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Chapter 3 PDF
Chapter 3 PDF
Chapter III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with methods undertaken to achieve the goals of the study. It
includes statement of the problem, aim of the study, the objectives, operational
definitions, the research design, universe and sample, method of data
collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, statistical steps employed,
ethical issues, difficulties faced during the study and chapterization.
Divorce is one of the most traumatic and painful experiences in a person’s life,
second only to death of a spouse. Divorce is the final termination of a marriage,
canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the
bonds of marriage between husband and wife. Divorce is one of the hardest
things a family can go through. Not so far in the past the word ‘Divorce’ was
taboo. People even prolonged their suffering marriages to avoid divorce. This
is not the case anymore. All over the world, the divorce rate among couples is
increasing at an alarming rate.
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Divorce can cause damages not only on children but also on the society as a
whole. It has become easy and common. There are various reasons pertaining
to this change in society. The dignity and sanctity of marriage has gone down
with the passage of time. People do not believe on the importance of marriage
as they did before. Marriage is considered a social taboo; people follow certain
rituals to run the contract of agreement somehow, even if they fail to make it a
very successful marriage. In current times, our society has changed its views
about divorce. Now divorce is part of family life. It does have some major
negative effects also. Divorce rate is increasing day by day and it is the case
with emotional instability, lack of respect for the relations and family.
The increase of crime rate in the society has very evident linkages with
increased divorce rate. Divorce is a direct threat to the society; and it is
spreading like a disease. It affects children badly. It can cause damage to their
emotional, psychological, cognitive, and physical development. Separation of
parents deprive them from the love of parents, they have to live separately from
one parent and sometimes from both of them. They keep on longing for the
family life and for the love of both the parents. The moral support is missing
out in a divorced family. The faith and trust vanishes away. Hollowness
prevails in a divorced family situation, which can weaken the mental stability
of children.
Lack of attention from the parents in case of divorce would lead children to
moral degradation and disrespect. Divorce can leave a deep scar of the minds
of children and can destroy their whole personality. These effects may become
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persistent trait of their personality. Data from researches shown that the
children from divorced families got indulged in robbery, theft and street
crimes. Children from broken and divorced families start using drugs and
sometimes get involved in drug trafficking too due to lack of finances.
As is obvious from above discussion, the social aspects act as two-edged knife
in such situations. Whatever the causes of divorce, its effects present the same
issues all over the world. Divorce affects the society adversely. Living in an
abandoned situation feels like crushed to ground at times. Children suffer from
loneliness, deprivations, and heartaches. Living life without mother in the
house or father figure in the family can cause serious problems in all ages of
children but particularly in adolescent. The complete social system go all in
vain, physical and psychological abuse, poor performance in academic life,
drop out are few of the examples of negative effects of divorce. The rate of
divorce is higher among educated families, although such laws had been made
which totally support women seeking divorce and the whole procedure has
been made easier. Sometimes the situation becomes worse due to lack of
compromise from both sides and egotistical attitude. Lack of tolerance and
compromise among couples plays a vital role in increase in rate of divorce.
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The dissolution of marriage has been quite uncommon and rare in India for a
long time. In case of any crisis or threat to stability of marriage, caste,
community, kinsmen, tended to have played a dominant say. People had both
respect for and fear of social values and public opinion. Authority of
community, though implicit, has been supreme. The system of religious belief
has provided enough sustenance to the institution of marriage and family.
Individual choice has always been subservient to the communal sentiment or
public opinion. The marriage is no longer sanctified as it was believed in the
past, and is viewed only as a bonding and nurturing life-long relationship and
friendship.
Indian marriages are still largely resilient and lasting, whereas in many
developed countries they seem to break up for seemingly trivial reasons.
Marriages are very vulnerable or fragile there. One in every four or five
marriages breaks up despite more space and freedom in the West. The
longevity of marriage in most developed countries ranges on an average from
five to seven years. While in India divorce rates are among the lowest in the
world. These days divorce rates in India’s urban sphere are, however, slowly
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Cases of divorce are rising in the district. D.K. District Family Court Judge
G. D. Narasimhamurthy also affirmed this when the researcher met him for
seeking permission to go through the files, saying that out of total cases that he
saw during the past few years, more cases were divorce related. Present study
was designed to uncover the perceived causes of divorce. This study is
intended to find out the reasons for the increasing rate of divorce and its
consequences. And also to propose the intervention programmes to reduce the
increasing marital problems and there by reduce the cases of divorce and
whenever necessary help the divorcees in better adjustment with their post
divorce life.
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The new Dictionary of Social Work (1995) states divorce as the dissolution of a
marriage by a judicial order. The researcher sees divorce as the legal ending of
a marriage or romantic relationship between two people. Divorce is not a single
event. It is a complex process that unfolds over time and requires extensive
reorganization and a series of adjustments for both parents & children.
The Scope of the present study extends to Dakshina Kannada district. This
study covers socio demographic profile of the divorcees, marital adjustment
before divorce, causes of divorce, processes and procedures of divorce,
consequences of divorce, the psychological condition of the divorcees in post
divorced life and their conditions, the legal process for divorce and the opinion
of divorcees about the procedures, possibility of intervention to reduce the
increasing divorce rate or assisting the better settlement of the divorcees.
