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CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
The previous chapter conseptualises vigour and burnout as outcomes of the stress and coping process and simultaneously the second literature objective is achieved. The first empirical objective of this research, is to determine the dynamics of individual vigour and burnout and its reciprocal relationship during the coping process with critical variables as a suggested by the Moos (1994) model in terms of the South African Police Service as a research population. This chapter therefore deals with the said empirical objective. Furthermore, the chapter outlines the design, target population, measuring instruments, procedure and the hypothesis formulation.
Besides the above, the chapter deals with the first four steps of the empirical study as outlined in chapter 1. The chapter is concluded with a summary. The following section proposes the design for the empirical research.
DESIGN
As explained in chapter 1, the empirical research is of a quantitative nature. A cross-sectional survey design is used to achieve the empirical objectives. The survey technique of data collection is applied to gather information from the target population by means of questionnaires (Shaughnessy & Zechmeister, 1997).
TARGET POPULATION
A convenience sample is drawn from serving police officials. The sample accessible population is police officials attending in-service training at training centres in the South- Western and Eastern regions of South Africa as part of their organisation’s policy of continuous development. Level of organisational performance does not serve as a criterion to select trainees for these specific training programmes. Participants consist out of functional police officers and professional personnel to whom official ranks are allocated. Furthermore, they were expected have attended at least a basic police or induction training programme. Such members were selected and centralised for such training programmes on the basis of availability in terms of their respective police units’ manpower plan. Secretaries, and those recruits who have not completed a basic police training yet, were excluded from the sample. The provinces of the Western- and Eastern Cape serve as the geographical boundaries of the sample. The remaining provinces of South Africa are excluded from the sample. The number of officials that took part in the data collection phase, is 505. Special permission was obtained to have access to the participants and to conduct the research in the police environment (see appendix “A”). Further, by means of a biographic questionnaire, the sample were divided to include all the cultural groups in the South African society. To conduct the empirical research, various instruments must be applied for this purpose. The appropriate instruments are discussed in the next section.
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
This section discusses the measuring instruments that are applied in the survey. The instruments that are listed in chapter 1 are explained in this chapter in terms of its nature, interpretation, rationale and motivation for use, validity and reliability. A copy of the respective instruments is filed as an annexure in the thesis. The instruments are preceded with a research request note to invite participation in the research (see appendix “B”).
All instruments utilised in this research, have been used before in other studies (Carver, 1997a; Goldberg, 1993; McCeary et al., 2004; Moos, 1994, 2002; Shirom, 2003a, 2003b; Zimet et al., 1988). Validity and reliability information are reported in this chapter for each instrument. However, in this research every instrument is subject to a confirmatory factor analysis in order to confirm the respective factor structures reported by original studies.
Internal consistency is also analysed via Cronbach alpha indexes in order to confirm the instruments’ reliability. In order to analyse participants’ characteristics in terms of a dynamic interaction with stress-coping factors, the biographical questionnaire is the first instrument to be introduced in the following section.
Biographical questionnaire
The questionnaire is in a structured format (see appendix “C”). Biographical information is recorded in English. The questionnaire collects data relevant to gender, ethnicity (e.g. black, white, coloured and Indian), rank, marital status, years of service and education. The following sections deal with the rationale, the motivation for using the instrument as well as the nature, administration and interpretation of the instrument.
Nature, administration and interpretation
The instrument reflects more than one scale type (Gregory, 2004). The items on the questionnaire are structured in terms of dichotomy, continuum, discrete single options, as well as discrete multiple options. The biographical questionnaire is a paper-and-pencil instrument (Gregory, 2004). It is a self-administered instrument. Verbal and written instructions are conveyed to participants. Biographic information is recorded prior to the use of other instruments in the empirical research. No time limits are imposed.
Participants’ responses are summarised in terms of weighed items in the questionnaire (McCormick & Ilgen, 1989). Although individual responses can be compared with other individuals in the sample, individual responses are grouped in terms of mutual clusters.
