks” combine beliefs about ontology (What is the nature of reality?), epistemology (What is the relationship between the researcher and the researched?), and methodology (How do we know the world, or gain knowledge of it?) (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, Guba, 1990). Bateson (1972) further asserts that “the researcher is bound within a net of epistemological and ontological premises which regardless of ultimate truth or falsity become partially self-validating” (p. 314). Therefore, all research is basically interpretive and guided by a set of beliefs and feelings about the world and how it should be understood and studied.
The literature review brought together a diverse number of studies to lay the groundwork for selection of the research design and allowed the specific design chosen for this study to emerge (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, Lincoln & Guba, 1985). A qualitative methodology was selected in order to get an in-depth understanding of how Chinese parents and their young children make sense of the AE programmes they have received. A qualitative research paradigm helps to preserve the context for maintaining the meaning of the data and to obtain first hand information
in understanding the dynamic interaction of the complex social, historical and cultural forces (Lam, 2000).
The Chinese work in a social system called “guanxi” (relationship) (Bond, 1996), and truthful
responses can only be obtained by means of face-to-face contact. This implies that, if they don‟t “know” (trust) you, Chinese respondents will not give you a complete picture of what they think. This is a very important cultural factor that needs to be taken into consideration when designing the research. If the researcher cannot develop a sense of trust with the interviewee, some standard answers may easily be given, which may not reflect the real situation.
In my personal experience, I know that Chinese people are very sensitive about any recording of their responses. This is particularly true for immigrants to foreign countries. It is very difficult to convince them that the “written records/materials” that they have given will not be used for other purposes. There may be some historical reasons for this sensitivity as the traumatic experiences of the Cultural Revolution may still affect the thinking of Chinese people, particularly those from China PRC. Messages in written format are considered as “cold messages” and normally Chinese people will not bother to answer in detail. They will treat them as a formality and not as a personal matter. They will also consider written questions as insincere or disrespectful or both. Even if they participate in quantitative research such as questionnaires, their answers will normally be very brief and not give much detail, as they do not bother to write in detail, particularly on sensitive issues.
The methodological inspiration for this study drew upon an understanding of grounded theory associated with Glaser & Strauss (1967). The grounded theory approach refers to “a qualitative research method that uses a systematic set of analytic or interpretive procedures to generate inductively derived theory which is grounded in the experiences of the research participants” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 43). “It is an inductive method that maintains the connection between the data and its context” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 13). The grounded theory study does not begin with a theory and then attempt to „prove‟ it. Rather, it begins with an area of study and then analyses what is relevant to that area so as to develop an emerging theory. The
core of the grounded theory research is that human mind must be understood through mediated action and activities in a particular historical and cultural context (Charmaz, 2000).
According to Strauss and Corbin (1990):
“A grounded theory is one that is inductively derived from the study of the phenomenon it represents. It is discovered, developed and provisionally verified through systematic data collection and analysis of data pertaining to that phenomenon. Therefore, data collection, analysis and theory stand in reciprocal relationship with each other” (p.23).
Due to time constraints on fieldwork, it was not feasible to fully embrace a grounded theory approach which would have involved moving backwards and forwards between the field and theory-development and -refinement. Instead, a multiple data collection method was employed. This included open-ended, in-depth interviews with the young participants of adventure education programmes offered by the Scouts and Enoch Leadership Camp, their parents and the organisers. A field-observation of the Scouts‟ winter camp as well as their normal meeting was undertaken to obtain first hand information of the actual setting. Web-based research and documentary research was carried out about the aims and objectives of their programmes to deepen the understanding of the nature of the programmes offered by the organisers. Data from different sources ensure trustworthiness and establish research triangulation.
