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Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The systematic and scientific research is reflected in its methodology.

Methodology is usually a guideline system for solving a problem, with specific
components such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools. When we
talk of research methodology we not only talk of the research methods but also
consider the logic behind the methods we use in the context of our research
study and explain why we are using a particular method or technique and why
we are not using others so that so that research results are capable of being
evaluated either by the researcher himself or by others. It indicates the practical
way in which the whole research project has been organized.

This chapter deals with methods undertaken to achieve the goals of the study. It
includes statement of the problem, aim of the study, the objectives, operational
definitions, the research design, universe and sample, method of data
collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, statistical steps employed,
ethical issues, difficulties faced during the study and chapterization.

3.1 Statement of the Problem

Divorce is one of the most traumatic and painful experiences in a person’s life,
second only to death of a spouse. Divorce is the final termination of a marriage,
canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the
bonds of marriage between husband and wife. Divorce is one of the hardest
things a family can go through. Not so far in the past the word ‘Divorce’ was
taboo. People even prolonged their suffering marriages to avoid divorce. This
is not the case anymore. All over the world, the divorce rate among couples is
increasing at an alarming rate.

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Now-a-days the rate of divorce is increasing day by day due to increase in

social problems. When people marry someone the expectations are very high.
Now when both the spouses work it is difficult for them to give each other
proper time. Both the husband and wife should understand this thing and
should give each other proper time. People have been getting divorces as long
as people have been getting married.

Divorce can cause damages not only on children but also on the society as a
whole. It has become easy and common. There are various reasons pertaining
to this change in society. The dignity and sanctity of marriage has gone down
with the passage of time. People do not believe on the importance of marriage
as they did before. Marriage is considered a social taboo; people follow certain
rituals to run the contract of agreement somehow, even if they fail to make it a
very successful marriage. In current times, our society has changed its views
about divorce. Now divorce is part of family life. It does have some major
negative effects also. Divorce rate is increasing day by day and it is the case
with emotional instability, lack of respect for the relations and family.

The increase of crime rate in the society has very evident linkages with
increased divorce rate. Divorce is a direct threat to the society; and it is
spreading like a disease. It affects children badly. It can cause damage to their
emotional, psychological, cognitive, and physical development. Separation of
parents deprive them from the love of parents, they have to live separately from
one parent and sometimes from both of them. They keep on longing for the
family life and for the love of both the parents. The moral support is missing
out in a divorced family. The faith and trust vanishes away. Hollowness
prevails in a divorced family situation, which can weaken the mental stability
of children.

Lack of attention from the parents in case of divorce would lead children to
moral degradation and disrespect. Divorce can leave a deep scar of the minds
of children and can destroy their whole personality. These effects may become

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persistent trait of their personality. Data from researches shown that the
children from divorced families got indulged in robbery, theft and street
crimes. Children from broken and divorced families start using drugs and
sometimes get involved in drug trafficking too due to lack of finances.

The divorced partners also go through a tough time, which is sometimes

prolonged for one or the other partner. The emotional trauma and depression
may lead to other social problems. The disheartened spouse may resort to drug
abuse.

As is obvious from above discussion, the social aspects act as two-edged knife
in such situations. Whatever the causes of divorce, its effects present the same
issues all over the world. Divorce affects the society adversely. Living in an
abandoned situation feels like crushed to ground at times. Children suffer from
loneliness, deprivations, and heartaches. Living life without mother in the
house or father figure in the family can cause serious problems in all ages of
children but particularly in adolescent. The complete social system go all in
vain, physical and psychological abuse, poor performance in academic life,
drop out are few of the examples of negative effects of divorce. The rate of
divorce is higher among educated families, although such laws had been made
which totally support women seeking divorce and the whole procedure has
been made easier. Sometimes the situation becomes worse due to lack of
compromise from both sides and egotistical attitude. Lack of tolerance and
compromise among couples plays a vital role in increase in rate of divorce.

