Phenomenological Methodology: the Lived Experiences of Infected Human Immunodeficiency Virus - Dissertation Example

? CHAPTER III Methodology The Phenomenological methodology requires the researcher to go physically to the field where the respondents are in order to record or watch behavior in its natural environment (Siegle 2006, p. 1). As such, this method helps the researcher address the threats and problems of validity in the course of data collection and analysis, and hence effectively finding the common themes and phenomena. The phenomenological study will be descriptive and will apply inductive measures in order to construct concepts, abstractions, and central phenomena as well as themes. To stamp out the possibilities of bias, the study will entail step-by-step procedures. These attempts have been described by Moustakas (1994, p. 41) as aimed at attaining a range of knowledge that is independent of human experience and which is in a state of honesty, hence devoid of custom bias and prejudice that’s stems from normal science or by knowledge that does not have any relationship with the daily experiences. Essentially, qualitative phenomenological is a non-standardized study as opposed to quantitative study. Since the aim of the study is not to establish the relationships of the research variables, a strictly quantitative study is not necessary. Furthermore, quantitative study is not suitable in this study since the primary goal is to obtain themes and central phenomena as regards the lived experiences of HIV infected AAA 50 years and older with respect to their perceptions of risk (susceptibility) prior to developing HIV infection. Furthermore, qualitative phenomena are better designed to capture the personal experiences, observations, opinions, perceptions as well as storytelling, which will be used to elucidate the perceptions of risk (susceptibility) of the respondents prior to developing HIV infection (Moustakas, 1994). The phenomenological study will involve interviewing of between five and ten HIV infected AAA (both males and females) within the Atlanta area. The interview will be semi-structured and carried on a one-on-one approach. For the gender balance purpose, the study will ensure a 1:1 ratio of men to women. Each interview will last for about 45 to 60 minutes. To ensure that the process of participant selection is informative and effective, an educational administrator who is well aware of issues of HIV in Atlanta will be called upon to facilitate the study. The facilitator will be served with the essential tools that are required such as pens and exercise books, but will not be granted excessive favors (Weber, 1949). The facilitator will be charged with the responsibility of recruiting some research assistants to conduct the interview. These assistants will come from within the Atlanta area because they are likely to be welcomed better than those who do not come from the area. The geographical location for the study is Atlanta area, where the respondents will be served with questionnaires to fill and at the same time their voices recorded with an audio-tape-recorder. The information collected in the tapes will be transcribed and central phenomena derived. To motivate the respondents, small tips such as pens and writing pads will be awarded. Population According to Creswell (2005), a population is a group of individuals who exhibit common characteristics that make them unique from the rest of the group members. The population for this study will be a group of African American Adults (AAA) who are 50 years and older and who lives in the Atlanta area. The participant must also be using HIV/AIDS clinics, living with HIV infection and/or are sexually active. This group of individuals will be selected because they have the necessary knowledge to answer the study’s research questions. Also, the facilitator will ensure that those who are selected have above average level of knowledge for the purpose of ensuring that articulation of concepts is effective. This sample is specifically better placed to articulate the concepts of this study because they have firsthand knowledge and experience in regards to HIV infection. Besides, this population is suitably placed to narrate life-lived stories in a coherent and logical manner. It will be of utmost importance for the facilitator to ensure that the population volunteers information objectively, freely and honestly (Patton, 2002). Sampling The researcher will interview 5 to 10 participants from the Atlanta area. This number, though somewhat small, is considered sufficient since the sample that will be targeted will be assumed to possess adequate knowledge about the study subject and hence no need to interview many participants. The concept of selecting a small sample is explained by Ritchie, Lewis, and Elam (2003), 1who provided that a qualitative sample does not have a point of diminishing returns, which in other words means that more information is not necessarily available when the study gets more data. The essence of this observation is that frequencies are hardly essential in qualitative research since one occasion of data is as valuable as many in understanding a certain theme. Furthermore, qualitative research is concerned with meaning rather than generalized supposition. Guest, Bunce and Johnson (2006, p. 59) suggest, “although the idea of saturation is helpful at the conceptual level, it provides little practical guidance for estimating sample sizes for robust research prior to data collection". In their literature such they found “only seven sources that provided guidelines for actual sample sizes" (p. 61). The selected sample will be evenly distributed between males and females to ensure gender balance. The purposeful sampling preferred in this study (also called judgmental sampling) is based on the fact the facilitator has a good knowledge of the population - it is best suited to meet the purpose of the study. This method of sampling will ensure that an extensive and thorough assessment is conducted and hence the researcher will be able to obtain a better understanding of the central phenomenon as regards to the lived experiences of HIV infected AAA 50 years and older with respect to their perceptions of risk (susceptibility) prior to developing HIV infection. 