Sampling: Recruitment Strategy and Selection Criteria

4.2 Sampling: Recruitment Strategy and Selection Criteria

The informants of this study were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. As the target group has been defined (Dusun Muslim converts in Tutong District), the informants were purposively identified, firstly, by the decade during which the informants converted to Islam and, secondly, by the age at which their conversion took place. These selection criteria were made in consideration of the transformation of Brunei‟s context into a majority-religion context which approximately took effect in the 1990s onward. Thus, the selection of t he “effective cases” at the beginning of the data collection is based on the above criteria where the first category of informants interviewed for this study is those who converted to Islam in the 1990s onward, and were in the age range of thirties and younger during the conversion as their lives prior to the conversion could have been influenced the most by the Islamisation of the education system and the pervasive dissemination of the Islamic information in the country.

In order to identify informants who have similarity to the category of the „effective cases‟ which could support the findings produced from this category, this study

employed the snowball strategy. The employment of this strategy is primarily due to its chain-referral tendency where the informants who are employed through this particular strategy are most likely to have homophilous characteristics that they share with those who recommended them to the researcher. Thus, the informants in the „effective cases‟ would recommend those within their personal contact or within their

own social network who they think are of relevance to the study.

Once the interviews with the informants within the above category no longer produced new findings, the data collection was extended to find negative cases that could challenge and refine the existing findings. Hence, the informants who converted at the older age (in their forties and above) but within the same period as the first batch of informants (converted in the 1990s onward) were selected through the purposive sampling, and the identification of other informants within the same category had been made through the snowball sampling. Similar to the earlier process of data collection, once the interviews of the informants in this group no longer produced additional insights to the existing findings, the snowball sampling were brought to an end, and based on the review of the preliminary data analysis, new negative cases were sought out to further justify the existing findings.

Accordingly, this study suspected the Dusuns who converted to Islam in the 1980s and earlier could possibly go through different kinds of conversion experiences as Islam had not become the majority religion in Brunei and that Islam could have possibly still been foreign to many Dusuns. Thus, a group of Muslim Dusuns who converted in the 1980s or earlier, and at the age of between the twenties and the fifties during their conversion were selected to provide evidence of negative cases to the existing findings.

One of the crucial findings produced by this group of informants is the adoption of a Muslim lifestyle after their conversion had not been as straightforward as those who converted in later decades. Moreover, the sense of social unacceptability towards this group was also rather evident, judging from the significant number of converts in this group who revealed the negative treatment they received after their conversion. Thus, with the support of the analytic induction technique, the identification of the One of the crucial findings produced by this group of informants is the adoption of a Muslim lifestyle after their conversion had not been as straightforward as those who converted in later decades. Moreover, the sense of social unacceptability towards this group was also rather evident, judging from the significant number of converts in this group who revealed the negative treatment they received after their conversion. Thus, with the support of the analytic induction technique, the identification of the

Brunei‟s majority-religion context upon the conversion process and accordingly define more precisely the characters and the definitions of the stages in the process.

What is also significant about the purposive sampling strategy is that, it can effectively determine the appropriate sample size through data saturation. Data saturation is a concept or a point where a new set of data collected do not contain different findings from the data collected previously (Glaser and Strauss 1973: 61-62). Thus in the case of this study, towards the end of the data collection process, as there were no more new findings that emerged from the interview analysis of the informants and there were no more category of informants that could provide examples of negative cases, this situation was perceived by this study as an indication of data saturation and the sampling was accordingly stopped. At the end, this study gathered 46 interviews from the Dusun Muslim converts as the data collection process achieved its saturation point.

Apart from the Muslim converts, this study also recruited 11 non-Muslim Dusuns. Their recruitment was in view of the preliminary data analysis where there were issues that were remained inadequately explained by the Dusun Muslim converts. Amongst these issues were the reasons for the Dusuns ‟ adherence to their religion where, despite being equally exposed to the same kind of social environment which led to the conversion of their fellow Dusuns to Islam, it inevitably raises questions as to why the

Dusuns adhere to their Dusun faith and do not follow the footsteps of the latter. Consequently, the data produced by the interviews with this group of informants

helped to identify the factors that reinforce the Dusuns‟ faith in the traditional religion and simultaneously weaken the Islamic influence within their personal realm. There was also an issue related to the commitment ritual as this study needs to investigate

whether or not the commitment ritual is seen by outsiders, i.e. non-followers, as irrational, as suggested by Rambo. The interviews with the Dusuns clearly shed light on this particular issue and thus facilitated the identification of the actual characters and definition of the commitment stage.

Key informants are another important source of data utilised by this study. They are however not just the source of general information as key informants should be knowledgeable enough to shed light on issues which other informants may have failed to clarify (Johnson 1990: 29-30). In addition to the 57 general informants, this study recruited 3 key informants where one of them had been identified by his long association with the Islamic Da’wah Centre in supporting the Centre‟s effort of propagating Islam since the 1960s, and thus his insights on the issues related to conversion process is valuable and relevant.

A senior religious official was also recruited to provide information on the missionary activities of the Islamic Da’wah Centre as well as the various types of guidance and assistance offered by the Centre to new converts and the whole Muslim community.

The selection of another key informant is based on the fact that she is a senior belian. Her knowledge on the Dusun religion and the changes within the Dusun community The selection of another key informant is based on the fact that she is a senior belian. Her knowledge on the Dusun religion and the changes within the Dusun community

Appendix 1 provides profile of the informants participated in this study.