3.2 The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
85
Durban’s water quality and quantity (eThekwini Municipality 2007; Meissner et al.
2019). The uMngeni is the largest of these rivers, and it supplies Durban’s residents
with much-needed water.
3.3 Methodology
I have already described eThekwini’s demographic, economic, natural and political
characteristics above, and in this section, I will discuss my research methodology. I
will very briefly describe my data collection and coding strategies and will follow
a predominantly qualitative methodology throughout, with the quantification being
limited to electronic coding, using PULSE
3 .
The qualitative methodology has several advantages, as it focuses on selfreflexivity, the context and elaborate description. From a practical perspective, using
this methodology requires one to get out into the ‘field’ to study the contexts that
generate personal curiosity. Qualitative data also provide an insight into numerous
activities that a researcher might miss when using structured surveys or experiments
(Tracy 2013), which is the downside of using a quantitative methodology. Furthermore, a qualitative methodology allows scholars to uncover salient issues that they
can later study by using structured methods. As a practice, field research, with its
related activities, also uncovers and gives glimpses into regularly guarded worlds and
affords one the opportunity to tell a story about them. In this regard, the methodology
is also well suited for accessing a tacit and intuitive understanding of cultures (Tracy
2013) or groups of people, which is often taken for granted.
Therefore, qualitative research is not merely about asking people about what they
do, but it gives the scholar an opportunity to see and hear what they do. Using a
qualitative methodology also exposes the researcher’s understanding of the values
of the participants and how they regularly live these values. Moreover, qualitative
researchers construct explanations about the participants’ experiences. In this way,
they assist policy practitioners to understand the world, society and institutions, and
by doing so, they serve humanity in various ways (Tracy 2013).
There is, however, a downside to being a qualitative researcher. In this section, I
will focus on one of these issues, which happens on a normative level. Because this
type of research consists of a set of interpretive activities, it resists the temptation to
prefer one methodological practice over another. The concept ‘qualitative research’ is
difficult to define, since it leans towards discourse and discussion and has no distinct
paradigm or theory of its own. This means that qualitative research is open-ended
in nature, and this resists the lure to impose a single overarching paradigm on the
research (Denzin and Lincoln 2018). Because of these traits, it stands in contrast to
traditional (natural) scientific research, which is based on empiricism and positivism
(Kurki 2008).
85
Durban’s water quality and quantity (eThekwini Municipality 2007; Meissner et al.
2019). The uMngeni is the largest of these rivers, and it supplies Durban’s residents
with much-needed water.
3.3 Methodology
I have already described eThekwini’s demographic, economic, natural and political
characteristics above, and in this section, I will discuss my research methodology. I
will very briefly describe my data collection and coding strategies and will follow
a predominantly qualitative methodology throughout, with the quantification being
limited to electronic coding, using PULSE
3 .
The qualitative methodology has several advantages, as it focuses on selfreflexivity, the context and elaborate description. From a practical perspective, using
this methodology requires one to get out into the ‘field’ to study the contexts that
generate personal curiosity. Qualitative data also provide an insight into numerous
activities that a researcher might miss when using structured surveys or experiments
(Tracy 2013), which is the downside of using a quantitative methodology. Furthermore, a qualitative methodology allows scholars to uncover salient issues that they
can later study by using structured methods. As a practice, field research, with its
related activities, also uncovers and gives glimpses into regularly guarded worlds and
affords one the opportunity to tell a story about them. In this regard, the methodology
is also well suited for accessing a tacit and intuitive understanding of cultures (Tracy
2013) or groups of people, which is often taken for granted.
Therefore, qualitative research is not merely about asking people about what they
do, but it gives the scholar an opportunity to see and hear what they do. Using a
qualitative methodology also exposes the researcher’s understanding of the values
of the participants and how they regularly live these values. Moreover, qualitative
researchers construct explanations about the participants’ experiences. In this way,
they assist policy practitioners to understand the world, society and institutions, and
by doing so, they serve humanity in various ways (Tracy 2013).
There is, however, a downside to being a qualitative researcher. In this section, I
will focus on one of these issues, which happens on a normative level. Because this
type of research consists of a set of interpretive activities, it resists the temptation to
prefer one methodological practice over another. The concept ‘qualitative research’ is
difficult to define, since it leans towards discourse and discussion and has no distinct
paradigm or theory of its own. This means that qualitative research is open-ended
in nature, and this resists the lure to impose a single overarching paradigm on the
research (Denzin and Lincoln 2018). Because of these traits, it stands in contrast to
traditional (natural) scientific research, which is based on empiricism and positivism
(Kurki 2008).