3.0 Research methodologies
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the research design, location of the study, sampling procedure, research instruments, pre-testing study, validity of instruments, data collection procedure and data analysis procedures will be discussed.
3.2 Research design
Good understanding of a research design enhances its quality. The research design will inform the researcher’s thinking and lay the foundations for designing the project. The study will adopt a bottom up approach study design. This design is justified as it will describe the current situation and establish if there is a relationship Tomorowland music festival event and the environment sustainability. The bottom up approach is the most appropriate in researching social issues through incorporating issues of social cohesion, concentration, and decision making into the research objectives. Moreover, the bottom up approach gives a chance for communities and local participants to express their views and assist define a sustainable approach to development. Four levels of participation will be employed in this design. These are information, consultation, joint development, and collective decision making.
The main purpose of the study will be to improve and control sustainability in the event, Tommorowland. The bottom up approach is an inclusive study design where the target group participates in every action in the research. The bottom up approach allows research team to communicate the research aims and objectives to make it easier for respondents to answer provided questions. The use of bottom up approach will provide a description of characteristics of a particular observation by securing evidence concerning the existing and the current situation. This will be done through collecting primary data from respondents by a way of sampling and by analyzing the same data (Richard & Kimberly, 2012).
3.3 Study area
The study area is Boom town near Antwerp, in Belgium. Boom is located in Flanders in the Flemish province of Antwerp, Belgium. This city has a total population of 19,092. The total area is 7.38 km² giving a population density of 3,822 people per km². The people in Boom city are commonly known as "Boomers". Tomorowland music festival events have been hosted in this city since 2005. This study will focus of the improvement and control of sustainability.
3.4 Sample size determination method
The target population for the research has a confinement of Tommorowland, Boom Town. The town experiences rapid and sudden population and economic growth. Out of the total population of 19,092 people, a sample size of 200 respondents will be randomly selected. The sample size selection method will be gender and age sensitive so that every group is equally represented. A comprehensive sample will be used which will include all study objects.
When designing the sample size, the researcher should take into consideration the following factors; the population parameters to be estimated, the cost of sampling, how much is already known, the variability (spread) of the population, and the level of precision required. The final sample size is determined by the equation:
n=(p[1-p] x2Z2+p[1-p]NR) 1 (NIST/SEMATECH, 2012).
Where; n = sample size
N = number of people in the population
P = estimated variance (0.5)
A = Desired precision (0.05)
Z = Confidence level (1.6449)
R = Response rate (80%)
3.5 Sampling technique
Sampling involves getting a small group from the big group or population of study. Available resources and time are not always enough to allow the researcher to use the whole population in the study. Purposive sampling will be used in this study where all ways of improving and controlling sustainability will be considered. Effects that have no significant to sustainability of Tomorowland music will be ignored in the sampling technique. It is therefore necessary to select a representative sample from the accessible population that can easily be studied and inference made to the larger population. According to Begi (2009), useful sample should be large enough to allow generalization and should be above 10% of the total population. Fraenkel and Wallen (2000), claim that sample size of 100 respondents is acceptable for a purposive research.
The sampling technique will entail the 4 levels of participation in the bottom up research design.
Information: The tools used will include public meetings, media and exhibitions to inform participants of the importance of the research. The informative level will take place during the initial phases and program implementation.
Consultation: The research team will carry out a village audit in order to introduce training programs. The participants will include active community groups and associations.
Joint Development: The following level will employ specialists who will carry out campaigns and train respondents on how to undertake surveys and questionnaires in order to minimize the number of errors.
Collective-decision making: the level will involve definition of courses of actions and strategies. In addition, the research team will come up with program implementation plans and project leaders will head the activity.
3.6 Data collection tools
Depending on the nature of information that will be gathered 3 data collection tools will be employed. These tools are;
- Questionnaire
Questionnaires will be administered to participants in written form. Each participant will be required to undertake a questionnaire of 20 questions privately, scheduled to take 30 minutes. The participant can either tick yes or no in the questionnaire.
- Interviews
Interviews will be conducted through face-to-face method. The researcher will attend to each interviewee at a time, each session scheduled to take 30 minutes. The interviewer will be asking questions and give answered in terms of the respondent’s take on the issue. According to Wallen Fraenkel & (2001), surveys assist in estimating the significant precision by collecting data from a small portion of the total population.
- Observations
Observations will be made at the village level. The research team will travel in different regions and observe how the music festivals have affected people’s environment and note the effects.
3.7 Pre-testing of data collection tools
Pretesting of data collection tools and methods will ensure the appropriate information is gathered. This will be done through a pilot study where 10% of the study sample will participate. The study of sustainability in event Tomorrowland requires a pilot study to determine the validity and reliability of the study tools and methods. The pilot study will take a maximum of 2 months. The research team will attend to selected target group to carry out the pilot study. The results of this piloting will be used to improve the tools as well as the efficiency of the researcher in asking questions. The main objective of the study will be to investigate sustainability in the event Tomorrowland. Since the main research is designed to cover Boom Town, the pilot study will be conducted in 10 villages within 5 kilometers radius from the town. 5 respondents who have long experience on music festivals will be selected from each village. The data collection instruments that will be used will consist of an individual test questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, and direct observations. These data collection instruments are meant to elicit data on the person’s environment sustainability, establish significance of global warming and climate change and lastly ascertain the mode of delivery in implementing recommendations.
