The case of the third national femicide study Lessons learnt from undertaking research with South African Police Services officials during the COVID-19 pandemic

Collecting South African Police Service’s (SAPS) data is critical for femicide research in South Africa. This paper outlines lessons learnt from interviews with SAPS officials during the COVID-19 pandemic to collect data for the third national femicide study. This paper is based on the shared experi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:SA crime quarterly Vol. 2024; no. 73; pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors: Manganyi, Tirhani, Ketelo, Asiphe, Gounden, Tholsie, Mabhida, Mpumelelo, Majola, Thobeka, Variava, Tarique, Mhlongo, Shibe, Dekel, Bianca
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Pretoria Institute for Security Studies (ISS) 01.06.2024
Institute for Security Studies
Subjects:
Communication
COVID-19
Criminal investigations
Data collection
Data quality
Disruption
Femicide
Field study
Gender-based violence
Homicide
Medical research
Missing data
Murders & murder attempts
Pandemics
Police
Police stations
Violence against women
South Africa
ISSN:1991-3877, 2413-3108
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Collecting South African Police Service’s (SAPS) data is critical for femicide research in South Africa. This paper outlines lessons learnt from interviews with SAPS officials during the COVID-19 pandemic to collect data for the third national femicide study. This paper is based on the shared experiences of the research team, particularly the fieldworkers, and provides insight into undertaking research with the SAPS. It guides researchers, especially those planning to conduct researcher-administered questionnaires with SAPS officials. This paper also provides insight into the complexities and sheds light on the intricacies behind the hierarchical structure of the SAPS. It further suggests ways to improve both face-to-face and telephonic data collection and strategies to reduce missing data. The paper also highlights the need to be flexible and creative in devising strategies to overcome challenges. Finally, the paper addresses the various methods used to resolve challenges and enable the project to collect the best quality data with the least disruption to the services provided by SAPS officials.
Bibliography:SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 14
ISSN:1991-3877
2413-3108
DOI:10.17159/2413-3108/2024/vn73a15266