With the advancement of time, spread of education and campaigns of human

rights activists, divorce has become a way to break free from the marital
clutches for many women. Couples facing difficulties in equating their levels of
compatibility are now filing for divorce in order to renew their life afresh. In
fact, the rate of divorce is rapidly rising in the India. It appears that marital
dissolutions in metropolitan cities are increasingly influenced by
incompatibility among young couples and several other factors, thereby

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threatening marital bonds. The expectation of young couples from marriage is

growing and their emotional and social problems are difficult to be met.
Divorce is not a happy thing from any view point. Divorce is becoming wide
spread in our society that an intelligent study of divorce is necessary if one is to
have the attitudes and understanding that will help him build a good marriage
and avoid the eventuality of divorce. Compromise is a key factor which can
make life easier and save from destruction. The final thing to know up front
about divorce is that divorce is not the end of the world. Divorce is a crisis
involving a very real end, but it is also a very real new beginning. Divorce is
the end of a chapter of life, but not the end of life itself (even though it may
feel that way). In the midst of the divorce crisis are seeds of opportunities for
remaking life into something again enjoyable new and creatively good. It is
important to keep this hopeful and true message in mind as the process unfolds.

The dissolution of marriage has been quite uncommon and rare in India for a
long time. In case of any crisis or threat to stability of marriage, caste,
community, kinsmen, tended to have played a dominant say. People had both
respect for and fear of social values and public opinion. Authority of
community, though implicit, has been supreme. The system of religious belief
has provided enough sustenance to the institution of marriage and family.
Individual choice has always been subservient to the communal sentiment or
public opinion. The marriage is no longer sanctified as it was believed in the
past, and is viewed only as a bonding and nurturing life-long relationship and
friendship.

Indian marriages are still largely resilient and lasting, whereas in many
developed countries they seem to break up for seemingly trivial reasons.
Marriages are very vulnerable or fragile there. One in every four or five
marriages breaks up despite more space and freedom in the West. The
longevity of marriage in most developed countries ranges on an average from
five to seven years. While in India divorce rates are among the lowest in the
world. These days divorce rates in India’s urban sphere are, however, slowly

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mounting. Marriage counselors, formerly pooh-poohed at, have today assumed

a lot of importance in guiding couples through stormy seas and averting the
imminent pain of divorce. Today in cities there is disenchantment with the
system of arranged marriages in a large number of cases. The Indian family is
faced with a new kind of social and psychological constraints. The women,
however, tend to be more concerned about their marriage than men and in case
of a problem they are expected to go for counseling. They are expected to take
the lead to resolve conflicts and when they give up the effort, the marriage is
generally over.

Cases of divorce are rising in the district. D.K. District Family Court Judge
G. D. Narasimhamurthy also affirmed this when the researcher met him for
seeking permission to go through the files, saying that out of total cases that he
saw during the past few years, more cases were divorce related. Present study
was designed to uncover the perceived causes of divorce. This study is
intended to find out the reasons for the increasing rate of divorce and its
consequences. And also to propose the intervention programmes to reduce the
increasing marital problems and there by reduce the cases of divorce and
whenever necessary help the divorcees in better adjustment with their post
divorce life.

3.2 Definition of Key Concepts

Marriage: Is a social union or legal contract between people called spouses

that creates kinship; marriage as "a union between a man and a woman such
that children born to the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both
partners."

Divorce: Divorce is the conclusive act of dissolution of marriage (Brodkin,

1997). The Essential English Dictionary (1999) explains divorce as a legal
permission to separate from one’s married partner and to marry someone else if
so desired, or to officially end a marriage.

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The new Dictionary of Social Work (1995) states divorce as the dissolution of a
marriage by a judicial order. The researcher sees divorce as the legal ending of
a marriage or romantic relationship between two people. Divorce is not a single
event. It is a complex process that unfolds over time and requires extensive
reorganization and a series of adjustments for both parents & children.

Court: A person or body of persons whose task is to hear and submit a

decision on cases at law. The building, hall, or room in which such cases are
heard and determined.

