Questionnaires as the Method of Data Collection - Essay Example

Culture Shock al Affiliation) Methodology The method of data collection is through the administration of questionnaires. This was the most suitable method because the research needed a personal touch. The nature of culture shock requires that the responses be of a personal nature. A questionnaire best fits this requirement as opposed to an interview session. This is because the varied nature of respondents meant that interviews would be time-consuming and costly. The questionnaire was administered face-to-face. Those who couldn’t complete them immediately were allowed to submit their questionnaires via e-mail. The questionnaire contained 14 sections each with one question apart from section 14. This last section had 6 other sub-sections although they all answered the same question in different categories. The questions were of a closed type. The respondent chose from a set of answers, deciding the answer that best fit his/her opinion. There was no room for elaboration. The questions are laid out in a structure that initially seeks out general information on the respondent. The latter questions are more incisive and information-specific. A sample question of this nature is as follows: ‘Do you find your inability to speak the local language affecting you?’ The questionnaire can be found in Appendix 1. The questionnaire was constructed to give a clear picture on the effects of culture shock. The nature of respondents was considered and further changes made to fit the questionnaire’s purpose. The sampling method used in this research is non-probability convenient sampling. This method is appropriate because the accessibility to the population is not unlimited, the exclusion or inclusion sample is not known and the use of a large sample within a short time period is not realistic (Saunders & Lewis, 2011). This type of sampling is also appropriate when information about the population may be too insufficient to use probability sampling. Convenience sampling is suitable in this case as it is meant to provide as representation of the entire population and can be achieved with a limited amount of time (Bryman & Bell, 2003). The total number of respondents was 24. There were 12 female and 12 male respondents. This was done to avoid a gender bias (Bryman & Bell, 2003). The ages of the respondents were between 22 and 29. One respondent did give out an age. The respondents were of varied nationalities among them Kenyan, American, Chinese, Mexican, Saudi, Japanese, Belarusian and Lebanese. This shows that the respondents were from all over the world with Africa, North America, The Middle East and Asia all represented. Most of the respondents were undertaking a Pre-masters program and had not spent more than six months abroad. The respondents were accessed through forums initiated for International students. They were intentionally selected and chosen for their backgrounds. The questionnaires were administered during their free time, mostly during the weekends. Students from the Glasgow area were not included. The research was explained on a face-to-face basis and the requirements of the questionnaire as well. There were some difficulties in the process. In some cases, the respondent did not leave their age. This left part of the research short, but did not affect the overall materiality of the research. The respondents also gave more than one answer in some sections leading to more than 24 responses for certain parts. This gave a somewhat skewed result in some sections. The research had some limitations. The sample size of 24 was rather small and not an adequate representation of the entire international student community. The bias that comes from non-probability sampling means that a certain group may have been left out but that had significant experience of culture shock (Bryman & Bell, 2003). Various tests on the questionnaire were then carried out to ensure that there was minimal error in this respect. Participant error is also a factor. The respondents may have produced manufactured results because of their student status. Being international students, some of the responses may have been targeted to please the interviewer. Convenience sampling tends to generalize the population and it is difficult to accurately do this (Saunders & Lewis, 2011). A large sample would have negated this problem. Due to the time constraint, this was not easy to achieve. The research adhered to the principles of ethics when collecting data (Saunders & Lewis, 2011). These are primarily confidentiality, consent and privacy of the respondents. During a survey such as this, the respondent may feel anxious. This is especially true since the respondents were international students. This could have made them felt singled out and tense. The research was meant to make the respondents feel comfortable in expressing themselves. The respondents consented to filling out the questionnaire and their privacy maintained. The information cannot be traced back to the original respondent. Findings The research intends to discover to what extent international students experience culture shock, their level of preparation when coming to the U.K and how they deal with the different culture. In the research there were questions regarding the general information of respondents. These included information on the respondents’ age, gender and nationality. The information was retrieved from 24 respondents. In Figure 1, it is seen that there are 12 (50%) males and 12 (50%) females. There are also 18 (78%) people who are aged under 25 years and 5 (22%) who are aged 26 and above (see Figure 2). One respondent did not give out an age. Figure 1: Gender Group Figure 2: Age Group The questionnaire asked on what the students were studying currently. This was to determine the kind of students who majorly faced culture shock. This led to the results in Figure 3. 