1. The research question in the article is: What is the prevalence of violence against women in the Pakistan households?
- The four types of research presented by the research include;
- Quantitative research
- Advocacy/participatory approach to research
- Qualitative research
- Pragmatic approach to research
2. The type of probability sample employed in the survey is a stratified cluster sample
It is important to use the probability sample in this survey in order to achieve greater precision than on other sampling methods like the simple random. The stratum is chosen so those members of the same stratum are similar in terms of character, class and social class. Administratively, it is expedient to stratify a sample compared to selecting simple random sample. In the research, the interviewers have been trained on how to best deal with certain class of respondents taking to consideration age, social status and ethnic group. The interviewers concentrate on small set of skills and this method is less costly and time saving. Finally, the stratified random sampling has an advantage over simple random sampling in that it guarantees better reporting of the population.
3. The researchers decided to use questionnaire to increase the likelihood of honesty in the answers. The researchers conducted and privacy of interviews to boost the level of honesty in interviews. The questionnaire had to be completed in an interview with eligible woman in the household. The interviewer excluded most senior women unless they were in a lone household. The questionnaire included questions about the family norms and comprised of opinions that comprise abuse and experience of various forms of abuse i.e. physic al abuse and reporting of these abuse to the authority. The questionnaire also included questions about education, work activities, income and literacy as some of factors potentially related to different types of abuse.
Survey design; designing and piloting of survey instruments as well as field processes and testing different methods to increase rates of disclosure on violence among other forms of abuse in this study took six months. The design in the study drew in wide consultations with a series of design focus groups. The instruments of the survey were tested in different parts of Pakistan to ensure effectiveness in diverse social and cultural set up prevailing in different parts of the country.
Survey administration; this included organizing the implementation team, creation of sampling frame and analytic variable data sets, specification of administration process and timeline and finalization of survey design.
Training of interviewers; the interviewers were trained on how to quickly establish a relationship with all the target respondents so that they could feel able to disclose even the most sensitive of the information they were required to answer. The interviewers selected for this study comprised of women who had previously been proven to be efficient and thorough. The interviewers selected were of mo re than 20 years old and those who projected self-confidence and empathy.
4. Element of this survey that overlap with field research are the use of questionnaire and face to face interview that was done in public deliberately to make any interested party to list to the ongoing interview process. The survey employed different tactics to reach ut to women in all categories the seniors in the community the aged and the young to come up with comprehensive data for research analysis. The research also included secondary data from books among other sources.
5. The researchers addressed potential ethical problems in the study that could arise through;a) privacy and safety of the respondents, the safety of the respondents was put into consideration by ensuring private interviews. The private interview were intended to boost disclosure and to ensure that those women who disclosure necessary y information were not subjected to victimization from families and the entire community. b) Safety and emotional burnout of the interviewers; Discussing the issues of abuse is emotive and difficult for both the interviewer and the interviewee. Women interviewers had not receive any training on when to offer counseling to those who disclosed vital information of any form of abuse. The only training offered restricted the interviewers from offering any sort of help or raise expectation of the same. The respondents provided information on the basis that they would bring together collective experiences knowing that they were bound to help the future women of Pakistan.
c) Physical safety of women interviewers. To improve the safety measures of the interviewers each field team comprised of 12 female interviewers that worked in pairs of six as well as, three male and one female member w ho were responsible for quality control. Male interviewers were to be present when the female interviewers entered households and while making contact with the community.
Reference
Andersson N, Cockcroft A, Ansari N, Omer K, Khan A, & Pearson LW. (2009). Collecting Reliable Information about Violence against Women Safely in Household Interviews; Experience from a Large-Scale National Survey in South Asia. Violence against Women Volume 15 Number 4 -482-49
