SOCIOLOLINGUISTIC SURVEYS - Centre for Language Studies

and eight research assistants. The eight principal researchers were drawn from the
various academic ranks of the Centre for Language Studies and Chancellor College.
Their minimum education qualification was a Bachelor’s degree.
The eight research assistants, whose minimum qualification was a Malawi School
Certificate of Education, were trained in the use of the questionnaire. They were briefed
adequately on the survey’s aims and objectives. Each research assistant was
profesionally supervised by a principal researcher. Some of the research assistants were
native speakers of Chitumbuka.
4.4.4 DATA ANALYSIS
The data were edited, coded and then entered into a computer. The Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for analysing the data. Frequencies, percentages
and cross tabulations were done for the three categories of respondents namely.
4.4.5 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE SURVEY
It was planned that 2500 subjects would be interviewed. This figure was deemed to be
representative enough because it represented nearly 5% of the population of the Northern
Region. During the survey itself, 1732 subjects were interviewed. The target was missed
because of a number of factors such as bad road conditions which made some areas
inaccessible. Secondly, the fact the Northern Region is sparsely populated made it
difficult for the research team to get hold of a reasonable number of respondents.
Amongst the general problems encountered is that in some cases some subjects would
initially claim that they are monolingual. After a language proficiency test, one would
find that such subjects were in actual fact either bilingual or multilingual. It was also
noted that pupils from the lower classes usually did not provide reasonable and
meaningful answers. The subjects in this category were too young to understand and
appreciate the research questions. So the research team opted for senior pupils.
The research team was sometimes mistaken for agents of the ruling party, the United
Democratic Front (UDF). It must be noted that since the Northern Region is the
stronghold for the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), the UDF has very little support and
the survey was, therefore, regarded by some people as a politically motivated exercise
whose ultimate goal was to seek political gains for the ruling party.
Other people refused to be interviewed because they claimed that they had more serious
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