2.7.2.1 Protecting the rights of participants
• The right to self-determination
This right is based on the ethical principle of respect for persons, which proceeds from the assumption that human beings are ab initio autonomous and can control their destiny, hence have an essential claim to be treated with due deference to that claim (Burns & Grove 2005:181). In the present instance the right to self-determination was
deferring to their choice to participate (thereby also implying the unimpeded right to withdraw at any point in the proceedings), hence, participants’ written consents were obtained before the interview. Participants were left in no doubt that they were being studied and their permission was elicited to audiotape the proceedings.
All participants participated voluntarily in the study without any cohersion. Participants were informed about their right to withdraw from the study without any fear of being victimised, in view of the being students. The withdrawal from the study would not influence their academic performance.
• The right to privacy
Participants in a study have the right to determine the extent to which their private information will be shared with or withheld from others, hence their informed consent must be secured for any disclosure of such information, according to Gray (2009:78) not only before, but also at intervals during the interview so that ample opportunity is afforded to withdraw at any time, or to refuse to answer questions considered intrusive. In the present instance the right to privacy was protected in that confidentiality of personal information volunteered by participants was guaranteed verbally and in writing. For example, code names were used to disguise participants’ identity. Brink et al (2008:30) emphasise that data collected and codes should be kept in a locked file cabinet at all times and this idea was adhered to.
• The right to anonymity and confidentiality
The right to anonymity and confidentiality is in line with the principle of beneficence, doing good and prevent harm. A promise of confidentiality is a pledge that any information participants provide will not be publicly reported in a manner that identifies them and will not be made accessible to others, whereas anonymity occurs when even the researcher cannot link a participant to his or her data (Speziale & Carpenter 2007:65). The researcher respected this right by keeping participants’ identities secret (code names were used in the present instance). In this study, collected data were used strictly for research and were kept safely inaccessible to all other parties.
• The right to fair selection and treatment
This right is in line with the principle of justice. As noted by Brink et al (2008:33), participants must be selected for reasons directly related to the study problem, not because they are readily available or because the researcher likes them.
Factors ruled out as considerations for inclusion were cultural background, gender, origin, language, age, sexual orientation or religious affiliation, and participants were supported equally without respect to persons (William 2010:170).
• The right to protection from discomfort and harm
Categories subsumed under this rubric include emotional, social, physiological and economic discomfort and harm. Burns and Grove (2005:190) emphasise that it is incumbent on the researcher to examine the balance of benefits and risks involved in factors impinging on the study so that termination of the study can be considered if risks outweigh benefits.
Protection of this right in the present instance involved monitoring participants’ behaviour for signs of discomfort or harm so that they could be referred for counseling if the need arose; furthermore assurances of confidentiality were given as discussed to protect participants against possible victimisation by superiors on grounds of their disclosures during the interviews.
2.7.2.2 Protecting the rights of the institution
The rights of the institution were protected by obtaining prior consent from the principal of the college where participants were undergoing training (see above). By the same token the researcher deferred at all times to the relevant regulatory frameworks imposed in this regard by the Gauteng Department of Health, the Ethical Committee of the College, and the Department of Health Studies Higher Degree Committee at UNISA.
2.7.2.3 Scientific integrity of the research
The researcher has ethical responsibilities associated with the conduct and reporting of the research. All sources consulted for the purposes of conducting the study have been duly acknowledged. The researcher hereby declares that no fabrication, falsification, forging of information or misrepresentation of what was done occurred in the process of conducting the study, nor were the design, methods and data manipulated in any way that could possibly create an unauthentic impression. Furthermore the subject matter as reported here is hereby declared free from plagiarism or irresponsible behavior such as inappropriate participation.
2.8 CONCLUSION
This chapter covered the research design and method, as well as the approach toand process of data collection. Data analysis was discussed with particular reference to content analysis. Also included were interview transcription, organising, ordering and storing of data, reviewing collected data by listening to audiorecordings and reading printouts; finally theme building was also discussed.
Particular care was taken to foster trustworthiness and authenticity.Due attention was also paid to ethical considerations, with particular reference to preservation of participants’ rights, namely autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, privacy/ confidentiality and justice. Data analysis will be covered in chapter 3.
CHAPTER 3
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter reviews management, analysis and the results of analysing interview data. Whereas Brink et al (2008:170) explain that data analysis entails organising and presenting data with a view to addressing research questions effectively, Gray (2009:943) comments that it is a rigorous logical process of attributing meaning to data while preserving the uniqueness of each participant’s experience as reflected in the interview data. Analysis covered the identified themes and sub-themes and discussion of identified themes as well as sub-themes.