2In the selection of purposive sampling, it is conceived that sampling for proportionality is not of the essence; furthermore, purposive sampling is ideal for reaching the targeted sample quickly (Neuman, 2003). Research Instruments The study captured lived experiences of HIV infected AAA 50 years and older with respect to their perceptions of risk (susceptibility) prior to developing HIV infection. The primary instrument in a qualitative study is usually the researcher, who is essentially charged with the responsibility of collecting the required data for the study. Before data collection, the researcher will conceptualize and consider the ideas, but in accordance with the suggestions of Neuman (2003), creation of new processes and new ideas during data collection will be important. The data that will be collected will have to be purposefully focused on answering the research questions, a concept that was echoed by Creswell (2005). In addition, the forms that will be used for data collection will be designed in accordance with the research questions as well as the information that will be collected during the interview. The process of data collection will entail one-on-one interviews, storytelling, answering of open-ended questions and explaining of the personal perception as regards to HIV infection. In the one-on-one interview, the researcher will directly ask the participants questions that are deemed important for the study and then the participant will be left to respond to those questions freely and without undue influence or pressure. To allow for clarification and transcription during triangulation, the research will also include an audiotape the interview. Once each transcribed text is accomplished, triangulation will be conducted. According to Garg (2006), a good plan for the interviews timeline will be critical and the researcher will allocate a range of duration to each session, taking into account the fact that interviews are different and may take different durations. In this regards, the researcher will set a range of 45 to 60 minutes. After the first round of interview, a follow-up interview will be conducted in 2 to 3 weeks. This follow-up will help establish whether the participants will change their perceptions given the change of conditions and time (Machlup, 1978). Ethical procedures Informed Consent and Confidentiality To ensure informed participation, Cone and Foster (2003) pointed out that it is critical to seek informed consent from the participants and also ensure their confidentiality. In this view, the researcher will ensure that a clear informed and voluntary agreement is made with the participants (Ellis and Earley, 2006). The kind of informed consent, which will be used in this study, will have to meet specific requirements including a statement that the study is about research, specification of any experimental procedures, a description of the procedures that will be involved, an explanation of the purpose of the research, and details of the expected period of participants’ involvement (Stanford University, n.d, p. 2). Most importantly, no participant will be coerced to take part in the study. All participants will be informed that they are free to withdraw from the participation anytime they want without any consequences. Before signing the consent form, the participant will also be given a chance to analyze its content so their choice to participate or not to participate can be fully informed (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The participants will be guaranteed that all the information that they will reveal in the course of the study will remain strictly confidential and a statement of confidentiality will, therefore, be attached in the consent form. Also, to ensure confidentiality of the participants, their names will not be used in the study. To ensure that the contributor’s identity is not revealed, the researcher will use pseudonyms, codes and interview scripts. Only the researcher will be privy to the pseudonyms that will be used to code the participants’ names. The integrity of the research will be achieved through confidentiality. According to Cone and Foster (2003), it is very important to uphold confidentiality of the information collected during a research study. Before the participants take part in the study, they will be required to sign a form called ‘Declaration of Confidentiality’, which will form part of the informed consent. Issues of Trustworthiness Internal and External Validity Validity, according to Trochim (2006) is a research plan that has measurements that can result to valid results. Therefore, validity is important in assessing the accuracy and credibility of the data used in a certain study, which is also critical in ensuring that the results of a research are not biased. According to Trochim (p. 1), validity in not found in designs, measures and samples, but a valid conclusion and inference can be derived from these parameters. To improve validity in this study, the researcher will uphold accuracy and credibility of information by selecting well-designed instruments. There are two types of validity, which according to Garson (2008) includes internal and external validity. The biases that are likely to affect the results of this study are the major threats to internal validity. Examples of such biases include subjectivity, researcher's biases, inflexible knowledge related to the theoretical framework and blind spots (Creswell, 2005). The research will be charged with the responsibility of reducing these biases in order to ensure validity of the study. According to Trochim (2006), external validity is related to the extent to which the results of the study can be generalized in other conditions. Since this study is faced with threats to external validity, it cannot be generalized outside Atlanta area. Some of the reasons for lack of generalization to other areas include the fact that the demography of Atlanta area is different from other areas in the country. A triangulation technique will be used to validate the results of the interviews. This will involve application of a number of data validation techniques such as backing up of the evidence from different individuals, using overlapping perspective and pieces of evidence, and authenticating information using several forms of