5.1 Research Methodology: Qualitative study with quantitative elements
This research project was designed as a qualitative ethnographic field study that aimed to generate an in-depth understanding of a larger social dynamic through a case-study approach in one site. The re-searcher decided to characterise this project in terms of methodology as a ―qualitative study with quantitative elements‖, since it is primarily a qualitative study that incorporates quantitative data to obtain a fuller picture of the situation. In the modern literature on social science research this is often
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called a ―mixed-methods approach‖.83 In order to get a holistic picture when studying social phenom-ena (as is the case in this study), it is important to examine them from different perspectives. It might therefore be necessary to gather a range of different types of data using different methods.84 In the case of this study the need for different methods stems from the research questions, which seek to explore not only the nature, but also the extent of skarreling at the study site.
The ethnographic approach to qualitative research has its roots in the field of anthropology. In princi-ple, an ethnographic study is a ―descriptive study of a particular human society‖ and is entirely or to large parts based on fieldwork.85 Accordingly, Fetterman defines ethnography as ―the art and science of describing a group or culture‖, which ―[…] may be of a small tribal group in an exotic land or a classroom in middle-class suburbia.‖86 The focus of ethnographic studies are the patterns of human thought and behaviour through an analysis of the routine, i.e. the daily lives of people.87 In the case of this dissertation, the waste pickers of the Coastal Park landfill constitute the group that was investi-gated in order to explore their daily struggle to eke out a living under adverse circumstances.
Ethnography as a social science research method typically employs three kinds of data collection:
interviews, observation, and documents. This in turn yields three kinds of data: quotations, descrip-tions, and excerpts of documents. This data is then presented as an interwoven ―story‖ called narra-tive description. In order to tell a comprehensible story, the narranarra-tive often includes charts, diagrams and pictures. With the findings and analysis of an ethnographic study the researcher can (amongst other things) help inform policy decisions.88 Following from this, it seemed the best choice to design the project at hand – which is laid out as a policy critique – as an ethnographic study presented as a narrative description.
According to Miles and Huberman, qualitative data are ―a source of well-grounded rich descriptions and explanations of processes in identifiable local contexts. With qualitative data, one can preserve chronological flow, see precisely which events led to which consequences and derive fruitful
83 see e.g. Bob Matthews and Liz Ross, Research Methods: A practical guide for the social sciences (Harlow: Longman, 2010), p. 144
84 Ibid.
85 Encyclopaedia Britannica, ‗Ethnography‘.
URL: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194292/ethnography Accessed: 27.02.2014
86 David M. Fetterman, Ethnography: Step by step, 2nd ed. (London: SAGE Publications, 1998), p. 1
87 Ibid.
88 Michael Genzuk, ‗A Synthesis of Ethnographic Research‘, Occasional Papers Series, Center for Multilingual, Multi-cultural Research, University of Southern California, 2003, p. 1
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nations.‖89 Moreover, ―qualitative data are more likely to lead to serendipitous findings and to new integrations; they help researchers to get beyond initial conceptions and to generate and revise con-ceptual frameworks; [and] the findings from qualitative studies have a quality of ‗undeniability‘.
Words especially organized into incidents or stories have a concrete, vivid, meaningful flavour that often proves more convincing to a reader – another researcher, a policymaker, a practitioner – than pages and summarised numbers‖.90 In turn, the use of a case-study is instructive in facilitating the kind of in-depth investigation required for the more extensive meaning of a particular dynamic to be illustrated.
In addition to the qualitative analysis of the social dynamics involved, one of the main objectives of this study was to obtain numbers to enable an understanding of the extent of waste salvaging on the particular landfill. Therefore a substantial amount of quantitative data was collected, primarily through observation and based on questionnaires around a few key questions. Statistical methods were used to help with organising and understanding the collected data.91 These data allowed for ex-trapolation in order to estimate the scale of this activity on the CPL site over monthly and yearly time periods, and its economic impact on the community as a whole.
