Page 111 - IJPS-10-4

International Journal of
Population Studies Climate change-induced human mobility

committees and suggests that they should be included compromising the integrity of the data. The researcher
in the research process. Weber-Pillwax (2001) adds that must avoid distorting data and placing negative values
the sages, the elders, members of cultural committees, or on different aspects of African culture and life. The
any identified key informant should play an important sorting and coding process must maintain the original
role in critiquing the written literature about research. Africanism displayed during the observational phase.
In this study, the sages are chosen as the key informants; This simply implies that the cultures, motifs, traditions,
these include seven village heads and two senior NGO histories, ideas, languages, and experiences of African
officers working on resilience. These are the custodians people must inform the coding process; non-African-
of knowledge among the Ndau people in Chimanimani. aligned standards of data processing can seriously retard
The philosophical sagacity interview method was used to the data scheme and can result in the corruption of the
gather the perceptions of these groups on climate change research. This understanding allowed the researcher to
and indigenous adaptation practices in all seven wards of look for latent meanings and contextual interpretations
Chimanimani selected for this study. (Braun & Clarke, 2021). The analysis was conducted
Second, the researcher adopted talking cycles, also according to the steps described by Terry et al. (2017). The
known as the conversational or discursive method analytic process began during the data collection as the
(Mthembu, 2021). This approach is similar to Western researcher was posing research questions to participants.
focus group discussions. One of the disadvantages of the For instance, the researcher wanted to understand how
Western-based focus group interview technique is that participants perceive the changing climate and how they
members do not necessarily have equal opportunity to be are adapting to it. Second, after gathering data through
heard. Talking circles are based on the idea of participants’ recorded transcripts, the researcher moved back and forth
respect for each other and are an example of a focus group between discussions with researcher assistants and a close
method derived from post-colonial Indigenous worldviews. examination of the findings in an iterative process (Patton,
In African contexts and among indigenous peoples, there 2014). The researchers, as they discussed the themes,
are many occasions when people form a circle. It could be were cognizant of Braun & Clarke’s (2012) criteria, which
around the fireplace, during celebrations when they form include (i) having a singular focus, (ii) avoiding overlap
circles to sing, or in games when children form circles but maintaining connection, and (iii) they were directly
to play (Mthembu, 2011). On each of these occasions, a addressing the research question. The researcher was
person is given a chance to speak uninterrupted. This successful in meeting Braun & Clarke’s (2012) criteria,
method symbolizes and encourages the sharing of ideas, as after writing the draft paper, peer debriefing was used
mutual respect, togetherness, and ongoing compassion to ensure trustworthiness; in this case, the themes were
and love for one another. The circle also symbolizes the discussed and reviewed by other colleagues. In line with
equality of members in the circle. A common practice in the Afrocentric approach, reflexive thematic analysis
talking circles is that a sacred object, a feather, a shield, a requires self-reflection on how our background influences
stone, a basket, or a spoon is passed around from speaker our understanding of the results (Braun & Clarke, 2021).
to speaker. This method was used to collect data among As a Zimbabwean, the researcher understood the context
the community household heads. Three groups consisting and interpretation of the indigenous knowledge utilized by
of six family heads per group were divided equally among the Ndau people to adapt to climate change. This enabled
the two genders. During the group conversations, the the researcher to make follow-ups and get clarity on the
researcher gathered historical and cultural narratives knowledge shared. The researcher was able to reflexively
on climate change adaptation and the perception of develop and make meaning of the data and report
community members on the changing climate. The indigenous seasonal predictors, which are important for
researcher and his team of assistants organized two talking climate change adaptation in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe.
cycles that were held in each ward, and a total of 84
participants participated in the study. Data were collected 3. Results
until saturation was reached, a situation whereby the same Through data analysis during and after fieldwork, the
themes kept recurring with no further new data emerging. research understood that human mobility was used
as an adaptation mechanism by the Ndau people in
2.3. Data analysis response to climate change-induced disasters. Hence, in
Data analysis was based on reflexive thematic content this section, the study discussed climate-induced human
analysis with an Afrocentric perspective on the data mobility in Chimanimani in Zimbabwe as explained
material. An Afrocentric scholar, Pellerin (2012) from an Afrocentric narrative gained from the fieldwork
notes that data processing should be conducted without conducted. These data are discussed with existing literature

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 105 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2983