The issue of ‘increasing rate of divorce and the factors associated with it and
augmenting a knowledge base for intervention is the central focus of this
research. A study of this kind will help social workers to device strategies to
work with persons with marital problems, divorce settlement, post divorce life
and consequences rising up from divorce.
The study is aimed at exploring the factors of increasing divorce rates, the
phases the persons undergo during the process of divorce and the adjustment to
the post divorced life and it also aims at preparing intervention plans on the
basis of the findings to help in the amicable settlement of divorce and better
adjustment in post divorced life.
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Research design is the systematic method and procedures for exploring the
information needed. It constitutes a blue print of the whole research process. It
also specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology and technique
adopted for achieving the objectives. Research design is a matter of planning or
deciding on the structure and strategy of investigation in order to obtain
solutions or answers to the problems or question under study. Once the
research problem is formulated clear enough and selection of appropriate
question for gathering data is completed, the next logical step is deciding on the
structure and approach to be adopted in the research. Thus, it is expected that
the research design must provide an arrangement of conditions for data
collection and analysis with optimum scientific accuracy and relevance to the
purpose of research, so that the enquiry yields clear and the most unequivocal
answer possible in as ‘practically resource efficient ways’ as possible.
The choice of research design depends mainly on the purpose for which the
research is conducted. The research design for the present study is descriptive
and diagnostic.
The design is descriptive because at one end this research study aims to
describe record, analyse and interpret the conditions that exist. It was a fact-
finding investigation with adequate interpretation. This design is usually the
best methods for collecting information that will demonstrate relationships and
describe the world as it exist. Bickman Rog (1998) suggest that descriptive
studies can answer questions such as “what is or what was”. It is a scientific
method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject
without influencing it in any way. It is mainly done because the researcher
wanted to gain a better understanding of divorce and explore the existing
certain phenomena.
It is also a diagnostic study as the cause and effect are being studied very
clearly. Diagnostic study is concerned with cause effect relationship and with
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The study was done in Dakshina Kannada, the coastal District of Karnataka.
The district is divided into five talukas, Mangalore, Bantwal, Puttur, Sullia, and
Belthangady. It used to include three northern talukas, Udupi, Kundapur and
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Karkal, but these were separated in August 1997 to form Udupi district.
Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod taluk are often called Tulu Nadu, as
Tulu is the majority language in the region. The Alupas who ruled this region
between the 8th and 14th century as a feudatory of all the major Kannada
empires of those times and it is for this reason that the Tulu speaking districts
are a part of Karnataka state.
Later, the Karnataka Government, for the purpose of administration, split the
greater Dakshina Kannada district into Udupi and present day Dakshina
Kannada districts on 15 August 1997. Three taluks of former DK district
namely Udupi, Karkala and Kundapura were made into new Udupi district.
The district is famous for red clay roof tiles (Mangalore tiles), cashew nut & its
products, banking, education (professional and non professional) and of course
for its exotic cuisine.
The people who first settled here were called Tuluvas. Bunts, Kulala,
Mogaveera, Billava, Devadiga’s are the major communities of the Tuluva
ethinic group. Other Tuluvas, Brahmins, Holeyas, Vokkaligas, the hill-tribes
(Koragas), Muslims and the Mangalorean Catholics comprise rest of the
population. The Brahmins belong chiefly to the Shivalli, Saraswat, Havyaka,
and Kota sub-sections. Tulu, Konkani, Kannada and Beary Bashe and
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Malayalam are the most widely spoken language of the district. Tulu is the
native languages of majority of people living in Dakshina Kannada district.
English is also used for communicational purposes in Dakshina Kannada
District.
For this study the cases in which actual decree of divorce was granted by the
judicial court were selected. Permission of the magistrate concerned was
obtained through an affidavit, to go through the files of the court. These files
themselves contain a lot of data in the form of personal information and the
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a) Inclusion criteria: Male and female divorcees who reside in the district are
included for the study.
After following the selection criteria and scrutinizing the files in 843 cases all
the relevant data was available.
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The researcher used Stratified Random Sampling for the present study.
Stratification is the dividing up of the universe into sub populations called
“strata”, and from each stratum, random sample is drawn. Stratification ensures
representation to all the population. All it means is that, before any selection
takes place, the population is divided into a number of strata and then a random
sample is selected within each stratum. A stratified sampling may be either
proportionate or disproportionate. In a proportionate stratified sampling plan,
the number of items drawn from each stratum is proportional to the size of the
strata. In disproportionate sampling an equal number of units are drawn from
each stratum regardless of how the stratum is represented in the universe.
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Both quantitative and qualitative approach of data collection was carried out.
Quantitative data was being collected from the courts of Dakshina Kannada
through specifically developed Performa for the year 2000 to 2008. (The
researcher collected information from 2000 to 2008 because in the
documentation section of the District court the data was available from 2000.