5.2 Case study approach
When it came to research design, the researcher had several options for investigating the chosen prob-lem. There are four major types of research design, namely experimental, cross-sectional, longitudi-nal and case studies.92 In a case study approach, one can choose ―either a single case or a small num-ber of cases but each case is explored in detail and great depth.‖93
According to Yin, ―case studies are the preferred strategy when ‗how‘ and ‗why‘ questions are being posed […] and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life context.‖94 Case studies can be either explanatory, exploratory or descriptive – or be a mix of these types. When choosing the right research strategy it is therefore important to determine what the main type of ques-tion is that will be asked: ―what‖ quesques-tions would favour surveys or the analysis or archival records, whereas ―‗[h]ow‘ and ‗why‘ questions are likely to favour the use of case studies, experiments, or
89 Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman, Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook (London: SAGE Publications, 1994), p. 1
90 Ibid.
91 Matthews and Ross, Research Methods, p. 343
92 Ibid., p. 115
93 Ibid., p. 128
94 Robert K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, third edition (London: SAGE Publications, 2003), p. 1
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histories.‖95 Since this research essentially attempts to investigate why there is conflict around waste picking in South Africa, and in particular on the CPL landfill, choosing an exploratory single case study approach seemed the first and best option.
Furthermore, case studies are well suited to ethnographic field studies, as they offer a number of ad-vantages. For instance, case studies allow for the collection of detailed information on a specific issue that can provide in-depth insights that can help in the understanding of the causes of certain phenom-ena.
5.3 Research methods and instruments
Apart from drawing on the literature on waste pickers in developing countries and on the main con-cepts employed – sustainable development, informality, neoliberalism – policy documents on all lev-els (international, national, regional and local) related to these concepts and SWM in general were analysed. These underpinned and contrasted with the primary data obtained in the field.
Research is about gathering and/or interpreting data. In this process, ―data are facts expressed in the language of measurement.‖96 When researchers collect their own data in the process of fieldwork, they obtain primary data. However, most of the time researchers have to rely on data collected by others, which is secondary data. Since this dissertation is designed as an ethnographic study, much primary data was gathered and compared to secondary data, as well as to policy documents and the relevant literature.
In the case of primary data, there are different techniques of data collection. First of all, there is the technique of observation, which can further be divided into three forms: simple observation, or as it is also called non-participant observation, refers to the recording of events as observed by an outsider.
One weakness of this method is that people who feel observed might change their behaviour. One way to avoid this indirect interference with the observed person is to resort to participant observa-tion. This means that the researchers themselves become members of the community or group under investigation, but there is the danger that they might lose objectivity. Therefore, modified participant observation is often preferred, where the researcher only attends major events.97
95 Ibid., p. 7
96 Claire Bless, Craig Higson-Smith, and Ashraf Kagee, Fundamentals of Social Research Methods: An African Perspec-tive, fourth edition (Cape Town: Juta, 2006), p. 111
97 Ibid., p. 114f.
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In the case of this research, non-participant observation was chosen. There was no real danger of the waste pickers changing their behaviour through being observed, because they needed to go about their business as usual in order to earn an income, and the presence of the researcher did not change their situation. Furthermore, there was no need to resort to participant observation, because the re-searcher had access to the studied group by just being an observer (without having to infiltrate it).98 Besides, it would have been difficult for a white European to infiltrate the African skarrelaars without standing out. However, spending time walking in the streets of these communities from morning to afternoon or evening every day for two weeks meant that many locals became familiar with the sight of the researcher interviewing community members.
Thus, a substantial part of the two weeks in the townships was spent on observing, for instance on waiting on the pathways leading to the landfill and counting the people going up, or walking through the streets, talking to members of the community and visiting their homes (houses, shacks and dens).
This helped the researcher to gain a better understanding of the situation in the township and the per-sonal living conditions of the residents, which in turn meant that the research could be put in context.
The observations were captured in a fieldwork diary and on photographs.
