The whole process of data collection is called instrumentation. It involves the selection or design of the instruments and the procedure and the condition under which the instrument will be administered (Frenkel and Wallen, 2003:119). It addresses the location of data collection, when it would be collected and the time of collection and how often. The research method that is proposed in a study also implicitly determines the instruments to be used for data collection. This study is mainly qualitative. The two commonly used instruments for data collection in a qualitative study are the questionnaire and the interview. Accordingly, the
111 researcher used the questionnaire and interview as research instruments in this study. Desk research was used as well, since content analysis was employed to study the three specialised dictionaries. Creswell (2007) and Leedy and Ormrod (2005) presented observations as another data collection method for qualitative research. During the field work, the researcher was able to see and observe the phenomena of this topic personally, composing field notes on the observed perceptions. However, whatever data collection method the researcher employed, it had to bring in optimum results for the study.
4.5.1 Interviews
Creswell (2007) described one of the data collection process for qualitative studies as interviewing participants. One of the data collection methods used in this study was conducting face to face interviews with the study participants. Oral interview were conducted with researchers at African Languages Research Institute (ALRI), African language lecturers from Midlands State University, Great Zimbabwe University and University of Zimbabwe, and the three dictionary compilers. The compilers of the Shona specialised terms dictionaries were interviewed, because they were in a better position to justify the term creation strategies they employed in their dictionaries. As according to Moustakas (1994:21) the interview situation was approached with an open mind, considering every response and information given by research participants as having equal worth. In support, of the above contention, the researcher concedes that the research participants’
insights and co-operation were essential parts of the discussion process for this study, and it revealed and displayed a lot of enthusiasm and zeal towards the topic under study. It is the responses of the research participants and the discussion held with the researcher that formed the basis of interpretation of the collected data. Appendix D contains the interview protocol for the interview participants.
As the qualitative method places emphasis on first person reports of life experiences (Fouche, 2005:270) in-depth interviews were employed for this study. The participants’ life worlds were entered through contacting them personally and conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews which involved listening to their analysis, beliefs, opinions and attitudes towards term creation strategies used in the selected Shona specialised dictionaries. Basing on this contention, this study considered the participants’ objective and subjective perspective on
112 term creation strategies and the terms for the Shona technical lexicon as the basis of the analysis.
Use of interviews assured the researcher of reliability and validity of responses, as it afforded the researcher with a chance to probe respondents so as to get more information and clarity on the responses given. The kinds of questions asked were objective and related to term creation strategies used in the Shona specialised terms dictionaries. The researcher tape-recorded the interviews, as well as taking notes during the interviews. This was done with the participants’ permission. The interviews were recorded to allow for a more complete record and to ensure every detail is captured. Researcher used both the structured and unstructured interview questions, for the same groups of respondents, to gain a more comprehensive picture of the research study. Forty minutes were given to the interviewees.
This made it possible for the study to obtain thick descriptions from the participants. An interview protocol was used to guide the interview process. This ensured coverage of all intended and follow- up questions.
4.5.1.1 Structured interview questions
A structured interview makes use of some pre-determined questions or key words used as a guide (Tutty et al., 1996:56) in an interview process. In this study, structured interview questions were prepared in advance and were neutral in such a way that they did not lead the interviewee to some expected answers. Questions were asked in an open-ended manner and at appropriate times. The structured interview questions were directed by the interview guide (Appendix D). The structured interviews were based on some predetermined questions although there was flexibility on how questions were asked. Thus, the structured interviews allowed the interviewees an opportunity to shape the flow of the information (Wilkinson and Birmingham, 2003:45, Aspers, 2009:7). The structured interview questions were also open-ended so as to allow and encourage open answers from respondents (Charmaz, 2006:26).
Furthermore, open ended questions allowed comparability of study results and consequently allowed the researcher access to rich data (Best and Khan, 2006). Such questions assisted in demarcating the area of interest of the researcher. Thus, structured interviews are an effective means of gathering data on people’s experiences (Moustakas, 1994:21, Denzin and Lincoln, 2000:7; Aspers, 2009:8) and as such, they were chosen by the researcher as a means of gathering qualitative data for this study.
113 4.5.1.2 Unstructured interview questions
According to Charmaz (2006:14) the flexibility of qualitative research makes it particularly appropriate when using the interview as a data collection instrument because there is room to adjust the order of questions, as well as the phraseology of questions, as the research progresses. As such, the use of unstructured interview questions enabled the researcher to use a more conversational style, prompting and probing the respondents and developing questions as the situation demanded in order to get rich data from respondents. Furthermore, the unstructured interview questions in this study helped the researcher to draw out information, attitudes, opinions, ideas and issues around term creation strategies and language development in Shona specialised terms dictionaries without the aid of pre-determined questioning.
4.5.2 Questionnaires
A questionnaire is a document designed to solicit information for analysis from research participants. This is aptly put by Tuckman (1978) who says, a questionnaire is a document containing questions designed to solicit information appropriate for analysis from research participants. Burns and Grove (1999:272) point out that a questionnaire is mostly used in descriptive studies designed to gather a broad spectrum of information from subjects. And as such, the questionnaire was a suitable, data collecting instrument for the analysis of term creation strategies used in the selected Shona specialised dictionaries, so as to realise the overall aims and objectives of the research study.
