The Root Causes of Ethnicity in the African and Asian Countries - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal on Ethni College: CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction For many centuries, human beings haveused various grounds such as the color of their skins, their ethnic group, gender, place of origin, religion among other disparities in attempt to prove that their superiority compared to the other communities. However, race and ethnicity has been the most common element that has been used by many people in various parts of the world with ethnicity being a major problem especially in the developing countries like in some African and Asian countries (Eriksen, 2002, p.41). It is very unfortunate that negative ethnicity is still being practiced in some countries particularly the African countries, a factor that has led to much pain, loss of lives and destruction of properties among other detrimental effects. As a matter of fact, negative ethnicity is said to be the root cause of the ongoing Southern Sudan tribal crisis that are making headlines all over the world. Ethnicity can be classified into major categories namely negative and positive ethnicity. Positive ethnicity refers to the good part of having various communities who have different cultural practices, religions, beliefs and norms among other disparities(Berman, 2005, p.63). If positive ethnicity is properly practiced, it can be of major benefit such as being a major tourist attraction. This is evidenced by the high number of tourists who travel from different parts of the world just to enjoy watching the numerous cultural practices of the African communities like those of the Maasai of Kenya. Negative ethnicity on the other hand refers to the aspect of using ethnicity as a base for discriminating some communities and treating them as if they are second class citizens (inferior), a factor that often leads to tribal clashes (Udogu, 2001, p.85). Negative ethnicityis believed to be the root cause of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that left millions of people dead because of the civil wars between the country’s two major ethnic groups namely Hutus and the Tutsi (Tanye, 2010, p.72). A genocide that left detrimental impacts that the country is still trying to recover from up to date. Carried out studies have proven that African countries are the most prone to civil wars as a result of ethnicity that many believe to have been fueled by the colonial governments. A significant percentage of the African countries having already suffered a huge blow of civil wars with the most recent tribal crisis being the ongoing Southern Sudan tribal crisis, that have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and others dead. Other countries like Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Chad, Algeria, Central Africa Republic, Uganda and Kenya have also suffered a huge blow due to tribal based violence (Tarimo, 2011, p.105). It is very unfortunate that some of the greedy and unscrupulous leaders tend to enrich themselves and get into power by radicalizing their ethnic communities or ‘our people’ as they call them, against their neighbors. This system of divide and rule was adopted from the colonial governments which were applying it in order to effectively dominate the Africans and some Asiancommunities. As a result, many colonial governments would treat some communities as if they were superior than the rest especially the groups that collaborated with them (Fenton, 2010, p.89). They would also spread hatred amongst the various African and Asian communities that were initially harmoniously and peacefully living together. This ended up creating an extremely dangerous scenario whereby up to date some communities view themselves as if they are superior than their neighbors. There have been only a few studies that have been carried out on the topic of ethnicity despite this being a serious problem in some countries and continents. This calls for a pressing need for carrying out further studies on this topic in order to establish the root causes of ethnicity as well as recommend possible remedies that can be adopted in order to stop the problem. This research study will focus on establishing the main causes of rampant ethnicity among the African and Asian communities as well as propose viable remedies that can be adopted in curbing the menace that has cause much pain and tension amongst human beings. 1.2 Research Objectives The aim of this research proposal is to fully meet the following research objectives 1. To establish the root causes of ethnicity in the African and Asian countries 2. To analyze the implications of negative ethnicity 3. To establish the possible measures that can be adopted that would reduce the level of negative ethnicity amongst the Africans and Asians 1.3 Research questions 1. What are the root causes of ethnicity in the African and Asian countries?  2. What are the implications of negative ethnicity? 3. What are the possible measures that can be adopted that would reduce the level of negative ethnicity amongst the African and Asian communities? CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research Design This research will be conducted using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, meaning that the researcher will combine both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The researcher will apply quantitative tactics in collecting data relating to ethnicity amongst the Africans and the Asians. In this case, the researcher will distribute more than 50 copies of questionnaires in various respondents who in this case will constitute of friends who are from African and Asian origin only. The researcher will employ qualitative methods in collecting data using data collection instruments such as interviews be it personal or phone call interviews (Maree and Van, 2009, p.65). Application of an integration of those two research methods will significantly reduce the cost of data collection and analysis (Janert, 2011, p.65). In addition, application of that hybrid method of research design will ensure that the data collected is well detailed, reliable, and quantifiable so that a general conclusion can be drawn from the research. Application of a hybrid of these methods will also give the researcher an opportunity to interact with the respondents thus able to verify the data obtained easily. However, the main disadvantage of these methodologies is the fact that collecting and analyzing data is likely to be time consuming and tiresome (Phillips and Stawarski, 2008, p.42). 