The Field Research Design

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5. The Field Research Design and the Philippines-Indonesia Workshop

5.1 The Field Research Design

A field investigation of a large number of CB-MS sites will be undertaken immediately following the focus group discussions. A stratified random sample will be drawn from an initial list of potential survey sites Annex 6. By stratified sample, we mean that the initial list may be sub-grouped into categories such as successful versus unsuccessful sites, long-term data rich sites versus newer less well documented sites, or by province. The survey sample will then be randomly selected from these subgroups. Criteria for selecting field research sample sites will include the following: • An ordinance establishing the sanctuary has been formally approvedsigned at the municipal level. • The marine sanctuary has been in the implementation phase for a period of at least three years since its legalformal establishment. • If possible, all or most sites surveyed will be in the Central and Eastern Visayan regions. • Sites with a longer history of implementation and which are informationdata rich or well documented in the literature are preferred. • A range of sites is preferred including not successful, moderately successful and highly successful. The research design will make an effort to control for many factors that make cross-site comparisons difficult. For instance, the study takes place in only one country, and an attempt will be made to limit the number of regions within the country that are surveyed this is also done for logistical reasons. Additionally, we are looking at only one type of CB-MS initiative – a strictly defined CB-MS see Section 2. Field research methods will include the development of a survey instrument to be administered at each site, designed to gather information on the context and project factors that make CB-MS successful. Methods for information gathering will include the following: • Key informant interviews • Direct observation of the CB-MS site and adjacent community • Secondary data collection The data set of CB-MS sites will be analyzed using appropriate parametric and non- parametric statistical techniques to determine which independent variables context and project interventions, singly or in combination significantly impact dependent variables of success. 39 Success can be measured in a variety of ways using biological, socioeconomic, attitudes and beliefs perceptions and governance factors. The simplest analysis would be to dichotomize sites into successful and unsuccessful sites and compare them in terms of the independent variables. Depending on the final number of sites surveyed as well as the quality and availability of information obtained on the sites, more sophisticated analysis may be conducted. Sites may be ranked such as very successful, moderately successful, not successful, etc. or factor analyzed using a number of dependent and independent variables. Another type of analysis the project hopes to undertake will be to look at how different groups perceive success. For instance, a government official or scientist may view a decrease in the rate of reef degradation as successful, whereas a fisher may only consider it successful if he or she perceives an increase in fish catch. The purpose of these analyses are to determine which independent factors are more significant than others in determining success, or under what conditions are some factors more important than others. The field research report, where possible, will try to provide short examples of how these factors have played out at actual sites surveyed. It is expected that this study will help verify, or not verify, success factors found in the literature and proposed by the experts in the focus group sessions. The goal is to be able to provide better advice to individuals and institutions engaged in replicating marine sanctuaries in other locations, either in the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as to have a higher level of certainty concerning the advice that is given. Up until recently, most conclusions concerning success factors has been based on a small number of case studies or on the collective wisdom and experiences of coastal management professionals. However, there is a growing body of coastal management literature, which attempts to apply more systematic and quantitative methods over a large number of sites. To our knowledge, this is the first time this approach will be applied specifically to CB-MS.

5.2 The Joint Philippines - Indonesia Workshop