My qualitative research begins.

Mencabar. It is a word that I think enough to explain this task. I have to gain 300 respondents in kampung ( rural area) for my survey and it is not easy. In engineering research it is less likely to use questionnaire as a main tool and seems that not so important rather than using technological tools, experiments, software, simulation, etc. That is what I thought previously before I involving myself in this kind of methodology. I also thougt that - Ah! My thing is not a robust research. It is simple, no adventure.

But actually no. It is an adventure.

Qualitative data is usually used by researcher in education, social science or marketing. But don't forget that human engineering needs this! To educate people to use technology, infrastructures, and what so ever that engineer s/professionals have invented is started by understanding how they react, behave and accept those things. If we don’t have a clue on their perception, we can’t never know either our invention/work/policy/rules etc. are good for community or we just following the trend of development/research. We need a top-down communication to gain the trust from our society towards the development for this country. Thus we really need qualitative datas.

Mendekati masyarakat bukannya mudah. Masyarakat terdiri dari pelbagai lapisan dan mempunyai kepelbagaian pendapat. Tetapi jika kita tidak berani untuk turun padang, kita tidak dapat menyelami masalah sebenar yang mengekang kemajuan dalam penyelidikan kita. Cara untuk mendekati masyarakat sangatlah mencabar.Tetapi jika tidak dimulakan dengan cabaran, kita tidak akan belajar. Namanya pun belajar membuat research, kan?

Okay. I start my work today – distributing the questionnaires in Muar. I would like to focus on motorcyclists that use motorcycle lane in Jalan Abdul Rahman. I never have an experience and this is the first time. The hard thing is to explain to old respondents what actually my questionnaire wants from these pakcik and makcik. They hardly understand my questions. I asked about their perception while using motorcycle lane and while not using motorcycle lane and it is repeated for purpose. I want a different perspective for both conditions. But they said it is confusing while it is repeated. It is something that I fail to recognize while designing the questionnaire. I forgot about the pakcik and makcik and their ability to understand it. Well, I can’t handle a pilot study while I was in Japan and my respondents in Malaysia. It is really a risk to my analysis. Fuh!!

Their ability to examine and understand the question is very low and I have to read and explain to them what the questions really want. It takes time and patient. ( I am also studying the community then.) Another thing is, it is hard to get cooperation from non Malay. They don’t want to answer the questions and think that my work is rubbish. From 300, today I just gain 18.

A lot of things I have learned actually. My hypothesis that it is not easy to educate community is true. But it is not their false at all. It is just not our culture for being helpful. I realized that there are too much skeptical to the authorities or even individual. Believe me. It is easier to work with computer and tools rather than to work with people. But in travel BEHAVIOR analysis laboratory we have to study about human and understand how engineering today effects and improve their life. Are they understand enough, are they have moral obligation, thankful and realized that we need a strong union to develop as a successful country.

Maybe my research is a tiny little thing, but I hope it is a good start for me to help my nation. I just inspired from my sensei. ;)


Can we have the society like they have in developed country one day ? When we will fully developed, or we just love to be as the unmatured country?