23 out of 24 (96%) of the respondents were undertaking a Pre-Masters program. Only one (4%) was taking a foundation course. Figure 3: Type of Course Figure 4 illustrates how many respondents had previously stayed abroad for more than six months before coming to the U.K and where they had stayed. This shows how much prior experience the respondent had before coming to study in the U.K and whether the current experience would be familiar. 1 (4%) had spent time in Asia, 3 (13%) had spent time in Europe, another 3 (13%) had spent time in North America and 17 (71%) had never spent more than six months abroad. Figure 4: Amount of time spent abroad The questionnaire also sought to know the amount of time the respondents had spent in Glasgow. 18 (75%) of them had spent under 6 months in the city and 6 (25%) had spent between 7 – 11 months in the city. None had spent a year or more as well as three months and under (see Figure 5). Figure 5: Time in Glasgow In Figure 6, the illustration shows the level of preparation a student undertook before coming to the U.K. this shows how aware the student was of the contrast in culture between their home country and the U.K. 7 (17%) of the respondents read books and articles, 17 (40%) surfed the internet, 12 (29%) of them asked others for information on the city and 6 (14%) made no preparations at all. Figure 6: Things done to prepare for new culture The questionnaire also sought to further gauge the respondents’ first impressions when they arrived in the U.K. This is meant to assess whether the students had any instant bias when they arrived. There were 8 (24%) who were excited, 12 (36%) who were excited but not for long, 6 (18%) who were anxious, 3 (9%) who were helpless and 4 (12%) who felt lonely (see Figure 7). Figure 7: First Impressions on arrival The next question was intended to gauge the negative feelings the respondents may have felt when coming to the U.K. This is meant to show the biggest factor contributing to difficulty in adjusting to new conditions. 11 (24%) of them felt loneliness, 8 (18%) were homesick, 13 (29%) were anxious or stressed at the change, 4 (9%) were helpless 2 (4%) felt aggression towards the local people and 7 (16%) felt no negative feelings at all (see Figure 8). Figure 8: Negative feelings experienced The questionnaire also sought to know the level of stress the respondents felt from the effort they put in adapting to the new conditions and culture. According to Figure 9, 6 (25%) students didn’t feel any stress at all from the change. There were 2 (8%) who felt stressed most of the time at the effort required to adapt to the new culture and 18 (67%) only felt stressed occasionally. Figure 9: Stress Levels during adapting stage The next question sought to know the level of social activity the students undertook. This was to see how much effort the students took to alleviate the stress from adapting. 16 (67%) out of the 24 respondents participated in a social activity including those offered by the school. The remaining 8 (33%) did not take part in any social activity (see Figure 10). Figure 10: Level of Participation Further on the point of socialization, the questionnaire sought to know who the students socialized with while in the city. This is to determine with whom they felt most comfortable with while studying in the city. 7 (29%) of the respondents socialized with friends from their home country while 17 (71%) of the respondents socialized with multinational friends. None of the respondents socialized family and the local people. There was no respondent who rarely socialized (see Figure 11). Figure 11: Socialization The next question sought to determine to what extent the language was a hindrance to the students. On a scale of 1 – 5, with one being no difficulty and 5 being much difficulty, the students ranked as followed. 1 (4%) of them ranked language difficulty as being of a score of 1, 3 (13%) gave it a score of 2, 6 (25%) gave it a score of 3, 9 (38%) gave it a score of 4 and 5 (21%) gave it a score of 5. Figure 12: Language as a hindrance The final question was answered in six parts and it sought to know the difficulty the students found in having to cope with different phenomena while studying in Glasgow. These charts are also ranked on a difficulty level of 1 – 5. 