Ronald Fletcher gives one reason for rising divorce rates, however, there are numerous more, such as the reasons given by Bryan Wilson. Wilson argues that the stigma and shame that existed with marriage in the 19th century ceases to exist in today’s society. According to Wilson, divorce has now become more socially acceptable because of a change in attitude as part of a process of “secularisation”. He states that religious ideas of marriage have lost their influence, and authenticates this claim by stating that less then half of marriage ceremonies are religious, and of those that are, neither the bride or groom are frequent church attendees.
Wilson talks about the impact of secularisation on people’s perceptions and acceptance of divorce. Wilson, in his research, defines secularisation as being the “process whereby religious thinking, practise and institutions lose their social significance.” Rising divorce rates are a sign that society is becoming more “tolerant” of divorce and secularisation is seen as being one of the main factors for this.
However, secularisation has affected Asian communities differently. It does not appear to be a dominant feature in Asian communities. Religion is stronger in southern Asian families. However, Wilson fails to acknowledge this. His research can only be effectively applied to “White Britain.” This is also the same for Fletcher; his research is not culturally applicable. His research only appears to portray white peoples increasing expectations. He fails to highlight the perceptions of Asian people regarding divorce.
Divorce is the pre-dominant concept for my work. It is the term used when referring to the legal termination between two people. When they feel that their marriage has experienced “irretrievable breakdown,” and that continuing without inflicting mental and emotional harm on one another, is no longer possible.
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Main Research Methods and Reasons
My main research method will adapt the interactionist approach used by sociologists, such as Ann Oakley. I intend to execute informal interviews. Primarily because it will help me gather qualitative data and I feel this is appropriate because it will give the respondents the freedom to give answers on their own terms. They will not be limited to choosing their answers from a group of pre-set questions. They will be able to deliberate about the issues that are important to them regarding their perceptions on divorce.
I plan to use snowball sampling. This approach will involve initially contacting a few potential respondents whom I feel are appropriate to my research and then asking them whether they know of anybody with the same characteristics that they feel would be useful for me in my research. This sample is convenient because it can be constructed when an appropriate sampling frame is not available and it is also low cost. The sociologist, Roseneil (1995) used this sampling method to construct a sample for the interview stage of her study on feminist activists in Greenham Common.
As a result of my research method, my sample will have to be small because of how time consuming and expensive the research can be. I plan to interview 5 people from Pakistani, Bengali, Indian and White origins - this will amount to 20 people in total who will be interviewed on their perceptions on divorce. Factors such as age and gender will be taken in account because these factors can affect people’s perceptions on divorce because of their diverse experiences and upbringings.
My main reason for choosing informal interviewing as a means of acquiring data relevant to my hypothesis is because large amounts of information will be able to be accumulated, therefore giving a wide breadth of perceptions on divorce. Also, the answers will be accurate representations of the subject’s real opinions and feelings, therefore making my results more valid because of the depth of the answers. Furthermore, respondents will be able to introduce areas that are relevant and important to the research, but which have not occurred to the researcher.
Moreover, another reason is that because I am Asian I feel this may be an advantage in building an effective rapport with the respondent. The respondent may feel that I may be able to empathise with their views and feelings on the effect that cultural and religious norms have on southern Asian societies views regarding divorce.
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Potential Problems
An evident problem will be my lack of quantative data; this will make it hard for me to generalise between different ethnic groups perceptions on divorce and will limit the broader applicability of my results. Positivists, like Durkheim, who oppose interactionist approaches, argue that qualitative approaches are too subjective, and that the results are unreliable - stating that you end up with a series of case studies. Also, there is no guarantee that a researcher following the same methodology as me will accumulate the same results as me.
Also, because my sampling is not random, this increases the likelihood of biased, and eliminates the possibility that everybody in the population has an equal chance of being chosen. Furthermore, some respondents may feel intimidated by me, thus leading to interviewer bias. This will affect my results negatively because the respondent will not feel able to open up to me, hence resulting in them giving invalid results.
I plan to record the interviews, however, this could lead to an ethical problems. I will need to acquire the respondent’s permission on recording the conversation and if a respondent shows signs of apprehension and discomfort as a result of the tape recorder. This will mean that I will have to hand write the notes, and this may prove to be arduous because the conversation may be formulating to quickly, thus resulting in me missing vital points. The note taking may also remind the respondent that their opinions are being recorded, therefore inhibiting their level of “openness.”
Moreover, the respondents may produce “socially desirable” answers to cast themselves in a favourable “light.” They may feel the need to exaggerate the truth, for instance, they may say they do not protest to divorces because they do not want to be perceived as having “Victorian” values. Also, there are practical problems, such as ensuring that the location and time of the interview is convenient for the respondent.
(Words 320)
Total Words = 1244
