Methodology
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)
To fill the gap of existing literature related to the poverty narrative in Singapore, we took on a community-based participatory approach in order to account for the “experiences and perspectives of native communities” (Stanton, 2014) that were unheard of. This bottom-up approach hinges upon participatory communication, ensuring dialogue so as to “generate information in addressing situations that need to be improved” (Tufte & Mefalopulos, 2009). The four Rs - Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity and Responsibility of CBPR (Stanton, 2014) were values that guided the project.
Procedure
In order to explore the issues faced by the generation moving towards old age, we conducted short preliminary door-to-door interviews to understand the general conditions faced by low-income Singaporeans, asking several questions about the residents’ living conditions in the newer estates government rental flats, particularly the Northeast region, such as Punggol, Seng Kang, Hougang and Serangoon. As a result of the preliminary door-to-door short interviews from the eight estates conducted from September 12 to October 15, we recruited five participants using purposive sampling. Participants were chosen based on their age, psychographics (particularly the reasons that caused their situation) and their willingness for participation in the study.
Interview Process
A semi-structured interview style was adopted, in which a set of first-order questions were prepared based on the literature review, followed by second-order questions that help to probe for more information.
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Questions related to participants’ daily lives, problems faced and ideas towards future directions have been asked to incorporate their findings for the solutions phase. Our interview guide can be found here.
Participants' Demographics and Psychographics
Participants are aged between 47 to 67 years old, comprising of four males and one female, of which three are Chinese, one is Malay and one is Sikh. These participants had multiple social problems and they faced sudden drastic changes in their lives that led to a plunge in poverty. Such changes include divorce, gambling and medical expenses.