3.3 Scope of the Study

The Scope of the present study extends to Dakshina Kannada district. This
study covers socio demographic profile of the divorcees, marital adjustment
before divorce, causes of divorce, processes and procedures of divorce,
consequences of divorce, the psychological condition of the divorcees in post
divorced life and their conditions, the legal process for divorce and the opinion
of divorcees about the procedures, possibility of intervention to reduce the
increasing divorce rate or assisting the better settlement of the divorcees.

The issue of ‘increasing rate of divorce and the factors associated with it and
augmenting a knowledge base for intervention is the central focus of this
research. A study of this kind will help social workers to device strategies to
work with persons with marital problems, divorce settlement, post divorce life
and consequences rising up from divorce.

3.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

3.4.1 Aim of the Study

The study is aimed at exploring the factors of increasing divorce rates, the
phases the persons undergo during the process of divorce and the adjustment to
the post divorced life and it also aims at preparing intervention plans on the
basis of the findings to help in the amicable settlement of divorce and better
adjustment in post divorced life.
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3.4.2 Specific Objectives

Having been read vast literatures on divorce and family disorganization, having
studied previous researches done on divorce in different parts of the world and
having met experts who take up issues of divorce in court and talking to social
workers who are directly involved in issues pertaining to divorce and
counseling or are part of nongovernmental organizations who work for this
cause, the researcher was able to get more clarity with regarding her study.
Taking into account the gaps identified during the literature reviews and
discussions with research experts the following objectives were framed for this
research.

1. To Study the Socio – Economic, Cultural and Demographic Profile

of the Respondents.
2. To Find out the Causes for the Divorce.
3. To Study the Psychological Situation of the Respondents.
4. To Study the Post Divorce Life of the Respondents.
5. To Study the Opinion of Divorcees about the Legal Procedures.
6. To Suggest Social Work Intervention for Better Adjustment of
Divorced Persons.
3.5 Hypotheses
On the basis of review of existing literature, consultation with experts in the
field, the discussions with lawyers, psychologists and family counselors the
following hypotheses are framed.

1. Increased Employment of Both Couple is Associated with the Increased

Divorce Cases.
2. Increased Rate of Divorce is associated with Childlessness of Couples.
3. Increased Economic Independence of Women is Associated with the
Increased Rate of Divorce.
4. Divorce Cases are more where Spouses have Greater Difference in the
Level of their Education.
5. Divorce Cases are more Common in Urban Areas than in Rural Areas.

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3.6 Research Design

Research design is the systematic method and procedures for exploring the
information needed. It constitutes a blue print of the whole research process. It
also specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology and technique
adopted for achieving the objectives. Research design is a matter of planning or
deciding on the structure and strategy of investigation in order to obtain
solutions or answers to the problems or question under study. Once the
research problem is formulated clear enough and selection of appropriate
question for gathering data is completed, the next logical step is deciding on the
structure and approach to be adopted in the research. Thus, it is expected that
the research design must provide an arrangement of conditions for data
collection and analysis with optimum scientific accuracy and relevance to the
purpose of research, so that the enquiry yields clear and the most unequivocal
answer possible in as ‘practically resource efficient ways’ as possible.

The choice of research design depends mainly on the purpose for which the
research is conducted. The research design for the present study is descriptive
and diagnostic.

The design is descriptive because at one end this research study aims to
describe record, analyse and interpret the conditions that exist. It was a fact-
finding investigation with adequate interpretation. This design is usually the
best methods for collecting information that will demonstrate relationships and
describe the world as it exist. Bickman Rog (1998) suggest that descriptive
studies can answer questions such as “what is or what was”. It is a scientific
method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject
without influencing it in any way. It is mainly done because the researcher
wanted to gain a better understanding of divorce and explore the existing
certain phenomena.

It is also a diagnostic study as the cause and effect are being studied very
clearly. Diagnostic study is concerned with cause effect relationship and with

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implications for action i.e. taking up remedial measures. It is concerned with

not only what but why, what it needs to be done.

