Impact Of Scarcity Of Water In Village Rumli District Islamabad

The ultimate goals of a research are to formulate questions and to find answers to those questions. Nestled within these goals are other goals, which researchers strive. No one can ask all the questions, and no one can find answers to even a single question, so we need to find some way to limit what we are attempting to do. The immediate goal of research exploration, description, explanation, and action provide us with a strategy for figuring out which questions to ask and which answers to seek. Research methodology provides reasoning and logic that how the procedures, methods and techniques are used to identify, obtain, and explain data to understand the research problems. It explains how a research is conducted and includes the tools and techniques used to collect information. I will also employ some anthropological research tools to carry out my research.

Rapport Building It is one of the rudimentary steps and most important technique of anthropological research that involve the ability to build a relationship of trust and understanding by interaction with people. It will help the researcher to reveal hidden experiences of people and make efficacious communication without difficulties. After defining the questions related to research, qualitative research starts with rapport building. It is just like putting yourself in the shoes of other people in order to feel and think the way sample of your research my feel and think. If you want to dip in the environment of others its essential to first develop rapport, so people will permit you to enter in their life settings. (Nancy, 2006)

Participant Observation “Through participant observation, the information about people can be easily observed and record. This method can be applied by making people agreeable. It is the substratum of cultural anthropology. ” (Bernard, 2006) Participant observation is an essential method of social research but an indispensable tool of qualitative research. It means observing people from inside by living with them for long period of time to get detailed information about their daily life experiences and events by face to face interaction and communication with people in a natural setting. I will also be a participant observer in some different daily life settings and spent time with the families to properly understand their life situations and problems.

Sampling Procedure A sample of a study has an impact on the results of research. Sampling is the method used to extract a sample from the population. There are different methods to precise the population which is referred to sampling procedure. In the present study, the systematic random sampling will use to draw a sample from the population.

Systematic Random

Sampling Systematic sampling is one of the easiest procedure to select sample when you have a large population as compared to random sampling. The procedure involved in systematic random sampling is very accessible. It can be easily done manually. The use of systematic random sampling will ensure the representativeness of the population in results. In systematic random sampling, the researcher first randomly picks the first subject from the population and then select the interval. After that, the researcher will select each interval-based subject from the list. (Bernard, 2006) I will use systematic random sampling because my research focuses on the water scarcity and its impacts on the whole population of the village, so by using this technique, I will easily select my sample.

Sampling unit and Sampling Size In the present study, the sampling unit is the households from the village Rumli district Islamabad. I have selected the sample size of 30 respondents for in-depth interviewing and discussions.

In-depth Interviews "An in-depth interview is comprised of free and a comfortable environment so, that complete and detailed information is obtained". ( Boyce & Neale, 2006) It is one of the methods used in qualitative research which includes detailed and in-depth interviews with a small number of people to completely explore the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of respondents. These are usually conducted on face to face communication by using open-ended and flexible response questions in which the researcher speaks less and listens carefully. So, a guided and positive rapport can be built between the researcher and the respondents. The researcher observes and understands the verbal and non-verbal i. e. body language, gesture information provided by respondents.

Informal Discussions “It is a part of participant observation that involves relaxed and unpretentious conversation. It allows people to talk openly”. ( Dewalt & Dewalt, 2002) Interviews are the fundamental tool of qualitative research. Informal interviews are more necessarily used in the disciplines of social sciences such as Anthropology and Sociology. During an informal interview, open-ended questions are asked to access the personal beliefs and attitudes of people. They do not require specific time and place. Informal interviews are based on free and daily life discussions. I will also conduct informal interviews to reveal the true nature of problems.

Case Study Method “Case study method entails few or limited individuals to probe the past experiences, conditions and social problems. It is used as a resilient technique”. (Zainal, 2007) Case study method is the reconstruction of one’s past life experiences that provide in-depth and detailed insight as well as the real causes of behavior and problems. It is suitable for the investigation of complex situations.

Socio-Economic

Census In the present research, the targeted population is the families who have/are suffering from water problems. For conducting research on families and their socio-economic problems related to water scarcity it is necessary for the researcher to identify their social and economic details. So, I will also use a census form to get demographic information from households.

Focus Group

Discussion “A type of focused interviews used to apprehend the perception and viewpoints of people in a small group through discussion by a researcher”. (Marczak & Sewell, 2018) It is another significant tool of anthropological research to gather information about a specific issue or topic and beliefs of people through discussion. It is conducted in a group of 7-10 people that fulfill the criteria of research questions and objectives. It helps the researcher to explore the opinions, worldviews, perspectives and ideologies of people.

Audio Recording

Audio recording is one of the noteworthy methods used in qualitative research. By using Audio recording method instead of writing notes during interviews will ensure the holistic picture because if a researcher records the whole interview he/she will be able to concentrate properly and collect non-verbal data. It also avoids interruption during interviews. As a social researcher, I will also employ this method during interviews and focus group discussions after taking permission from my respondents.

Interview Guide

It is the method to transfer the ideas of research questions to interviews. Before interviewing it is necessary to prepare a plan to direct the ideas related to the study for the fulfillment of a successful conversation between the interviewer and interviewee. I have also prepared an interview guide comprised of relevant questions to my research as well as some general questions related to water crisis and water need. I have formulated the questions that are simple, meaningful and understandable for them.

Ethical Considerations

This research will assure that the interviews will be conducted with an informed consent of every respondent. The respondents will be informed clearly about the research topic, the aim of the study and the purpose of conducting an interview. Research Respondents will be ensured about the confidentiality of the information which they will provide. Their personal information including name, income, and other data which they are supposed to fill on census form will remain anonymous.

Significance of the study

Several kinds of researches and studies have done in the discipline of social sciences related to the water crisis, climatic changes, conflicts and wars, and addressing the common causes of water scarcity. Rather than focusing on these topics, this study will examine the social, daily life and economic problems faced by people living in areas of water shortage. The insight obtained from this research is situated within the areas of social or cultural and economic anthropology. Social anthropology is a main field of Anthropology that focuses on the lives of contemporary people whereas economic anthropology emphasizes the economic behavior and practices of people. (Miller, 2009) The research will contribute in understanding the emerging issue of water shortage in Pakistan as well as the socio-economic impacts of water scarcity. The term socio-economic is much broader that covers several processes of a community including the livelihood, health occupation, economy, social life and practices of people. Focusing on the social life of people and the economy of a society is significant in applied perspective. Beyond economy, this research is also compelling in highlighting the health issue of people suffering from the lack of necessary quality and quantity of water. This research will contribute to the existing literature as it provides the relationship between water storage and migration in the context of Pakistan. It is significant as it discusses a topic on which a very limited literature is available.

Research Setting

The study will be conducted in the village Rumli in District Islamabad. Rumli is a small village located behind Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. The rationale behind the selection of this locale is that the people of this village have been facing the issue of water shortage for the past five years. In the summer season, the water scarcity reaches its peak and residents of the village fulfill their basic water need from a near located stream. People are using this water for all the necessary purposes such as cleaning, drinking, sewage, and sanitation.