3.1. Data collection
This study was carried out from August 2008 to June 2009 using
a questionnaire and qualitative methods. To guide the development
of a formal questionnaire and Likert scales, we conducted a qualitative
survey using semi-structured interviews with key informants
(village leaders, local government officials, and environmental nongovernmental
organizations). We used a pilot study to uncover
possible misinterpretations of the questions and ambiguous responses.
In addition, we gathered qualitative data through focus
group interviews and participant observations to help us better
understand the decision-making processes of small-scale farmers
with respect to IWRM. We conducted the participant observations
during the irrigation season in the Yongfeng administrative village
of the Huqu irrigation district.
We used a multi-stage, stratified, random sampling method to
select adults aged over 18 for the survey. We first divided the 245
administrative villages of the Minqin oasis into six irrigation districts
based on geographic location and irrigation-ditch distribution.
We selected administrative villages in each irrigation district
by probability proportionate to size (PPS) sampling. Within each
selected administrative village, we selected households by systematic
sampling and individuals within each household using the
last birthday method. The process resulted in a sample of 405
farmers from 27 administrative villages; the overall response rate
was 96.8% yielding a valid sample of 392. The demographic and
social characteristics of the sample are presented in Table 1.
We administered a closed-ended structured questionnaire
through face-to-face interviews with the 405 small-scale farmers.
We developed five-point Likert scales to measure the farmers' attitudes
toward IWRM in terms of their (1) willingness to adopt