3.7 Place of the Study

The study was done in Dakshina Kannada, the coastal District of Karnataka.

Dakshina Kannada, also known as South Kanara, is a coastal district in the

state of Karnataka in India. It is bordered by Udupi District to the north,
Chikkamagaluru district to the northeast, Hassan District to the east, Kodagu to
the southeast, and Kasaragod District in Kerala to the south. The Arabian Sea
bounds it on the west. Mangalore is the headquarters and chief city of the
district. Dakshina Kannada district has an area 4,866 square kilometres. There
are 354 villages in the district. According to the 2011 census, the district of
Dakshina Kannada has a population of 20, 83,625. This gives it a ranking of
220th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of
457 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,180 /sq mi). Its population growth rate
over the decade 2001-2011 was 9.8% and the sex ratio of the district was
slightly better at 1,018 females per 1000 males, as compared to Bangalore
Urban which was 908 females per 1000 males. The sex ratio of Udupi district
stands at 1093 females for every 1000 males.

The district is divided into five talukas, Mangalore, Bantwal, Puttur, Sullia, and
Belthangady. It used to include three northern talukas, Udupi, Kundapur and

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Karkal, but these were separated in August 1997 to form Udupi district.
Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod taluk are often called Tulu Nadu, as
Tulu is the majority language in the region. The Alupas who ruled this region
between the 8th and 14th century as a feudatory of all the major Kannada
empires of those times and it is for this reason that the Tulu speaking districts
are a part of Karnataka state.

Important towns in Dakshina Kannada include Mangalore, Bantwal, Vittal,

Puttur, Sullia, Moodabidri, Kadaba, Surathkal, Mulki and Dharmasthala.
Before 1860, Dakshina Kannada was part of a district called Kanara, which
was under a single administration in the Madras Presidency. In 1860, the
British split the area into South Kanara and North Kanara, the former being
retained in the Madras Presidency, while the later was made a part of Bombay
Province in 1862. Kundapura taluk was earlier included in North Kanara, but
was re-included in South Kanara later. During the Reorganisation of States in
1956, Kasaragod was split and transferred to the newly created Kerala state and
Dakshina Kannada was transferred to Mysore state (present day Karnataka).

Later, the Karnataka Government, for the purpose of administration, split the
greater Dakshina Kannada district into Udupi and present day Dakshina
Kannada districts on 15 August 1997. Three taluks of former DK district
namely Udupi, Karkala and Kundapura were made into new Udupi district.

The district is famous for red clay roof tiles (Mangalore tiles), cashew nut & its
products, banking, education (professional and non professional) and of course
for its exotic cuisine.

The people who first settled here were called Tuluvas. Bunts, Kulala,
Mogaveera, Billava, Devadiga’s are the major communities of the Tuluva
ethinic group. Other Tuluvas, Brahmins, Holeyas, Vokkaligas, the hill-tribes
(Koragas), Muslims and the Mangalorean Catholics comprise rest of the
population. The Brahmins belong chiefly to the Shivalli, Saraswat, Havyaka,
and Kota sub-sections. Tulu, Konkani, Kannada and Beary Bashe and

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Malayalam are the most widely spoken language of the district. Tulu is the
native languages of majority of people living in Dakshina Kannada district.
English is also used for communicational purposes in Dakshina Kannada
District.

The Dakshina Kannada district is in forefront in education. Primary and

secondary education has reached every section of society. The district's literacy
rate is far above national average. In the higher education (Degree and above),
Dakshina Kannada district has made tremendous progress. The professional
education has made a mark in the country. Students from different parts of
India flock to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts because of high standards
of education. A host of educational institutes offering courses in Medicine,
Engineering, Pharmacy, Nursing, Hotel & catering, Law and Management are
located in this district. There is college of fisheries. Located at Yekkur near
Kankanady. The district is home to many research institutes like National
Research Centre for Cashew at Puttur. Another is a Central Plantation Crops
Research Institute at Vitla.