The researcher collected information till 2008 because the data from the court
was collected from May 2009). The Performa contained information on
judgment and decree on divorce; summons notice, custody of children and
other documents. Few in-depth interviews were also conducted to examine the
social acceptability of divorce and to study the role adjustment after divorce.
After collecting the information from court records a list was prepared and
from that list the respondents were selected using stratified random sampling
method. After this the researcher visited the respondents’ homes and met them
and interviewed them using a Semi Structured Interview Schedule. For this
study both the Primary & Secondary data was used.
The secondary source of data - The court records, the books on law and other
books on related topics and websites.
Each divorce case has a file in the judicial court. These files are consigned to
the record room of the Court in bundles of several cases. After taking
permission of the court, the divorce case files were seen. Much time, energy
and patience were needed to locate, segregate and go through the individual
case files. In the case file different documents like (a) the application of the
petitioner, (b) court notice to the respondent, (c) reply of the respondent, (d)
statement of witnesses like relatives, friends and others, (e) statements of both
parties at the time of the hearing of the case, including cross-examination (f)
the decree of divorce by the Hon’ble Judge were available. Thus, the divorce
file of each case gives a lot of information.
Observation - Spending the valuable time in the field, the researcher had an
opportunity to witness a few cases. These observations supplement the findings
of the study.
The different techniques & tools of data collection are very important in a
research. In fact, data is the basis of skeleton of research and if adequate and
reliable data is not available, it is difficult to discover worthwhile findings. In
the research relation to the present study, the following tools were made use of:
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pilot study with ten divorcees (five male and five female) from the same
universe.
In research, ‘pilot study’ has been considered a necessity. The pilot study was
conducted to fulfill the purposes of assessing the feasibility of this study,
examining the efficacy of the tools, and identifying relevant areas that needed
exploring. On the whole, the outcome of the pilot study was encouraging and
helpful. The pilot study has been instrumental in bringing out more clarity in
the objectives of the study and in its instrumentation.
Thereafter, the schedule was revised and finalised. The schedules were got
printed also. The schedule contains 5 major areas like,
* Case Study. It has been experienced by the researcher, that for the study of
phenomena like divorce, case study method be one of the most useful and
effective methods. Fifteen typical studies are given by the present researcher,
which would throw light on the various aspects divorce, including background,
marital adjustment, ground for divorce, actual cause/causes, effects of divorce,
(on the socio-economic status of the husbands and wives), children of the
divorced couples, remarriage of the divorced husbands/wife, etc. It must be
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mentioned here that each case of divorce is a distinct and unique one. Although
certain classifications, interpretations and generalizations are formulated, every
case should be treated individually. It was clearly observed that different
combinations of factors caused divorce in different cases, the reactions of the
respondents to their divorce were quite individualistic and their efforts to
readjust also differed widely.
After the collection of data the next stage is data processing. This involves a
series of steps. The data was edited and checked for completeness, accuracy
and uniformity. Coded and a code sheet was prepared using a computer based
data sheet.
Chi-square is one of the most commonly used statistics in Social Work research
because it measures the association between variables. It can tell us if two
variables are related. It is a non parametric test. Chi-square symbol is χ2. To
calculate Chi-square we sum the observed values minus the expected values
and divide by the expected value. i.e., χ2 = ∑ (observed value-expected value) 2
/ expected value. To calculate degrees of freedom we multiply the number of
rows (r) minus 1 by the number of columns (c) minus 1. Generally if the χ2
value is greater than its table value at the corresponding degrees of freedom,
the difference between observed and expected frequencies are considered
significant. This difference is considered insignificant, if the χ2 value is lesser
than its corresponding table value.
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In the process of research and data collection it is necessary to explain the steps
the researcher had taken to treat the research participants with care, sensitivity
and respect for their status has human beings. Ethical issues by their very
nature are complex, and people have genuine differences of opinion about the
manner in which they should be addressed. One of the best known principle of
research is that of informed consent. This places upon the researcher the
obligation to ensure that before respondents agree to take part in the research,
they may be made fully aware of the nature of the research and of their role
within it. It is important to ensure that the respondents would remain
anonymous. It is an important element of the research ethics to help to make
the respondents feel at ease during the data collection process. The researcher
complied with all the ethical principles of research and very specifically
adhered to the following ethics.
1) To do away with the ambiguity regarding the purpose of the research the
aim and objectives of the research was explained in detail.
2) Respondents consent had been sought.
3) Each question was repeated to make them understand in the language
they understand.
4) Privacy was maintained among the respondents while asking questions.
5) Identity of the respondents has not been revealed to anybody.
6) The interview was conducted in a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere with
sufficient privacy.
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The thesis contains seven main chapters, an appendix containing tools of data
collection, marriage and divorce related laws and references.
Chapter 1 gives an Introduction, which states the core nature and perspective
Chapter 4 deals with the Results and Discussions. Data related to the
background information of the respondents, marriage and marital life of the
respondents, causes or leading factors to divorce, psychological, social and
economic situations of the divorcees, post divorced life and opinion about legal
procedures have been presented and interpretations have been made
systematically. In this section, hypotheses testing have also been presented.
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