The questionnaires were employed in such a way that they complemented the interview method, to give adequate and accurate information that was needed for the success of this study. The advantage is that questionnaires can be distributed to a large sample of the population within a brief period of time (De Vos et al 2002:172). As this study involved a large number of research participants,it was appropriate to use the questionnaires, so as to obtain information within a short period of time at a relatively cost effective way. In this study, one hundred and forty questionnaires were distributed to gather different views from the potential users of the dictionaries, who were; 30 African languages university students, 30 Shona high school students, 50 music and musicology students and 30 medical students (see Tables 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 above). This population was targeted because they were the ones
114 in a better position to make an analysis of the term creation strategies and the terms used in the three Shona specialised dictionaries.
The questionnaire was very convenient to the respondents because it ensured privacy and confidentiality. This helped the researcher in obtaining credible data. Babbie and Mouton (2001:262) postulate that, respondents are sometimes reluctant to report controversial ideas in interviews but are willing to respond to an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Thus research participants enjoyed a high degree of confidentiality in completing the questionnaires. The questionnaire also eliminated interviewer bias (Lo Biondo-Wood and Haber, 1994:357) in the view that there would be no interviewer to influence the data from research participants. In addition, the questionnaire allowed the researcher to convert data into information, as the gathered information was organised into tables and graphs for analysis and discussion. However, one of the disadvantages is that, the researcher had no control over whether the correct person completed the questionnaire (De Vos et al 2002:172).
Other research participants could have read differently into each question and therefore responses could be based on their own interpretation of the question. Therefore, there could have been a level of subjectivity which was not acknowledged by the research participants.
The questionnaire for this study consisted of three main sections, which served as primary research tools for the study; the demographic, hypothetical and the open ended questions.
4.5.2.1 Demographic questions
In this study, demographic questions enabled the researcher to obtain such information as age, education level, gender and profession of respondents. The responses to these questions gave the researcher an insight into the social, cultural and educational foundations of the respondents towards the issues of term creation in the selected Shona specialised terms dictionary. This enabled the researcher to consider whether such factors influenced the manner in which the target population responded to the hypothetical and open ended questions.
4.5.2.2 Hypothetical questions
The hypothetical questions enabled the researcher to measure the attitudes of research participants towards various aspects of indigenous language use, including scientific and technical terminology in all spheres of life including schools and universities. The questions also allowed the researcher to gauge participants’ attitudes towards socio-linguistic factors
115 such as the phenomenon that English is a superior language over the indigenous languages and the adequacy and relevance of term creation to the general development of a people’s lives. The hypothetical questions were measured on a plus minus likert scale of “Agree” and
“Disagree” to determine the degree to which research participants were influenced by such factors as cited above.
4.5.2.3 Open ended questions
The open-ended question on the final section of the survey enabled the research participants to expound on issues related to the study intensively and extensively, hence, they generated candid data. Thus, open-ended questions provided the researcher with rich qualitative data.
In essence, the open ended questions provided the researcher with an opportunity to gain insight on all the opinions on a topic. However, there were a few drawbacks to open-ended questions as well. Though respondents’ answers were almost always richer in quality, the amount of effort it took to digest the information provided was sometimes overwhelming.
Also, being qualitative in nature made these types of questions lack the statistical significance needed for conclusive research. Nevertheless, the open-ended questions were incredibly useful in several different ways. The questionnaires were presented as follows:
Questionnaire for African Languages Students (Appendix E)
Questionnaire for High School Students (Appendix F)
Questionnaire for Medical Students (Appendix G)
Questionnaire for Musical Students (Appendix H)
4.5.3 Desk research
In addition to the data collection instruments cited above, the researcher used various literatures to make a thorough and critical analysis of term creation strategies in selected Shona specialised terms dictionaries. For instance, journals, textbooks and the internet were consulted as secondary sources. This was mainly done in Chapter 2, and in other subsequent chapters. These included the works, both print and electronic, of scholars and researchers such as Mutasa, Hadebe, Chimhundu and Magwa among others. The different articles and books provided an insight into term creation strategies; such as borrowing, compounding, coining, derivation and term creation principles and guidelines. Robson (2007) says that, desk review of literature has an advantage in that it is not difficult to get hold of relevant
116 documents for little or no cost. Thus, Chapter 2 provided good background information on indigenous language development and term creation, and from these sources, a set of major topics for investigation in this study was gleaned. The primary sources, Duramazwi Reurapi Neutano (2004), (Biomedical Terms Dictionary) -DRN, Duramazwi Remimhanzi (2005), (Dictionary of Musical Terms) -DR and Duramazwi reDudzira Mutauro neUvaranomwe (2007), (Dictionary of Literal Terms) -DRUwere used for the term creation strategies showing how the different specialised terms were created, described, explained and analysing the examples that were given for created terms using the various term creation strategies. In other words, the primary sources provided the information for the analysis of the effectiveness and appropriateness of the term creation strategies used by the dictionary compilers.