Rationale of and motivation for application of instrument
The questionnaire supplies the researcher with a return of individual characteristics relevant to biographical variables of the sample. It is a cheap instrument and the data collected by means of this instrument adds prediction value to the other instruments in use during the empirical research (Gregory, 2004). Furthermore, individual positions can be divided into contrasting groups for the purpose of cross-tabulations with critical data. Through cross-tabulations, assumptions can be made with regard to probability or chance. Such cross-tabulations supply the researcher with valuable information relevant to the various cultural and gender groups in South Africa, as well as the various age groups and tenure. Authors (Gregory, 2004; McCormick & Ilgen, 1989) agree that biographical data are reliable when individual respondents do not have a personal interest in the use of the questionnaire. Thus, reliability and validity aspects relevant to the biographic questionnaire are not discussed further in this chapter. The biographical questionnaire is followed by an instrument that measures stress levels. This instrument is discussed in the next section.
Organisational Police Stress Questionnaire (OPSQ) (McCeary et al.,2004)
The above instrument measures stressors in police environments (see appendix “D”). The following sections deal with the rationale, the motivation for using the instrument as well as the nature, administration and interpretation of the instrument. Discussions include validity and reliability aspects relevant to the questionnaire.
Nature, administration and interpretation
The Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire (OPSQ) is a Likert intensity scale ranging from 1 (“No stress at all”) to 7 (“A lot of stress”). An intensity of 4 represents “moderate stress” on the scale. The paper-and-pencil questionnaire is in a statement and self-administered format (McCeary et al., 2004).
It takes approximately four minutes to complete the questionnaire. The respondent is expected to circle how much stress the aspects listed in the questionnaire caused stress over the past six months. The questionnaire can be administered in groups or individually.
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DECLARATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
SUMMARY.
CHAPTER 1 RESEARCH ORIENTATION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.5 RESEARCH MODEL
1.6 PARADIGMATIC PERSPECTIVE
1.7 GENERAL HYPOTHESIS
1.8 RESEARCH DESIGN
1.9 RESEARCH METHOD
1.10 CHAPTER OUTLINE
CHAPTER 2 DYNAMICS OF STRESS AND COPING .
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 PARADIGMATIC DEPARTURE .
2.3 STRESS THEORIES AND MODELS
2.4 COPING THEORIES AND MODELS
2.5 ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM (PANEL 1)
2.6. PERSONAL SYSTEM (Panel 2)
2.7 LIFE CRISES AND TRANSITIONS: (PANEL 3)
2.8 COGNITIVE APPRAISAL AND COPING RESPONSES (PANEL 4)
2.9 PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
2.10 INTEGRATION: THE DYNAMICS AMONG ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS (STRESSORS), SOCIAL RESOURCES, PERSONAL FACTORS, COPING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
2.11 CHAPTER SUMMARY.
CHAPTER 3 STRESS AND COPING OUTCOMES: VIGOUR AND BURNOUT
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 VIGOUR
3.3 BURNOUT
3.4 INTEGRATION: DYNAMICS BETWEEN VIGOUR AND BURNOUT, AS WELL AS COMPONENTS OF THE MOOS (1994) MODEL
3.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DESIGN
4.3 TARGET POPULATION
4.4 MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
4.5 PROCEDURE
4.6 STATISTICAL PROCESSING OF DATA
4.7 HYPOTHESES FORMULATION
4.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5 RESULTS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 RESULTS OF BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONNAIRE
5.3 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF INSTRUMENTS
5.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
5.5 HYPOTHESIS TESTING
5.6 PROPOSAL OF A NEW MODEL
5.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 CONCLUSIONS
6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH
6.5. CHAPTER SUMMARY
REFERENCES
LIST OF ANNEXURES
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
DYNAMICS OF INDIVIDUAL VIGOUR AND BURNOUT IN THE POLICE SERVICE
