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My hypothetical study will attempt to examine how oyster harvesters in Apalachicola Bay are handling the declining oyster harvests in the Bay. Apalachicola Bay has seen its harvests dwindle in size in recent years (Sommer, 2013) due to water use issues facing the Apalachicola-Chatahoochee-Flint river system. These oyster harvests are a prime source of income for approximately 2,700-4,000 of Franklin County, Florida’s 11,000 residents for some portion of the year (Sommer). The “tri-state water wars” (Ritchie, 2014, para. 1) have largely been precipitated by growing populations in Georgia and Alabama, mainly in the Atlanta, Georgia area (START, 2014) as well as increased agricultural water use in Georgia and Alabama (Havens et al., 2013). My research question, then, is: How are Apalachicola Bay oyster harvesters negotiating their changing identities in the face of unprecedented economic and environmental issues.
Pick a case
The particular case I will study is oyster harvesters in Apalachicola Bay who have reported through a preliminary survey that they have participated in the oyster industry for at least one year and derive at least 25% of their yearly income from the industry. These requirements are slightly arbitrary, but having a least one year’s experience in the industry and losing 25% or more of a person’s yearly income will likely have a large effect on the life of the individual and that person’s family. The purpose of these minimum requirements for inclusion is to allow for greater insight into the changing circumstances that oyster harvesters are facing. I will attempt to interview as many oyster harvesters as possible in order to reach a saturation point of experiences.
Describe the type of case
I will use the holistic, single-case design for this study. I will use this approach because no logical subunit of analysis can readily be identified at the outset of the research. Additionally, the oyster situation in Apalachicola Bay is such a unique phenomenon that it will likely provide enough information to justify documenting and analyzing. As mentioned above, I will choose participants based on their answers to a previously distributed survey. Because I’m choosing a single-case approach, I will need to be sure that I minimize the potential for misrepresentation and that the outcomes are representative of the population under investigation. This will be done through the preliminary survey and formative research. I will use in-depth interviews to reach a saturation point. I will attempt to balance the interviews between a questioning and conversational nature.
Type of data and analysis
I will gather data that attempt to answer my overarching research question. More specifically, I will ask about specific methods that oyster harvesters are using to relieve some of the financial burdens of lost income, how their families are coping with their changing identities, how oyster harvesters are adapting their skill set to other industries in the region, and how oyster harvesters plan to help mitigate future ecological issues of a similar nature while still being able to make a living off of the bay. I will analyze my data using the constant comparative method as outlined by Corbin and Strauss (1998) to examine, compare, synthesize, and categorize the data I’ve gathered.
How could the findings differ from what they could be if I did a study on the same question but with more participants/sites/data and fewer data types?
I think the biggest change in data would occur if I conducted the study over a series of sites in Florida and Alabama. The change would be a result of the different options oyster harvesters would have if they decided to leave the industry altogether. In Alabama, as opposed to Florida, harvesters may have more local agriculture options for work, which may lend better to the skill set that they have already developed from their time in the Bay. I still think, though, that no matter how many individuals participated in the study, a saturation point of identity negotiation techniques and experiences would occur rather quickly. This would be due to the limited number of options an individual has in the region unless he or she is willing to completely uproot his or her family and move to an entirely new location.