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4.9 Methods <strong>of</strong> Data Collation, Syn<strong>the</strong>sis and Analysis<br />

4.9.1 Qualitative Data Analysis<br />

Data obta<strong>in</strong>ed dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>-depth <strong>in</strong>terviews was predom<strong>in</strong>antly qualitative <strong>in</strong> nature,<br />

hence requir<strong>in</strong>g a method <strong>of</strong> qualitative data analysis. One such method, which was<br />

utilised for this study, is <strong>the</strong> method <strong>of</strong> grounded <strong>the</strong>ory. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Neuman<br />

(2000), grounded <strong>the</strong>ory is "...<strong>the</strong>ory that is built from data or grounded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> data"<br />

(p. 146). With<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> method <strong>of</strong> grounded <strong>the</strong>ory, data is organised <strong>in</strong>to analytical<br />

categories that address <strong>the</strong> relevant research questions, that take <strong>in</strong>to consideration<br />

<strong>the</strong> research literature, and which will allow <strong>the</strong> greatest amount <strong>of</strong> data to be coded<br />

without forc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong>to categories or hav<strong>in</strong>g categories that are so sprawl<strong>in</strong>g as to<br />

be virtually mean<strong>in</strong>gless. This consists <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itial stage <strong>of</strong> grounded <strong>the</strong>ory<br />

analysis, after which fur<strong>the</strong>r data is collected with a view to ref<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> analytical<br />

categories (Arksey and Knight, 1999; Tompk<strong>in</strong>s, 2002).<br />

Data collected from both <strong>the</strong> qualitative and quantitative surveys was stored and<br />

analysed us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme.<br />

The subjects <strong>of</strong> <strong>tourism</strong> and <strong>natural</strong> <strong>resource</strong> <strong>management</strong>, as areas <strong>of</strong> study, are<br />

vast and present numerous complexities and dimensions which must be considered<br />

and related to <strong>the</strong> research topic. As a result <strong>of</strong> this, <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terviewees selected for<br />

this study are not from a homogenous group, as a varied range <strong>of</strong> types and levels<br />

<strong>of</strong> expertise and knowledge were required to obta<strong>in</strong> relevant data. Different<br />

questions were adm<strong>in</strong>istered to each <strong>in</strong>terviewee, based on <strong>the</strong>ir area <strong>of</strong> expertise<br />

and activity, which necessitated an <strong>in</strong>terpretation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>terviews accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>mes which arise from <strong>the</strong> conceptual framework (Figure 4.2) <strong>in</strong> order to<br />

syn<strong>the</strong>sise some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> primary concerns <strong>of</strong> this complex area <strong>of</strong> study (Tompk<strong>in</strong>s,<br />

2002).<br />

This study, <strong>the</strong>refore, primarily utilised <strong>the</strong> element with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> accepted grounded<br />

<strong>the</strong>ory analysis procedure, that grounded <strong>the</strong>ory "...start(s) out with a research<br />

question and little else" (Neuman, 2000, p. 144, cited <strong>in</strong> Tompk<strong>in</strong>s, 2002). As a<br />

result, <strong>the</strong> methodology for data analysis was developed as follows:<br />

112

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