An alternative methodological approach for studies in family planning.

Abstract

"An alternative to the methodological approach traditionally used in studies on family-planning practices was developed and applied in a retrospective investigation of the decision making of a sample of women [in South Africa] regarding their adoption of contraceptive sterilization. The approach is based on the premise of an interparadigmatic overlap and makes provision for integrating analytical levels and employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods in a research design.... The results of the investigation showed the respondents' perceptions of the most important reasons for their decision to be sterilized. The findings provided insight into the interdependence of the sample's fertility behaviour and societal modernism within the particular institutional and socio-cultural setting." The data are from a survey carried out in the Cape Peninsula. (SUMMARY IN AFR)