Utilidad de este trabajo sobre el léxico de C­Or­DiAL

The process of data collection will be elaborated upon firstly where after the data gathering mechanism, a self-administered questionnaire, will be discussed.

4.4.1 The process of data collection

Data collection (Delport, 2005:166) was done through electronic self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire was developed by Fourie-Malherbe (2012) and is attached as Addendum A. The questionnaire was distributed to students currently enrolled in the LLL programme. The sample was therefore the 99 senior students placed in the Listening, Living and Learning (LLL) senior student housing programme at Stellenbosch University for the duration of 2013. The questionnaire was administered twice – as a pre-test at the beginning of the year (just after enrolment) and as a post-test again after 5 months’ time. In order to maintain researcher objectivity as far as possible, all correspondence and data gathering were conducted not by the researcher but by the LLL co-ordinator.

79

4.4.2 The questionnaire as data gathering mechanism

Quantitative data collection methods often employ measuring instruments. In the social and human sciences, ‘measuring instrument’ refers to such instruments as structured observation schedules, structured interviewing schedules, questionnaires, checklists, indexes and scales (Delport & Roestenburg, 2011:171).

A self-administered, electronic questionnaire is the method of measurement for this study. Babbie (2007:246) defines a questionnaire as “a document containing questions and/or other types of items designed to solicit information appropriate for analysis”. Different types of questionnaires can be identified. A self-administered questionnaire can be defined as questionnaires being handed to respondents, who complete them on their own, but the researcher is available in case problems are experienced (Delport & Roestenburg, 2011:186). Possible advantages utilizing self-administered questionnaires are that they can be distributed to a large number of people, and that this method involves lower costs than interviewing. Also, with self-administered questionnaires a reduced interviewer bias is present and ‘socially desirable’ answers may be less dominant. Possible disadvantages can include low response rates, clarity issues, difficulties with language and understanding and, if online, access challenges (Delport & Roestenburg, 2011).

The questionnaire was distributed electronically and can be classified as a web-based survey as it required the respondent to complete the questionnaire online through a website (Grinnel & Unrau, 2008:298). According to Babbie and Mouton (2007: 230), survey research “is perhaps the most frequently used research design in the social sciences”. Surveys are primarily used in studies where individuals are the unit of analysis and they are “excellent vehicles for measuring attitudes and orientations in a large population” (Babbie & Mouton 2007: 232). Surveys collect information from a large sample cost-effectively, it yields specific and comparative data and it allows respondents to remain anonymous. Some of the challenges include that questions can be misinterpreted by respondents, the researcher cannot always control the circumstances in which respondents complete the survey and responses may be superficial – the nature of the survey makes in-depth questioning difficult.

80

An advantage of electronic questionnaires is that the data are directly entered into a database, mistakes are limited and the use of paper is eliminated (Grinnell & Unrau, 2008:298). An electronic medium is particularly useful in the case of young respondents, who are used to electronic means of communication and are virtually always connected. It is also useful when sensitive questions are being asked as the electronic format provides a more impersonal platform for respondents to air their views frankly (Hunt & McHale, 2007: 1416).

The questionnaire was developed by Fourie-Malherbe (2012) as part of the development of a programme logic model for the LLL programme. Fourie-Malherbe (2012) reports that an internet search produced a large number of examples of survey instruments, specifically developed for measuring stereotyping and bias in respondents’ attitudes. These range from attitudes about gender, race, immigrants, age, and even obesity. The Implicit Association Test of Harvard University (https:/implicit.harvard.edu/) can be viewed as an example, as well as a number of surveys developed by Prof Walter Stephan of New Mexico State University (www-

psych.nmsu.edu/faculty/wstephan.htm). The survey is therefore clearly an appropriate

instrument to measure the kinds of attitudes that this programme concerns itself with. However, no instrument could be found that measures attitudes towards different dimensions of ‘otherness’; therefore the instrument was developed de novo (Fourie- Malherbe, 2012). The process of development will be shortly explained.

The data that had to be collected by the questionnaire was data on changes in attitudes towards ‘the other’ that will illustrate extent of bias and levels of stereotyping (i.e. whether they have stayed the same or diminished due to the LLL programme). From an extensive literature study, the categories of bias and stereotyping that occur among students were identified. These include gender, race, language, country of origin and socio-economic status. Following on this, forms of behavior demonstrating bias and stereotyping were listed. The following forms of behavior demonstrate bias: distrust, making jokes about, using derogatory language, fearing, regarding as inferior, not associating with, and swearing at (Fourie-Malherbe, 2012). The categories of bias and the forms of behavior demonstrating bias were then arranged in a matrix where every category of bias was coupled with a form of behaviour. This was formulated in the

81

form of a statement (linear numerical scale) which the respondent agrees or disagrees with on ten-point scale (from totally disagree=1 to totally agree=10). Some statements were formulated in the positive and others in the negative. This had to be taken into account when the coding was done during the analysis phase (Fourie-Malherbe, 2012).

For purposes of internal triangulation a ten-point semantic differential scale was added with items on each of the five categories of bias and stereotyping. Relevant demographic questions completed the survey. It was decided to place the demographic items at the beginning of the survey to make respondents more comfortable, as the survey items are of a sensitive nature and could make respondents feel uncomfortable or anxious. The instrument was then finalised by writing introductory paragraphs explaining the purpose of the research, grouping items and placing them in a logical order (Fourie-Malherbe, 2012).

The concepts of validity and reliability of the developed questionnaire will be discussed in section 4.6. Data analysis and interpretation will be focused upon in the next section.