Posts
METHODOLOGY
As stated earlier, the goal of this research was to answer the following question: On average, and within the United States of America, do individuals who practice Voluntary Simplicity experience higher levels of subjective well-being than the average American? My hypothesis was that Americans who have deliberately chosen to simplify their lifestyles do in fact experience higher levels of subjective well-being (in the form of happiness and life satisfaction) than the average American.
Due to the complete lack of empirical research (and moderate existence of qualitative research) on the relationship between Voluntary Simplicity and Happiness, I employed a comprehensive triangulation methodology, employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques, in order to cross-examine individual findings and to allow for a deeper and broader analysis of the results. The following methodologies were used throughout the course of this research:
Literature Reviews and Definition of Terms
A comprehensive review of the literature on the three main topics of inquiry (Voluntary Simplicity, Happiness/Subjective Well-Being and Ecological Sustainability/Ecologically Responsible Behaviors) was employed in order to document the states of the fields, define the critical terms and conceptual frameworks employed, determine the boundaries/frontiers of these fields, synthesize the existing framework of knowledge, and to clarify the contribution of this project.
National Subjective Well-Being Surveys
In order to test the hypothesis empirically, I surveyed an experimental group consisting of self-described Voluntary Simplicity practitioners (based on a detail definition of VS presented to them prior to the survey, copied verbatim below in the “Survey” chapter) and then compared those results to a control group representing an average sample of Americans that was also surveyed using the same SWB questionnaires. These surveys were administered chronologically evenly (in order to control for the subjective well-being impact of major national and global events, such as the U.S. recession) between both groups over a 2 year period beginning in the Spring of 2008 and ending in the Spring of 2010. Overall, 2,030 participants took party in this experiment: the experimental group consisted of 1,027 self-described “Voluntary Simplicity practitioners” and the experimental group consisted of 1,003 randomly sampled Americans. A more detailed description of the survey design is included in the next chapter, entitled “Survey.”
Regional VS Interviews, Participant Observation and Focus Groups
Key informant interviews, participant observation, informal interviews, focus groups, and oral histories of VS practitioners and communities were also conducted primarily in Northern New England (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont) and, to a lesser extent, in California, Maryland and Colorado. An individual’s perspective and complex opinions, particularly with issues such as the ones involved in this study, are far more nuanced then a single number, percentage or chart can reflect alone. As a result, it was important to conduct a qualitative analysis (in addition to the empirical survey analysis employed) using the range of techniques outlined above. According to Tim Rapley, “Interviewing is currently the resource through which contemporary social science engages with issues that concern it” (Rapley 2004). Interviews enable a “’special insight’ into subjectivity, voice and lived experience” (Rapley 2004). According to Sara Delamont, “Participant observation… means spending long periods watching people, coupled with talking to them about what they are doing, thinking and saying, designed to see how they understand their world” (Delamont 2004). In addition, oral histories “draw on memory and testimony to gain a more complete or different understanding of a past experienced both individually and collectively” (Bornat 2004). The focus groups, in a sense, are aimed at exploring the more collective aspect of these oral histories. Indeed, this methodology is primarily concerned with “shared and tacit beliefs, and in the way these beliefs emerge in interaction with others in a local setting. They are often used in an exploratory way, when researchers are not entirely sure what categories, links and perspectives are relevant” (Macnaghten and Myers 2004).
Self-Study
As part of my research methodology, I felt it was prudent to put myself directly in the shoes of the VS practitioners I have read about, studied, interviewed and surveyed as part of my doctoral research. To do so, a reflective self-study of downshifting over a 2 year period was conducted and periodically documented via an online research blog at www.aplotita.com
The study was aimed at assessing, on an individual and personal level, any impacts the VS lifestyle and behavioral choices had on my levels of happiness and my overall ecological footprint.
Environmental Media and Communication
All of the methodologies employed new media tools and the internet in their execution and the dissemination of the corresponding results and analysis. The majority of this dissertation and materials normally found within an Appendix can all be found here: http://www.aplotita.com