2.2 Data collection a) Questionnaire Under this method of data collection, more than 50 questionnaire forms inclosing sets of questions relating to the causes of negative ethnicity among other questions related to the above-mentioned objectives. All the questions enclosed in the questionnaire forms will be open (respondents will be free express themselves without limitations). Moreover, the questionnaire forms will only be disbursed to relevant parties (friends who are of Asian and African origin). The main advantage of using this method of data collection is that it provides reliable data even though the method is likely to be relatively expensive due to the high costs of printing questionnaires as well as other costs like delivery costs (Berthold and Hand, 2007, p.33). b) Personal Interview The researcher will also apply this mode of data collection in collecting data from the relevant respondents as mentioned in the subheading questionnaire with the respondents being randomly chosen. This will preferably involve personal interviews, phone call and/or video calls interviews. The main advantage of this method is that the researcher will be able to get reliable information since direct interactions give room for verifying and checking the credibility of the respondent and the information provided (Gatrell and Jensen, 2012, p.53). However, the method could be a bit expensive since it involves travelling a lot or making lengthy phone calls. Credibility and reliability of the given information can be determined by checking the consistency of the given information relating to the same questions from different respondents (Axinn and Pearce, 2006, p.56). 2.3 Data analysis The collected data will then be edited in order to remove possible errors, check its consistency and completeness, code, cross it, and then tabulate any statistical figures for easy analysis (Pawar, 2004, p.65). The researcher will use descriptive statistics in order to identify and describe the level of ethnicity among different people. Coding of the data will involve labeling the collected data and grouping the related ones together in form of topics and paragraphs so as to easily catalogue major concepts while still maintaining the context within which the concepts transpire (Lee and Wang, 2003, p.37). The coded data will then be analyzed using deductive approaches that involve use of a predetermined structure or framework while analyzing the data. 3. Ethical considerations Ethical consideration of a research refers to analyzing the ethical challenges that the researcher is likely to encounter while conducting the research. The researcher is in this case required to come up with appropriate guidelines and strategies in order to safeguard the respondent from any form of violation of their rights. In this case, the researcher is likely not to encounter situations whereby he or she is likely to violate the rights of the respondent. However, the researcher will safeguard the respondents’ right to privacy by withholding any information that the respondent may feel confident or secretive. The researcher will also ensure that the published information does not create more tension and havoc amongst different communities. Appendix I (A sample of questions that the researcher will ask during the interview) My names are (put your names), I am (your year of study) year student in the (name of your institution) pursuing Bachelor of (……..). I am hereby carrying out a research study on the ethnicity in the African and Asian communities. The research is for academic purposes and is one of the requirements that students are required to meet in order to graduate. Kindly provide me with the necessary information. Part A Personal details of the respondent Name of the respondent ……………………………………… Age of the respondent ……………………. Gender: male female Profession (please specify) …………………………… Name of the company/ organization………………………….. Part B First objective To identify the root causes of ethnicity in the African and Asian countries 1. What are the main causes of negative ethnicity amongst the African and Asian communities? a)……………………………………………………………………………………. b)…………………………………………………………………………………….. c)…………………………………………………………………………………….. (You can add some more questions on this objective if you find it necessary) Part C Establishing the implications of negative ethnicity 1. What are some of the key negative effects of negative ethnicity in your country? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. What are the positive effects of ethnicity in your country? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. Does negative ethnicity play any role in leading to unequitable distribution of resources? …........................................................................................................................................ ..…………………………………………………………….............................................. Bibliography Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Axinn, W. G., & Pearce, L. D. 2006, Mixed method data collection strategies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Berman, B. J. 2005,Ethnicity & democracy in Africa, Currey, Oxford. Berthold, M., & Hand, D. J. 2007, Intelligent data analysis: An introduction, Springer, Berlin. Eriksen, T. H. 2002,Ethnicity and nationalism: Anthropological perspectives, Pluto, London. Fenton, S. 2010,Ethnicity,Ashgate,Aldershot. Gatrell, J. D., & Jensen, R. R. 2012, Research design and proposal writing in spatial science, Springer Science and Business Media B.V, Dordrecht. Janert, P. K. 2011,Data analysis with open source tools, OReilly, Sebastopol, CA. Lee, E. T., & Wang, J. W. 2003, Statistical Methods for Survival Data Analysis, Third Edition. John Wiley &Sons.Hoboken, NJ. Maree, K., & Van W. C. N. 2009. Head start in designing research proposals in the social sciences. Juta. Lansdowne, Cape Town. Pawar, M. S. 2004,Data collecting methods and experiences: A guide for social researchers, New Dawn Press, Elgin, IL. Phillips, P. P., &Stawarski, C. A. 2008, Data collection: Planning for and collecting all types of data, Pfeiffer, San Francisco. Tanye, G. K. 2010,The church-as-family and ethnocentrism in sub-Saharan Africa, Lit, Berlin. Tarimo, A. 2011,Ethnicity, citizenship and state in Eastern Africa,Langaa,Mankon, Bamenda. Udogu, E. I. 2001,The issue of political ethnicity in Africa,Ashgate,Aldershot. Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More