The Changing Profile of Volunteerism – Implications for Community and Voluntary Organisations at local level

Chapter 3 Research Design and Methods

In this Chapter I will outline the rationale behind the approach adopted for this research study. The main research tool used is a postal questionnaire survey to selected volunteers in County Carlow. I will also explain why the target audience was selected and outline the measures taken to ensure a high level of support and responses to the survey. I will also outline how the questionnaire was designed and outline the key factors taken into consideration. The procedures undertaken for this research project will also be discussed. Finally, I will demonstrate how the key point arising from this study will be disseminated to the target audience.

Target Group

The target population for this research are volunteers who are involved with small scale Community & Voluntary Organisations in County Carlow that are affiliated to the County Carlow Community Network, known hereafter as the Network. The Network currently has one hundred and forty seven affiliated member groups, representing a wide range of interests and topics from both urban and rural areas in County Carlow. I selected this group as focus for this research project for a number of reasons. First, I have been involved with the Network through my work as Community and Enterprise Development Officer with Carlow County Council, since its inception, therefore I have access to the community and voluntary member groups and the support of the Executive. Second, the perception of a “volunteer crisis” has arisen numerous times at various Network events. Finally, as a Section, Community and Enterprise, Carlow County Council, are committed to the provision of supports to the Network. This piece of research will assist me and my colleagues to develop effective responses to the needs as identified by volunteers in the County through the Network structures.

Research Tool

From my research, I concluded that the use of a standard and consistent questionnaire would be the most appropriate instrument by which to access the target audience, and to assess the current situation for volunteers in the County. The questionnaire was distributed by post. The advantages of this approach are that as wide an audience as possible can be reached in a relatively short period of time, and that respondents have to time to consider their responses and answer at their leisure. One of the main disadvantages of this approach is the low response rate associated with postal surveys, on average 10% of the sample. However, response rates can vary from 3% to 90%. As a rule of thumb, the best response rates are achieved from highly-educated people with a particular interest in the subject. All of the people contacted in relation to this survey are currently involved in voluntary activity and therefore are interested in the subject.

I met with the Executive of the Network to introduce the research and to secure support for the project. This support was an essential element to the success of the research. Ten members of the Executive agreed to participate in the pilot phase and each of Members agreed to encourage their constituent groups to complete the survey. In return, I agreed to produce and present a short report to the Executive highlighting the main findings and conclusions of the research project. I also attended a Volunteer Event organised by the Network to further promote the research project among the members groups.

Survey Sample

A sample of volunteers for the survey was selected by circulating questionnaires to a named contact person for each of the one hundred and forty seven affiliated groups to CCCN. Each of the contact people was asked to get one volunteer from their group to complete a questionnaire from their own perspective. Additional questionnaires were provided toother volunteers on request. This ensured that the survey sample contained responses from as wide a variety of small-scale community and voluntary groups and organisations throughout the County as possible.

Questionnaire Design

From my research into questionnaire design, it became obvious that there are a number of key critical factors to good questionnaire construction. These include relevance, use of simple straightforward vocabulary and language, simplicity, clarity of purpose, absence of bias/ effects, varied question types, and question placement, order and layout, (Burgess, 2001, and websites).

The questionnaire for this research project covered two main areas – the Socio-economic profile of the volunteer, and the nature of volunteerism. A range of question types was used in the questionnaire design. For Section 1: the socio-economic profile, a number of closed, single response questions were asked. The questions in this section included gender, age range, economic status and education level. The categories used for economic status are those used by CSO for the purposes of the annual Household Budget Survey.

A number of open-ended questions were then asked, in order to ascertain the nature of volunteerism in County Carlow. This gave the respondents the opportunity to express their opinions without direction or bias. This section looked at the type of voluntary activity volunteers were involved in, how they first became involved in voluntary activity, what motivates them to volunteer, the rewards gained from voluntary work and what causes dissatisfaction. It also covered the supports currently provided to volunteers in the course of their work, the skills needed to effectively carry out voluntary activity and the main challenges facing the community and voluntary sector in County Carlow.

The contact people were assured that all of the information gathered would remain confidential in that, responses would not be attributed to any individual or group. This ensured that the respondents could express their opinions freely. Respondents were also informed that a report highlighting the main findings and recommendations would be compiled and circulated to CCCN members. Respondents were invited to give contact details if they would like to receive a personal copy of this final report.

Procedure

Initially, the questionnaire was piloted with ten volunteers who are members of the Executive of the County Carlow Community Network. As a result of this pilot survey, the questionnaire was modified to produce the final version contained in the Appendix. Questionnaires were circulated by post to a named contact person for each of the one hundred and forty seven affiliated groups of the County Carlow Community Network. A stamped addressed envelope was enclosed with each questionnaire to further encourage completion and return at no extra cost to the respondent. The contact person was given two weeks to complete and return the questionnaire to the author. In addition to the support received from the Executive of the County Carlow Community Network, the author made a presentation at a County Volunteer Event hosted by CCCN to further promote the research project and to boost survey returns.

Analysis

A Microsoft Access Database was used to analyse questionnaire responses. Each of the questionnaires were individually numbered and inputted by the author. Responses toopen-ended questions were collated and a number of common responses were identified. Where possible, a number of responses were grouped together, while in all other cases, the category “Other” was used. An additional category “No response” was also provided for the Analysis stage. A number of tables and graphs were produced during the Analysis. Further details are available in Chapter 4 Data Analysis and the Appendix: Main Research Findings.

Response Rate

Of the 147 questionnaires posted, replies were received from a total of 84, giving a response rate of 57%. This good response rate may be attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, I have a very good working relationship with the target audience through my job as Community and Enterprise Development Officer with Carlow County Council. My colleagues and I have provided support to the Network since its inception. Consequently, many of the volunteers responded in support of the author. In addition to this, the Network and its member groups have identified the need for additional supports for volunteers and small-scale community and voluntary organisations on numerous occasions. As previously mentioned, I have agreed to present a report highlighting the main findings and conclusions to the CCCN. This will be used to support the development of a strategy focused on the provision of increased supports for volunteers in County Carlow. The high response rate is indicative of the interest in the topic by the identified contact people. This is borne out by the many comments received by the author in survey responses.

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