Available sources
4.3.1 Available sources
The first step in the data collection process of this study is to locate the available sources pertaining to the research topic. One of the sources vital to this study is the data on the Muslim converts which has been routinely collected and updated by the Islamic Da’wah Unit in Tutong District since 1968. However, despite the annual publication of the data for statistical presentation, it has not been utilised thoroughly for research purposes. The significance of the information gathered from this data is that it effectively facilitates the purposive sampling for this research. As the data contains the necessary information of the Muslim converts, including their ethnicity, The first step in the data collection process of this study is to locate the available sources pertaining to the research topic. One of the sources vital to this study is the data on the Muslim converts which has been routinely collected and updated by the Islamic Da’wah Unit in Tutong District since 1968. However, despite the annual publication of the data for statistical presentation, it has not been utilised thoroughly for research purposes. The significance of the information gathered from this data is that it effectively facilitates the purposive sampling for this research. As the data contains the necessary information of the Muslim converts, including their ethnicity,
Television documentary is another important source of relevant information which this research can utilise. For the past decade, the state-own broadcasting agency, Radio and Television Brunei, has actively filmed documentaries which explore the life experience of the Muslim converts in Brunei. These documentaries, which are normally aired during the fasting month of Ramadhan, give opportunity to Muslim converts to share their life stories and their conversion journey to Islam. The documentaries also include the interviews with the non-Muslim family members of the converts which accordingly offer some valuable insights on the effects of the conversion, particularly upon the personal network of the converts.
The information gathered from these television documentaries, although it is not included in the main analysis, provides this research with a profound overview of the conversion phenomenon to Islam in the country. Moreover, as this information was collected before the fieldwork, it assists this study to formulate the interview questions for the Muslim converts so that the questions could capture the essence of their conversion experience, and to gain the truest possible representation of the experience.
Another readily available source of data utilised by this research is the range of published works pertaining to Brunei and the Dusun ethnic group. This study has made use of the library service provided by the main library at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, particularly the Bruneiana Collection section, which gathers a voluminous amount of data on almost every issue pertaining to the country. The data, which has Another readily available source of data utilised by this research is the range of published works pertaining to Brunei and the Dusun ethnic group. This study has made use of the library service provided by the main library at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, particularly the Bruneiana Collection section, which gathers a voluminous amount of data on almost every issue pertaining to the country. The data, which has