1 is very difficult and 5 to be not difficult at all. According to Figure 13, 2 (8%) students gave education a difficulty level of 1, 8 (33%) gave it a score of 2, 7 (29%) gave it a score of 6 (25%) gave it a score of 3 and only 1 (4%) gave it a score of 5. The other scores are as shown in Figures 14 – 18. Figure 13: Education Figure 14: Food Figure 15: Language Figure 16:Shopping Figure 17: Transportation Figure 18: Weather Discussion The research is designed to find out what causes culture shock to most international students coming to study in Glasgow, U.K. This research is designed to capture the problems of incoming students, usually those doing their Pre-Masters programs, and assess the reasons for these problems. The study also aims at understanding what students find most difficult to cope with when interacting with the new culture. Previous studies have shown that most students who undertake their undergraduate degree abroad are bound to have more difficulty in adapting to the new conditions (Cullingford & Gunn, 2005). This is due to the younger age most undergraduate students have in comparison to postgraduate students. This means that a certain lack of maturity and experience can have a big effect on whether the person adapts easier to the new demands. This is also seen in areas such as New York when undergraduate students face more difficulty in adapting to the current conditions when compared to postgraduate students (Munan, 2005). This has lead to the belief that age is an important factor when deciding the level of discontent a student will feel when changing cultures. The level of development in the student’s home country is also a factor. Most students from developed countries found living in similar Western countries was not too difficult. The difference was small and not too significant (Cullingford & Gunn, 2005). Majority of issues arose, when the culture was put into place. Things such as mannerism proved to be a big source of shock. For example in some countries being fashionably late is an accepted norm. In others it is a gross slight and is considered very offensive. The results in this finding are consistent with the findings of major studies (Cullingford & Gunn, 2005). This is because a general survey of international students usually includes people from all over the world. This enables dissection of cultures that are varied. These findings provided a big scope of results. Students who had spent more time abroad in areas such as Europe had less trouble in dealing with the differing cultures. Those that had never spent time away from their home country found it most difficult to adapt (Munan, 2005). The research also highlighted that most students were aware of the differing cultures and did some preparations before coming to study. Most of them researched on the place and had a second-hand feel of the incoming culture. This shows that awareness of the problem is a step towards solving it. The first impressions also mattered a great deal and these served to condition the response of the students towards the change. A good number were also lonely, homesick and stressed from the changes in culture. Most recovered from this initial shock and only found hardship in adapting limited to a few occasions. Participation in social activities also served to help alleviate this problem. This enabled the students to become more familiar with their environment and adapt better to it. The language barrier proved to be the biggest challenge. With most of the respondents not from an English-speaking country, this is the largest obstacle they had to face. The education, weather, transport system, food and shopping were also ranked as mostly difficult to adapt to. Conclusion In summary, the research informed on the main difficulties students find in adapting to new cultures. In this particular research, most students were aware of this incoming problem and took steps to remedy this problem. It is also of note that some students who had been abroad found it easier to cope than the others. There was also a big problem with food and language. The study also showed that the age of students was a big determinant in how they adapted to situations. The study was limited by the method of data collection and the time constraints. The sample size was small for a large contingent of international students available. The type of sampling also raised the issue of bias as the respondents were not randomly chosen. The nature of the data also raised a few issues. Some respondents didn’t fill out all details and slightly skewed the results. This was not a big problem as most co-operated fully and answered all the questions. The research determined that further investigation can be carried on ways to mitigate this problem among international students. The introductory period is the most important as this is the key period for the student. This is the time that conditions the student’s attitudes and alleviating the problem at this level goes a long way to reducing the culture shock. There can also be further research on the feasibility of guidance partners specifically assigned to an international student to make them feel more accepted by the society (Munan, 2005). A healthy emotional environment goes a long way to increasing a student’s productivity. This should be the basis of further research on this topic. References Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cullingford, C., & Gunn, S. (2005). Globalisation, education and culture shock. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Pub.. Munan, H. (2005). Culture shock!. Portland, Or.: Graphic Arts Books :. Saunders, M., & Lewis, P. (2011). Research methods for business students. (5th ed.). New Delhi: Pearson. Read More