3.8 Data Collection Procedure
Before collecting data, a permit forms for collecting data will be obtained from the National Council of Science and Technology. The purpose of the study will be explained to the event organizers. The activities of the Tomorowland music events will be assessed by issuing questionnaires to the event managers and organizers to determine their impact on the environment. Observation will be used to establish the degree of the effects of Tomorowland music activities. Interviews will be done to the local suppliers, event organizers, event mangers, and the fans to assess the sustainability of the event. Data collection strategy will also entail indirect contact. Information will be gathered from annual reports, web survey, and database or warehouses. Annual reports from the environmental management authority will be used in analyzing the level of improvement and control sustainability of such events in the past.
The data collection strategy will follow the following steps: firstly, the existing data will be evaluated in relation to the research objectives, and accessibility of the data. Computerized systems such as internet search will be used to gather the information. Secondly, the operating characteristics of each sector and subsector will be described. These are the community sector and institutional environment sectors. Thirdly, a strategic approach will be decided. This will entail a complete enumeration that includes cost-benefit and cost effectiveness analysis. In addition, an evaluation of the operational considerations will be done through financial and institutional levels.
3.9 Ethical considerations
Permission to carry out the research will be sought from the event managers and venue owners as well. They will be briefed on the objectives, procedures and the requirements of the research. Attending fans and celebrities will also be briefed on the research procedures and assured of confidentiality and verbal and written consent obtained. In planning for the research the experimenters will fulfill certain obligations necessary for the maintenance of ethical standards. Planning of the research will be conducted to eliminate chances of obtaining misleading results. On the other hand, planning of the research will be done properly to ensure it meets government ethical acceptability. Finally, the protection of the researcher’s dignity and the welfare of all respondents as well as people who might be affected by the research findings will be protected.
Ethical consideration will also be responsible for the welfare of all participants. The obligation entails protecting participants from any harm, mental, or physical discomfort, and unnecessary risks. The research has limited chances of posing dangers to participants in whatsoever way.
3.10 Data analysis strategy
Qualitative research entails identification of the key evaluation questions since this forms the most challenging task in any research. The research evaluation assists in anticipating what readers need to know in order to explore the main questions that will gather the key information from the respondent group (Wholey, 2010). Data will be presented by pie charts, graphs and tables. The information from the respondents will form the primary data. Environmental effects observed will be identified and a comprehensive list will be made of all the recommendations from the respondent work. The written test instruments will take care of this. The data will be collected cross-sectionally, that is, at a single point in time. All data will be described and an explanation given pertaining the actions of respondents. The collected data will be analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Qualitative data will be summarized to establish the emerging themes.
In addition, data analysis will use inferential statistics method. According to Dancey & Reidy (2004), inferential statistics draws conclusion from data, test hypothesis, and generalize from samples to population. In addition, tests analyzed by inferential statistics show the degree of probability the sample means reflect the real differences. The research will employ the use of inferential statistics tool in data analysis. Inferential statistics is used to make inferences where a large population is used based on the sample. In so doing, the observed sample characteristics do not represent 100% confidence of the total population, but has a certain degree of certainty (say 90%-95% probability) (Mendenhall, Beaver & Beaver, 2009).
The inferential statistics will be used in testing the two hypotheses pertaining improvement of sustainability in the event tomorrowland, and control of sustainability in the event tomorrowland. The study will deal with two data sets; verbal and written. The verbal method will involve listening to individual participants as they give their experiences on the event tomorrowland and the environmental effects will be noted. In addition, respondents will be asked to provide some of the side effects of the event. The written method will employ a written questionnaire where the researcher will look for participant’s responses and make inferences.
3.11 Reliability and validity
There are three types of validity; the construct, internal and external validity. The construct validity refers to the possibility of measuring the researched phenomenon with the research instruments used in the study. This validity will be catered for by choosing a widely used experimental task in measuring different constructs applicable to verbal tests. In addition, this instrument will be validated in the pilot study. The internal validity is the degree of certainty the observed effect on the dependent variables has been produced by the independent variables. The internal validity will be addressed by ensuring compatibility of the samples, that is, the participants will be matched in terms of gender and age. Finally, the external validity helps in generalizing the results to the larger population. This will be catered for by selecting participants who have attended Tomorrowland festivals (Bornheimer et al, 2008).
A test that produces consistence results over repeated tests is termed as reliable. The research will be made reliable by ensuring the validity of the three named aspects above. Reliability uses three aspects, namely: equivalence, stability, and internal consistency. Equivalence refers to the degree of agreement between two or more research instruments. This will be ensured through administering various instruments at the same time, e.g. face-to-face questionnaires will be immediately followed by a written test. Second, stability of a research occurs when same results are obtained with repeated testing with the same respondents. Stability of the tests will be ensured through administering the test instruments to same individuals under same conditions after some given time period. Third, the internal consistency is the extent to which test items are measuring the same thing. This will be accessed by ensuring both the face-to-face and written tests have minimal differences (Silverman, 2004).
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