Why the qualitative approach?

4.1 Why the qualitative approach?

As this research deals with religious conversion phenomenon, it is best to employ a qualitative approach as this type of approach allows a researcher to position him or herself within the chosen phenomenon or activity to “study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people brings to them” (Denzin and Lincoln 2000: 3). What this means is that, by having a direct experience within the research field, it defines “the personal nature of qualitative fieldwork” and accordingly deepens the “understanding of the

very nature of what one is studying, especially where meaning-making and emotion are part of the phenomenon” (Patton 2002: 48).

In view of the research questions of this study, the qualitative design of case study has been chosen. The reasons for this choice are, firstly, the case study design allows a researcher to conduct an intensive investigation on a single phenomenon, with an

underlying assumption that the case study under observation is a part of a larger phenomenon (Creswell et al 2007: 245). The adoption of the case study design will therefore allow this study to intensively focus on the key subject of the study (the Dusun ethnic group) and to critically examine their conversion process to Islam. Secondly, the case study approach can also vary from focusing on a single case to multiple cases (Creswell et al: 246), which will then allow this study to shift its emphasis from the individual case of the Dusun Muslim converts in Chapter 5 to a cross-case study that compares the findings of different case studies presented by the existing literature and consequently provides answers to question 6B in Chapter 6 which seeks to identify the determinant of stage order in a conversion process.

Moreover, as “the findings of a number of case studies may play a part in the inductive reasoning involved in the development of a theory” (Thomas et al 2011: 295), the case study design thus will support the objective of this study to critically engage the Rambo Model so that the potential of the model as a general theory of religious conversion can be developed and enhanced.

To further achieve the objective of this study to explore the conversion process of the Dusun Muslim converts in Brunei, the qualitative technique of analytic induction is employed, particularly to support the process of collecting and analysing data for this study. Analytic induction was first highlighted by Znaniecki (1968) where he defined

the technique as seeking generalisation through abstraction where it “abstracts from the given concrete case characters that are essential to it, and generalizes them, presuming that in so far as essential, they must be similar in many cases” (Znaniecki 1968: 251).

Over the decades, the technique has been revised and modified by researchers to effectively serve various research needs. One of the modifications of the analytic Over the decades, the technique has been revised and modified by researchers to effectively serve various research needs. One of the modifications of the analytic

deductively, by formulating propositions or hypotheses, and then examines a particular case in depth to determine if the facts of the case support the hypothesis. If it fits, another case is studied, and so forth, in the search for generalizations. If a case does not support the hypothesis, that is, it is a negative case, the hypothesis is revised (Patton 2002: 94-95). (emphasis in original).

Adopting Bogdan and Biklen‟s illustration of the procedure of the analytic technique (Bogdan and Biklen 2007: 71-73) as a guideline, this study has found that the technique is effective in generating relevant quality data to be utilised by this research. For instance, based on the findings of the literature review and the consequent preliminary arguments suggested by this study, the data collection process was commenced with an interview with an informant who represents the “effective” case for this study, i.e. an informant who had experienced the full impact s of Brunei‟s majority-religion context, which can be determined from the informant‟s strong sense of familiarity with, and understanding of, Islamic knowledge that is most likely generated by the education system and the borderless interactions with the Muslims, particularly those within the person‟s personal network.

The interview of this first informant was then analysed and coded where the findings were loosely defined, particularly those pertaining to the characters of the conversion stages. The next step is to choose several more informants whose conversion experience is more or less similar to that of the first informant in order to withhold the The interview of this first informant was then analysed and coded where the findings were loosely defined, particularly those pertaining to the characters of the conversion stages. The next step is to choose several more informants whose conversion experience is more or less similar to that of the first informant in order to withhold the

As the findings were defined more closely to fit the new cases, this study then deliberately picked cases that were different from the first ones in the hope that these new cases would provide examples of negative cases that did not easily fit the existing findings. For instance, older converts who were not familiar with Islam through the education system and might also still adhere to Dusun culture and tradition were chosen. The selection of these new and different cases was made through a purposeful sampling as this particular sampling technique allows the identification of information- rich cases (Patton 2002: 230, emphasis in original). Accordingly, as these negative cases could potentially produce different propositions, it could further modify the existing findings in order to fit these new cases. It was until the data collection reached its data saturation where negative or new sets of data no longer produced different findings from the existing ones that the sampling was concluded.

Thus, from the above explanation of the analytic induction technique, it is evident that the technique fits the needs of this research to provide an in-depth explanation of the conversion process and the sequences of the conversion stages as they were typically experienced by the Dusun Muslim converts, and thus to present the truest possible picture of the phenomenon.