evidence. According to Creswell (2005), triangulation is important in qualitative research because it enhances themes and descriptions, which is important in strengthening validity and accuracy of data - this in turn guarantees credible results Responsibility of the researcher The researcher will be primarily charged with the responsibility of facilitating confidentiality and privacy during the interview process. To ensure that this process is successful, the researcher will take part in designing of the interview questions, facilitate transcribing of data which will be used for triangulation, foresee the activities of the research assistants to ensure that they are performing their tasks properly, and validating of the transcribed text. Also, the research will make sure that the research is a true expression of the participants who are the center of this interview. The researcher will be responsible for assigning pseudonyms to ensure that the confidentiality of the participants is ensured. The researcher will refrain from having a close relationship with the participants to avoid bias. Those participants who will be found to have a very close relationship, such as family relationship, with the researcher will be excluded from the study. It will be of paramount importance for the researcher to maintain their research obligation to their participants including ensuring that whenever a conflict of interest arises, the rights and interests of the participants are given a priority. When it is hard to avoid conflict of interest owing to the prevailing circumstances, the researcher will be required to consider excluding such participants altogether (ASA, 2012, p. 2).3 The biases that are researcher centered will be controlled by ensuring a dependable and consistent data collection and coding processes. The custom-made van Kaam technique belonging to Moustakas (1994) will be used to conduct a one-on-one interview, which will significantly reduce the bias. Data analysis The data analysis method that will be used will need to reflect the purpose and the results of this study. In this study, appropriate coding techniques will be used to ensure that qualitative information is analyzed accurately. The data will be coded in a manner that will derive appropriate themes. Then, this data will be entered into NVivo 7.0 software, which will enhance segmentation, coding and analysis of the data. Also, a central phenomenon will be derived by use of the software, which will help in the final analysis. Analysis of the qualitative data will be done with Nvivo 7.0 software. The software will assist in coding of qualitative rate categories and analyzing between and within categories. In addition, the software will be very useful for merging and formation and clustering of various responses in the course of the interview, which also helps in the development of central phenomena and themes. The software forms central themes by bracketing phenomenological reduction, extracting important data, building invariant constituents, defining units and pieces of meaning from interview responses, validating information, summarizing the interview as we as transforming responses (QSR NVivo Software, 2007). Summary This chapter has presented the methods that will be used to undertake the qualitative Chapter 3 presented a detailed explanation of the method used in conducting this phenomenological study in regards to the lived experiences of HIV infected AAA 50 years and older with respect to their perceptions of risk (susceptibility) prior to developing HIV infection. The areas that have been discussed in this chapter include the methods and rationale, instrumentations, internal and external validity, confidentiality and informed consent of the participants, the responsibility of the researcher as well as the research instruments that are used in the study. The next chapter will involve analysis of the data that will be collected from the field. To derive meaning from the data, the information will be presented in graphs, tables among other tools, in a manner that portrays common themes and central phenomenon. References ASA. (2012). Ethical Guidelines for Good Research Practice. Retrieved from http://www.theasa.org/ethics/Ethical_guidelines.pdf. Babbie, E. (2001). The Practice of Social Research: 9th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson. Cone, J., & Foster, S. (2003). Dissertations and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields. Washington, DC: American Psychology Association. Creswell, J. W. (2005). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating Educational and professional publisher. New York: Sage Ellis, J., & Earley, M. (2006). Reciprocity and constructions of informed consent: Researching with indigenous populations. International Journal of Qualitative Methodology,5(4), 1-9. Garg, A. (2006). My experience interviewing the crusader participant. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(4). Retrieved from www.ualberta.ca. Garson, D. (2008). Validity: Public Administration Program, North Carolina State University. Retrieved from www.chass.ncsu.edu. Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. Machlup, F. (1978). Methodology of economics and other social sciences. New York: Academic Press. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological Research Methods. New Delhi: International educational and professional publisher. Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social research methods: Quantitative and qualitative approaches (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (3rd ed.). London: Sage. QSR NVivo Software. (2007). Doncaster, Australia: QSR International Pty. Ltd. Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., & Elam, G. (2003). Designing and selecting samples. In Jane Ritchie & Jane Lewis Siegle, D. (2006). Qualitative versus Quantitative: Gifted Education, University of Connecticut. Retrieved from www.gifted.uconn. edu. Trochim, W. (2006). Introduction to validity. Philosophy of Research. Retrieved from www.socialresearchmethods.net. Van Manen M. (1990). Researching Lived Experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. London, Ontario: Althouse Weber, M. (1949). The methodology of the social sciences. (E. Shils, & H. Finch, Trans.). New York, NY: The Free Press. Read More