5.2.1 The researcher
One of the key elements in qualitative research is the researcher. The quality of the data always depends on the feeling of the respondents (Marcus & Fischer, 1986) and the relationship between the interviewer-respondent (Crapanzano, 1986). Spradley (1979) describes the interviewer-respondent interaction in qualitative research as the establishment of human-to-human relationship between the researcher and the respondent. The most important element of this in-depth encounter in an interview lies in its desire to understand (researcher) and the willingness to tell the truth (respondent) (Spradley, 1979). Hence, the nature of the research relationship represents a critical ethical issue and the establishment of trust and understanding (rapport) becomes the most important thing for the researcher (Fontana & Frey, 1994).
In the present study, the researcher was the most important research instrument. Fundamental to the use of the researcher as an instrument, the researcher is required not only to have access to the setting, but also needs to relate to participants, understand the culture and the language of the respondents and communicate with them. The researcher is also required to be able to promote a sense of respect, mutuality and empowerment within the research relationship, be willing to have empathetic understanding, be ready to spend adequate time for in-depth exploration, and be prepared for prolonged engagement to allow for informants‟ direct involvement in further discussion (Fontana & Frey, 1994). Trust and rapport between researcher and each participant are essential while engaging in qualitative interviewing.
I have the advantage of being Chinese from Hong Kong, able to speak the languages (English, Cantonese and Putonghua), understand Chinese culture and be well-accepted by respondents. Having been a teacher in secondary school for 10 years, university for 15 years and involved in Adventure Education programmes for more than 20 years, I am mature and experienced in the field, as well as approachable, friendly and non-threatening. The participants (Chinese) felt comfortable and able to trust me and treated me as a visiting friend. Normally, Chinese participants are rather introverted and very careful when talking to a stranger. During the interviewing process, I was able to put myself in the role of respondents and see the situation from their perspective rather than imposing the world of academia and preconceptions upon them. This attitude certainly made the participants feel more comfortable and willing to expand on their personal experience and perspectives. One of the major advantages of the quick development of the interviewer-respondent relationship was assistance of the AE providers (Chinese Christian Mission, CCM and Enoch Youth Outreach), who helped contact the participants and arranged for a counselling room to be available for interviews. This facility and logistical support increased the trust among the participants towards the interviewer. My experience in AE programmes, but my non-involvement in any Scout group, provided participants with confidence to say what they really wanted to and not what they thought I might want them to say. This is very important as normally Chinese people are reticent with strangers.
5.2.2 The participants
According to Creswell (1998), “...the purposeful selection of participants represents a key decision point in a qualitative study” (p.18). A theoretical sampling strategy is employed in the study because it is featured in grounded theory research. According to Strauss and Corbin (1990), theoretical sampling is “sampling on the basis of concepts that have proven theoretical relevance to the evolving theory” (p.176). This means that theoretical sampling procedure is cumulative, with an increasing depth of focus which aims to discover if the events and incidents are saturated enough to develop a convincing theory.
The participating groups of this research were members of the 16th Burnaby Scout Group, organised by the Chinese Christian Mission and the Enoch Youth Outreach Society (Enoch). Official inquiries were made to the two organisations (Appendix 1) and the staff helped to contact the participants and seek their consent. Feedback from the parents and the AE participants was very positive and there were altogether 30 participants (including parents and young participants) willing to participate in the research (Appendix 2).
The criteria for selection were as follows:
The parent must be non-Canadian-born Chinese
Their children must be the first generation either born in Canada or immigrants to Canada recently.
The children‟s ages must be between 13 to 18 (high school, pre-university)
The children must also have participated in some kind of adventure education programme in the past two years.
They must be willing to participate voluntarily and sign the consent form prepared by the researcher under the Lincoln University Human Ethnic Committee Guidelines.
Most of the parents participated in this research were immigrants from Hong Kong, except one from Tianjin, one from Shanghai and one from Zhongshan County, China PRC. They have resided in Canada from 31 years to 1.5 years and all feel very settled and consider Canada as their homeland. They enjoy the lifestyle in Canada and consider Canada as a good place for
their children to grow up. This was an ideal group for this research and fitted perfectly with the research objectives.