According to the District Family Court Judge G D Narasimhamurthy cases of

divorce are rising in the district. He said that more number of cases that he saw
were divorce related. Further he said that it is rather disheartening to see
married couples seek divorce for petty reasons. It is also saddening to see
women being subjected to neglect and atrocities by their own families. He
pressed the need for a committee to take note of cases of atrocities on women
in families and provide solutions to them. When such a move is done then
probably such cases will not come to the courts.

3.8 Universe and Sampling

For this study the cases in which actual decree of divorce was granted by the
judicial court were selected. Permission of the magistrate concerned was
obtained through an affidavit, to go through the files of the court. These files
themselves contain a lot of data in the form of personal information and the

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judgment order (divorce- decree). In the documentation section the cases of

petitions filed, the cases which is under process, the dismissed cases, the cases
which are pending and the cases wherein already the divorce decree had been
passed were all kept together. The documents were available from 2000. Till
2006 the entire documents regarding five taluks of Dakshina Kannada District
was available in Mangalore court documentation section. From 2006 the
documents regarding Bantwala Taluk was shifted to the then formed Bantwala
court and documents regarding Sullia, Puttur and Belthangady was shifted to
Puttur Court. The researcher started the data collection work from the court
since June 2009. Hence the period of data collection is 2000 to 2008. It took
almost six month to go through the files and separating files of the cases in
which a decree of dissolution of marriage was passed. There were initially near
to 2000 cases but in many cases the details were half filled and full address and
details were not clear. Hence the researcher used the following selection
criteria to come up with the universe of the present study.

a) Inclusion criteria: Male and female divorcees who reside in the district are
included for the study.

b) Exclusion criteria: Nontraceability of the respondent due to unclear

addresses, divorce has been sanctioned but maintenance cases are in process,
Change of address by the respondent during the process of divorce, Transfer in
employment as specified in the documents, the place specified in the address
which was very much unknown, Migration on account of new jobs specially
moving out of the district, Remarriage and Death.

After following the selection criteria and scrutinizing the files in 843 cases all
the relevant data was available.

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3.8.1 Universe of the Study

Population or universe is the aggregate of all units possessing certain specified

characteristics on which the sample seeks to draw inferences (Krishnaswamy,
2000). The total number of individuals to whom the results of the research are
intended to apply constitute the research population. For the present study the
legally dissolved cases of divorcees from the five taluks of Dakshina Kannada
District from the year 2000 to 2008 constitute the universe, i.e. 843 cases.

3.8.3 Sampling Technique

The researcher used Stratified Random Sampling for the present study.
Stratification is the dividing up of the universe into sub populations called
“strata”, and from each stratum, random sample is drawn. Stratification ensures
representation to all the population. All it means is that, before any selection
takes place, the population is divided into a number of strata and then a random
sample is selected within each stratum. A stratified sampling may be either
proportionate or disproportionate. In a proportionate stratified sampling plan,
the number of items drawn from each stratum is proportional to the size of the
strata. In disproportionate sampling an equal number of units are drawn from
each stratum regardless of how the stratum is represented in the universe.

In the present study Disproportionate Stratified Random Sampling method was

used to give equal weight to all strata even though their shares in the total
population vary. The sample size for this study was 250 divorcees (50% male
& 50% female). The sample size is 30% of the total population. The researcher
feels that 30% of the population will provide a reasonable representation of the
population as the researcher had used personal interview method. The
stratification was according to the taluks. There were 5 stratas and from these
five taluks using lottery method 50 respondents each (25 male & 25 female
divorcees) were selected. Equal numbers were taken from both male and
female group to give equal representation. The details are shown in the table
below.