Apart from observation, one can also collect data through interviews and questionnaires, where in-formation given directly by a person is transformed into data (as opposed to data gathered from ob-serving). Interviews are used to obtain qualitative data, and questionnaires are the instrument used to obtain quantitative data. There are different ways of conducting interviews. The researcher can ask people to express their views in non-scheduled interviews, where the respondents can comment on broadly defined issues. If the researcher wants more specific and detailed information, it is advisable to set up a non-scheduled structured interview. Structure here refers to a list of issues for investiga-tion that is prepared before the interview and that includes precise quesinvestiga-tions and alternative quesinvestiga-tions or sub-questions, depending on the response to the main questions. Thirdly, the researcher can con-duct a scheduled structured interview, which is the most structured interview form. Here the aim is to minimise the influence of the interviewer by using an established set of questions in exactly the same order, thereby limiting the possible range of the answers.99 These three interview forms are also re-ferred to as unstructured interviews, semi-structured interviews and standardised structured inter-views. 100
98 Matthews and Ross, Research Methods, p. 257
99 Bless et al., Fundamentals of Social Research Methods, p. 116f.
100 Matthews and Ross, Research Methods, p. 221
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To analyse the underlying factors and understand the dynamics of informal waste recycling, it was crucial to obtain qualitative data. These were mainly acquired through in-depth interviews and focus group interviews which were conducted by the researcher in English: ―Interviews are one of the main data collection methods used by social researchers, providing the opportunity for direct interaction between the researcher and the research participants.‖101
For the quantitative part of the study the researcher designed a short questionnaire with eight ques-tions (see appendix B), although two quesques-tions were added to also yield more qualitative data. The questionnaire was designed to be very brief in order not to take too much time away from the skarrelaars in case they wanted to go up onto the landfill again, and so as not to not to disturb (slow down) the business at the scrap dealers too much. The skarrelaars did not have to be asked all the questions, because some answers could be obtained by observation alone (such as determining the skarrelaars‘ gender and ethnicity). Therefore this set of questions has been designated the ―observa-tion ques―observa-tionnaire‖.
For the depth interviews with the skarrelaars the researcher designed a standardised structured in-terview schedule (see appendix C). The original idea was to use a three-page group-administered questionnaire, but when the first participants preferred to be interviewed (rather than also having to fill in a questionnaire), the researcher changed the approach and conducted individual standardised structured interviews instead. These followed a common set of questions and asked the questions in exactly the same way for each interview.102 It appeared that the skarrelaars lacked the confidence to fill in a questionnaire, and some stated that they had forgotten most of their reading and writing skills as they had not used them in a long time. The structured interview schedule was designed as sets of questions in five categories based on the questionnaire, which also included open-ended questions and left scope for conversation. The researcher then filled in the answers on the interview schedule.
5.4 Data collection
The data was collected by conducting formal and informal interviews with some of the skarrelaars, scrap dealers and local residents in the communities surrounding the landfill site, as well as with rep-resentatives of the city and provincial governments. This was complemented by informal chats and non-participant observation. One of the aims was to measure the scale of the recycling carried out by the skarrelaars, especially in terms of the amount and value of the extracted recyclables, and to
101 Ibid., p. 219
102 Ibid., p. 221
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termine how many people/families are sustained by this. This went hand in hand with questions about the dynamics of the process and who is involved in these activities.
