METHODS

This chapter explains the methodology employed in this study. It

contains the research approach and design, site of the study, target

participants, data gathering tools, procedures, and analysis of data.

Research Design and Methodology

Descriptive research design was utilized in this study. Siedlecki (2020)

states that descriptive studies consist of specific aims and research

questions rather than hypotheses. This research design describe the status

of events, people, or subjects as they exist.

Furthermore, in order to explore how Filipinos cope with the grief of

losing a family member due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a phenomenological

approach was employed. According to Creswell (2013), this is an approach

intended to describe the commonality of the different lived experiences of

several individuals in a specific phenomenon. In line with this, interpretative

phenomenological analysis was also utilized in this study. This aims to

provide comprehensive examinations of personal lived experiences (Smith,

2009, as cited in Osborn & Smith, 2015). The fundamental goal of this

approach is to arrive at a description of the nature of the particular

phenomenon. The data gathered from this study involves identifying and

describing how Filipinos cope with grief after losing a family member due to

the COVID-19 virus.

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Furthermore, the researchers adhered to the ethical considerations to

reduce harm to the participants’ mental and emotional well-being and

eradicate biases in the data gathering process. Since the gathering of data

was conducted online, the researchers considered the availability and

stability of the internet connection of the participants to ensure a smooth

flow throughout the interview process.

Participants

The individuals involved in this study were Filipinos who had lost a

family member due to COVID-19 viral disease. There were seven (7)

participants, two (2) males and five (5) females, who met the criteria

provided by the researchers. Criteria for inclusion were: a.) Filipino citizen,

b.) ages 18-65 years old, c.) currently residing in the province of La Union,

d.) can understand and speak in English, Tagalog, or Ilokano language, and

e.) experienced losing a family member due to any comorbidity and COVID-

19 virus. A family member refers to any of the participant’s parents, sibling,

spouse, child, aunt/uncle, cousin, niece/nephew, or grandparents. In

addition, this study did not limit the duration when the bereaved individual

loses a family member; instead, it covered the time since the COVID-19

virus commenced.

According to Patton (2002, as cited by Duan et al., 2015), purposive

sampling is broadly used in qualitative research to determine and choose

information-rich cases for the most effective use of limited resources. This
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includes identifying and selecting individuals or groups that are particularly

knowledgeable concerning experienced with a phenomenon of interest

(Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011, as cited in Duan et al., 2015). The

researchers used the purposive sampling method to select participants,

which relies upon the researchers’ judgment when they choose whom to

invite to participate in the study, specifically individuals who fit the criteria

needed to attain by the researchers (Alchemer, 2021).

Guest et al. (2006, as cited by Mason, 2010) affirm that a sample of

six (6) participants may be sufficient to permit the emergence of relevant

themes and helpful interpretations in studies with a high level of

demographic homogeneity. However, data saturation will be applied if the

researchers have already gathered adequate data from a reliable and valid

understanding of the studied phenomena (Hennick et al., 2019).

Moreover, the researchers conducted this study in the province of La

Union since the province consists of a vast quantity of unstable cases per

day. In connection with this, some severe cases led to the death of an

individual. This study focused on the province of La Union to determine how

Ilokano people cope with grief, specifically in losing a family member due to

COVID-19.

Measures

The researchers used a researcher-made interview questionnaire

(Appendix B) as an instrument for data gathering in the study. The data

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gathering instrument consisted of semi-structured questions. Moreover,

questions were stated in an open-ended manner for the participants to open

up and talk.

The interview guide (Appendix B) consisted of three parts. The first

part included questions which were beneficial for the researchers to build

rapport with the participants. While in part two, these are the questions

concerning how the participants cope with grief in losing a family member

due to the COVID-19 virus. Furthermore, in the third part, clarificatory

questions were provided and depended on each participant whether their

responses were unclear and needed to be explained further.

The interview questions (Appendix B) were translated into Filipino and

Ilokano languages. This made the researchers asked the appropriate

questions that depend on the preferred language or dialect of the

participants.

The researchers also sought help from three evaluators to validate the

researcher-made interview questionnaires. The two (2) validators were

instructors of the Psychology Department and one (1) of the validators was a

research associate. In line with this, the validators were all from the facility

of Saint Louis College. The interview guide (Appendix B) included items that

guided the participants' recognize their experiences and to evaluate how

they dealt with grief after the death of a family member due to COVID-19.

Data Gathering Procedure

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This section contains the data collections that researchers applied in

this study. It also includes the procedure used in selecting participants, the

step-by-step process of the interview and how the data was accumulated.

Participant Selection

The participants of this study were Filipinos living in the province of

La Union who lose a family member due to COVID-19 virus. There were

seven (7) participants, two (2) males and five (5) females, who met the

criteria provided by the researchers.

Interview Administration

Before the conduct of the interview, an informed consent form

(Appendix A) was sent to the participants of the study ahead of the

scheduled day. The informed consent (Appendix A) consisted of the

objectives, criteria, purpose, duration, foreseeable risks, expected benefits,

and procedure of the study which indicates what it means to take part.

Giving consent through signing the form indicated participation in the

study. The main objective of informed consent is to provide sufficient details

to the potential participant regarding on their involvement in the study, on

what language will be fully comprehend, allowing them to make an informed

decision whether or not to engage in the study (Bairy et al., 2013).

The participants in this study were bereaved Filipinos who lose a

family member, specifically either the father/husband, mother/wife,

children, aunt, uncle, or grandparents. Since travel restrictions and social

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distancing protocols were strictly imposed in the community, the

researchers interviewed the participants through Google Meet. Google Meet

was used as a platform for gathering data about the experiences of Filipinos

which focused on how they cope with grief in losing a family member due to

COVID-19. In relation to this, online research interview ensured the safety

of the participants and researchers in the current situation. With this, the

interview was scheduled depending on the availability of both the researcher

and participant.