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Table Number 3.1

Taluk wise break up of respondents

Sl.No Taluk No. of divorcees Sample selected

N=250
1 Mangalore 368 25 25
2 Bantwala 202 25 25
3 Puttur 102 25 25
4 Belthangady 96 25 25
5 Sullia 75 25 25
Total 843 125 125

3.9 Method of Data Collection

Both quantitative and qualitative approach of data collection was carried out.
Quantitative data was being collected from the courts of Dakshina Kannada
through specifically developed Performa for the year 2000 to 2008. (The
researcher collected information from 2000 to 2008 because in the
documentation section of the District court the data was available from 2000.
The researcher collected information till 2008 because the data from the court
was collected from May 2009). The Performa contained information on
judgment and decree on divorce; summons notice, custody of children and
other documents. Few in-depth interviews were also conducted to examine the
social acceptability of divorce and to study the role adjustment after divorce.

After collecting the information from court records a list was prepared and
from that list the respondents were selected using stratified random sampling
method. After this the researcher visited the respondents’ homes and met them
and interviewed them using a Semi Structured Interview Schedule. For this
study both the Primary & Secondary data was used.

Primary source of data – Interview. Primary method of data collection was

interview using a Semi Structured Interview Schedule. The time of interview
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varied from respondent to respondent. Especially as this was a very sensitive

and highly personal and confidential issue the first phase of interview i.e., the
introduction and rapport building took more time.

The secondary source of data - The court records, the books on law and other
books on related topics and websites.

Each divorce case has a file in the judicial court. These files are consigned to
the record room of the Court in bundles of several cases. After taking
permission of the court, the divorce case files were seen. Much time, energy
and patience were needed to locate, segregate and go through the individual
case files. In the case file different documents like (a) the application of the
petitioner, (b) court notice to the respondent, (c) reply of the respondent, (d)
statement of witnesses like relatives, friends and others, (e) statements of both
parties at the time of the hearing of the case, including cross-examination (f)
the decree of divorce by the Hon’ble Judge were available. Thus, the divorce
file of each case gives a lot of information.

Observation - Spending the valuable time in the field, the researcher had an
opportunity to witness a few cases. These observations supplement the findings
of the study.

3.10 Tools of Data collection

The different techniques & tools of data collection are very important in a
research. In fact, data is the basis of skeleton of research and if adequate and
reliable data is not available, it is difficult to discover worthwhile findings. In
the research relation to the present study, the following tools were made use of:

Semi Structured Interview Schedule. First, a draft schedule was drawn to

elicit information from the couple. The researcher had used various researchers
on divorce and the tools used for those studies as a base for preparing the tool
for the present study. Special attention was also given to the aim of the study,
objectives of the study and the place of study. The tool was pretested through a

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pilot study with ten divorcees (five male and five female) from the same
universe.

In research, ‘pilot study’ has been considered a necessity. The pilot study was
conducted to fulfill the purposes of assessing the feasibility of this study,
examining the efficacy of the tools, and identifying relevant areas that needed
exploring. On the whole, the outcome of the pilot study was encouraging and
helpful. The pilot study has been instrumental in bringing out more clarity in
the objectives of the study and in its instrumentation.

Thereafter, the schedule was revised and finalised. The schedules were got
printed also. The schedule contains 5 major areas like,

1 Socio-Economic, Cultural and Demographic profile of the

Divorcees.
2 The Causes for the Divorce.
3 The Psychological Situation of the Respondents.
4 The Post Divorce Life of the Respondents.
5 Opinion regarding the Legal Procedures
In addition to these, lots of other details were noted to be used in case studies
and explanations. As the respondents were scattered widely across nook and
corners of Dakshina Kannada the researcher had to spend more time for data
collection. The Many places the researcher had to explain the purpose of the
research and how it will not affect the respondent in any way not only to the
respondent but also to the family members.