In total 200 skarrelaars were surveyed, of whom 14 participated in the in-depth interviews (scheduled structured interviews) and 186 in the short interviews. It is worth noting that 22 of the 186 were inter-viewed before they went on the landfill and the remaining 164 after they had returned with collected materials. The short interviews were for the most part conducted in three locations. Although the time and place of the surveys varied slightly, a number of skarrelaars were interviewed twice. About one-quarter to one-third of these participants were interviewed twice, and this was partly intentional. Alt-hough it means that the data are slightly less representative (in terms of the qualitative results) than if all participants had just been interviewed once, the researcher anticipated this possible double-interviewing, and used it to the advantage of the project. The benefit is that this approach might pro-duce more accurate averages for the quantitative part of the study. A ―bad day‖ where only a few re-cyclables were found and collected might be evened out by ―good day‖ where many kilos of scrap were brought to the dealer. Moreover, by conducting the short interviews at the two main scrap deal-ers, it was possible to find participants for the in-depth interviews and to establish some trust. Thus, some skarrelaars were interviewed for both the short and the in-depth interviews. None of the skarrelaars was, however, interviewed twice for the in-depth interview. In addition to these structured interviews, 14 more skarrelaars provided the researcher with insights and information in informal interviews and chats, as did three local residents. The researcher also conducted semi-structured and unstructured interviews with nine scrap dealers and some of their employees in Hillview and Vrygrond/Capricorn, some of whom had themselves been skarrelaars.
For conducting the interviews with the respondents in the townships, the researcher was assisted by an interpreter – who also served as contact person and guide – to translate parts of some interviews into Afrikaans and to explain the project to the participants. The interpreter – Rodney Asia, who is a local resident and son of a well-known Rastafarian – was crucial to the success of the research.
Generally the researcher has felt quite safe during the fieldwork in the townships. On the one hand this may be attributed to the fact that the researcher is a white European (of whom the inhabitants have generally a positive image, as there are some NGOs with European volunteers in the area).
However, I believe that having Rodney as guide who was with me all the time was of even greater importance – it opened many doors and guaranteed safe passage. His father, a Rastafarian, is a well-known and well-respected member of the community. Through having grown up in the community, Rodney also knows many people who went to school with him or with whom he had played soccer in
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his youth. For example, on two occasions we were stopped by a group of young men in the street, who asked what we were doing. Rodney explained the reason for my presence, and they gave their approval (―That’s kwaai, man‖). He explained to me that these were gangsters, but that he had known some of them for many years. My presence in the area as a researcher meant that the gangsters had nothing to fear from me, and Rodney‘s rootedness in the community, as well as his communicative talent, ensured ―free passage‖ and opened many doors.
The researcher decided against using a dictaphone for the field work for a number of reasons. First of all, the external circumstances would have made obtaining a decent quality recording difficult. Many interviews were conducted in the street, where there was constant noise, with interruptions from by-standers, and where the wind often made it difficult just to hear the voice of the interviewee. Second-ly, the researcher wanted to build up some degree of trust and would rather not appear as an investi-gative journalist. Naturally, the skarrelaars, and especially the scrap yard owners, are suspicious when asked about earnings and turnovers. And thirdly, interviewees might be more ―relaxed‖ and more willing to speak openly if there was no recording. The researcher felt that making notes in a small fieldwork diary was the best solution given the circumstances.
Finally, because of language issues (the limited English capability of the skarrelaars, the researcher‘s very limited knowledge of Afrikaans, the local dialect and unclear pronunciation), often several en-quiries were necessary in order to understand correctly what the interviewee wanted to convey. The researcher then only wrote down the agreed meaning. This would have been more difficult with oral recordings.
In terms of contact with officials and policy-makers, one representative of the CCT and two employ-ees of the CPL site, as well as five representatives of the Western Cape Provincial government, were interviewed in two separate semi-structured focus group interviews (see appendices D and E). The latter interview was recorded with a dictaphone, which served as a backup to the notes taken.
5.5 Participant profiles and sampling
In some studies103 waste pickers have been interviewed in focus groups in buildings or in rooms pro-vided by officials; for example the landfill manager might offer a staffroom in the administration building on the landfill. I decided against this practice, for two main reasons: first of all, I saw a
103 see eg. Chvatal, A Study of Waste Management Policy Implications for Landfill Waste Salvagers in the Western Cape.
103 see eg. Chvatal, A Study of Waste Management Policy Implications for Landfill Waste Salvagers in the Western Cape.