An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

of different experiences and attitudes within the two congregations.Having chosen the research sites of the two churches, the Ministers of each wereapproached with the proposal and asked for permission to carry out research. The proposalwas taken to the church committees for their approval and willingness to support the study.Having the approval of the church committee, the proposal was then taken to the widerchurch by the minister. The researcher was present at the URC church meeting but not atthe Pentecostal church meeting. Written approval was given by the Pentecostal church butnot the URC.The interviewees were recruited and selected, initially through advertising for volunteersby posters, invitation for volunteers from the ministers and personal invitation from thepulpit. The respondents had the option to withdraw from the study at any time during thevolunteering, interview and post interview phase. They were asked to read the transcript,ask for a copy of the audiotape and to make comments on the contents of the transcriptwhen they signed the consent form and again when the transcribing process wascompleted. None of the respondents took the opportunity to request the audiotapes or readthe transcript.The process of collecting, coding and analyzing the data enabled the researcher to decidewhich data to collect next, where to find them in order to develop theory as it emerges.This contributed to the grounded theory that explains patterns of behaviour that arecommon in social life. Here it appears that the participant observer in ethnographicresearch becomes part of the sampling frame as much of the experience may be enteringinto new territory that may or may not have been previously explored.71