Moreover, the participants were interviewed individually by one

researcher using the researcher-made interview questionnaires (Appendix

B). Before conducting the interview, the researcher entered the meeting

platform 10 minutes before the scheduled time to check any technical issue

and prepared the materials specifically pen, paper, copy of the interview

questions, and gadgets.

During the start of the interview, the researcher used the first part of

the interview guide (Appendix B) to build rapport to the participant. The

researcher introduced himself or herself and asked questions that allowed

the participant to share about his or her affinity to the loved one who

passed away due to COVID-19. After which, the researcher proceeded to the

main questions covering the topic of the study, consisting of questions

which focus on how they cope with grief in losing a family member due to

COVID-19. However, clarificatory questions were asked if participants’

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responses were vague and needed to be explained further. With this,

relevant data gathered provided significant information to achieve the goals

of this study. Moreover, after the interview, the researcher debriefed the

participant.

For the researchers to gather the responses of the participants, the

Google meeting interview session was audio-taped as consented by the

participant. Lastly, the researcher adhered to the ethical considerations to

guarantee that participants were not subjected to any harm, prioritize

respect for the dignity of the participants, and refrain from indulging in

vicious conduct. According to Resnick (2020), ethical norms encourage

trust, responsibility, mutual respect, and fairness, which are critical to

collaborative work since research involves various individuals in different

fields and institutions.

Transcription

The audio-taped interviews underwent transcriptions. It allowed the

researchers to construct a thematic analysis to identify, analyze, and

construct themes within the data gathered. Moreover, the patterns easier

recognized the potential themes based from the responses of the

participants.

Data Analysis

The researchers used thematic analysis to process the data gathered

in the study. Thematic analysis identifies patterns or themes within

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qualitative data (Braun and Clarke, 2006, as cited in Delahunt & Maguire,

2017). Moules et al. (2017) added that this is also a method for analyzing,

organizing, describing themes.

The obtained data were interpreted through thematic analysis,

wherein series of procedures was observed. Braun & Clarke (2006) provide a

six-step process for classifying, interpreting, and reporting qualitative data

using thematic analysis. This six-step process was applied in the study.

The first step requires the researcher to engage in the data through

transcribing the audio recordings and repeatedly reading the transcripts.

Likewise, to understand the content and be familiarized, it is also essential

to be comprehensive.

The second step involves the preliminary production of codes and

considered the features of the data to appear exciting and meaningful.

These codes are more diverse and specific than the themes. This coding will

help the researchers to reduce the overall data into chunks to identify its

meaning. In addition, it does not code per word, instead, coding it line-by-

line. Furthermore, to have a wider perspective in understanding the data,

each researcher of the team will code it separately through its transcript

then the researchers will examine the constructed codes before moving

forward to the next step.

After which, the next stage requires the researchers to ensure that the

themes constructed are in order to consider how each theme fits together
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into the overall story. Moreover, the questions will be presented in a

meaningful and useful manner to clearly show the connection of the

gathered data set to the research.

In line with this, the fourth step requires the researcher to review the

themes constructed. This will be beneficial for the researchers to make a

judgment whether to merge, refine, set apart, or reject initial themes.

Moreover, the data should have a connection between them. After reviewing

the themes, a thematic map will be constructed.

The fifth step is to redefine and define the themes and possible

subthemes within the data set. This will enhance the identified themes, and

at this point, a unified story of data needs to appear from the themes.

Lastly, the sixth step is for the researchers to change the revised data

to an interpretable detail through captivating extract examples that depict

the themes, research question, and literature. Moreover, the definition must

go beyond and illustrate the analysis with empirical evidence which conveys

the research question.

Ethical Considerations

The researchers provided an informed consent (Appendix A) to the

participants, which consisted of the objective, criteria, purpose, duration,

foreseeable risks, expected benefits, and procedures of the research that

allowed the individual to decide whether or not to participate. Moreover,

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giving consent through signing an agreement indicated participation in the

study.

The researcher ensured that the participation of the participants was

voluntary. With this, the participants had the right to refuse or withdraw

from participating in the study at any moment. If the participant chose not

to participate in the study, his or her decision was accepted and respected.

Furthermore, the identity of the participants remained anonymous

throughout the study. In connection to this, any information which disclose

one’s identity was not released and participants was known through

pseudo-names. In recording the responses, researchers asked for the

consent of the participants. The researchers did not coerce the participants

to respond when they refused to answer or decided to discontinue due to

personal reasons.

All the gathered information from the participants was kept without

any personal identifiers and was not made available to any who was not

directly involved in the study. Furthermore, no one besides the researchers

had the permit to know the information documented during the interview.

In addition, the recordings and transcriptions will be stored for two years in

a secured computer or file with password-protected to ensure only the

researchers and research adviser can have access to the confidential data.

In relation to this, both the recordings and transcriptions will permanently

be deleted from the computer storage after the duration period.

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Researchers did not put the participants in a situation that might be

at risk of harm as a result of their participation. Researchers treated

participants ethically and responsibly, considering their welfare and safety,

and informed the potential dangers that participants might face throughout

the interview process, such as potential physical harm, psychological,

social, or discomfort. Moreover, the researchers were cautious in their words

since the topic is quite sensitive and might trigger emotional discomfort.

After the interview process, the researchers debriefed the participants.

Participants who chose to participate in the data collection might

benefit from the study since they were enlightened by the situation they are

facing, specifically in coping with grief in losing a family member due to

COVID-19. In addition, their responses might assist others who are in a

similar situation. Moreover, the result of the study serves as a basis for

other researchers who will conduct a similar study and contributes to grief

literacy in society.