* Case Study. It has been experienced by the researcher, that for the study of
phenomena like divorce, case study method be one of the most useful and
effective methods. Fifteen typical studies are given by the present researcher,
which would throw light on the various aspects divorce, including background,
marital adjustment, ground for divorce, actual cause/causes, effects of divorce,
(on the socio-economic status of the husbands and wives), children of the
divorced couples, remarriage of the divorced husbands/wife, etc. It must be

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mentioned here that each case of divorce is a distinct and unique one. Although
certain classifications, interpretations and generalizations are formulated, every
case should be treated individually. It was clearly observed that different
combinations of factors caused divorce in different cases, the reactions of the
respondents to their divorce were quite individualistic and their efforts to
readjust also differed widely.

3.11 Analysis and Interpretation

After the collection of data the next stage is data processing. This involves a
series of steps. The data was edited and checked for completeness, accuracy
and uniformity. Coded and a code sheet was prepared using a computer based
data sheet.

On completion of the data collection the researcher checked and scrutinized

each question to make sure that all the required information was obtained. A
detailed code book was prepared and then data was coded on a master chart.
Later the data was fed into tables, diagrams wherever necessary and then, it
was interpreted and presented systematically. Chi-Square test was done to test
the hypotheses.

Chi-square is one of the most commonly used statistics in Social Work research
because it measures the association between variables. It can tell us if two
variables are related. It is a non parametric test. Chi-square symbol is χ2. To
calculate Chi-square we sum the observed values minus the expected values
and divide by the expected value. i.e., χ2 = ∑ (observed value-expected value) 2
/ expected value. To calculate degrees of freedom we multiply the number of
rows (r) minus 1 by the number of columns (c) minus 1. Generally if the χ2
value is greater than its table value at the corresponding degrees of freedom,
the difference between observed and expected frequencies are considered
significant. This difference is considered insignificant, if the χ2 value is lesser
than its corresponding table value.

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3.12 Ethical Issues Considered

In the process of research and data collection it is necessary to explain the steps
the researcher had taken to treat the research participants with care, sensitivity
and respect for their status has human beings. Ethical issues by their very
nature are complex, and people have genuine differences of opinion about the
manner in which they should be addressed. One of the best known principle of
research is that of informed consent. This places upon the researcher the
obligation to ensure that before respondents agree to take part in the research,
they may be made fully aware of the nature of the research and of their role
within it. It is important to ensure that the respondents would remain
anonymous. It is an important element of the research ethics to help to make
the respondents feel at ease during the data collection process. The researcher
complied with all the ethical principles of research and very specifically
adhered to the following ethics.

1) To do away with the ambiguity regarding the purpose of the research the
aim and objectives of the research was explained in detail.
2) Respondents consent had been sought.
3) Each question was repeated to make them understand in the language
they understand.
4) Privacy was maintained among the respondents while asking questions.
5) Identity of the respondents has not been revealed to anybody.
6) The interview was conducted in a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere with
sufficient privacy.

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3.13 Organisation of Thesis

The thesis contains seven main chapters, an appendix containing tools of data
collection, marriage and divorce related laws and references.

Chapter 1 gives an Introduction, which states the core nature and perspective

of the research problem. Brief discussions on various aspects of marriage and

divorce have been presented in this chapter.

Chapter 2 deals with a Review of Literature related to the study problem in

order to have an understanding of the existing literature available and their
contributions and implications.

Chapter 3 Outlines the Research Methodology. It includes the statement of

the problem and its rationale, scope of the study aim and objectives,
hypotheses, place and universe of the study, sampling procedure, sources of
data, method of data collection, tools of the study, plan of analysis, ethical
issues and difficulties faced during the study.

Chapter 4 deals with the Results and Discussions. Data related to the
background information of the respondents, marriage and marital life of the
respondents, causes or leading factors to divorce, psychological, social and
economic situations of the divorcees, post divorced life and opinion about legal
procedures have been presented and interpretations have been made
systematically. In this section, hypotheses testing have also been presented.

Chapter 5 presents selected Case Studies.

Chapter 6 presents the Major Findings of the study

Chapter 7 presents Suggestions and Recommendations, Implications for

Social Work Intervention and Conclusion of the study. In addition to the
above, a detailed list of references has been presented. A set of appendices
have been enclosed.

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