3.2 Methodological Approach

The methodology used for this study is ethnography informed by the symbolic interactionist perspective in order to understand and explain why the child sex tourism situation in Costa Rica is as it is. However, I do recognize that I have only spent three months in Costa Rica, which is a very short time in order to conduct an ethnographic research. According to Rock (2001) symbolic interactionism is a theoretical tradition which is closely related to ethnographic research.

Jennings (2001: 160) explains “ethnography is the art and science of describing a group or culture”. She (2001: 160) refers to Burns (1997), Fetterman (1989) and Harding (1991) arguing that an ethnography is directed by the following principles:

• A focus on understanding and interpretation.
• A focus on process or negotiation of meanings.
• Research undertaken in natural settings.
• Social phenomena studies within the social context in which they occur, in order that a holistic perspective is gained.
• Emic and etic perspectives jointly utilized.
• The identification of multiple realities/perspectives.
• The use of multiple methods that include participant observation and interviewing.
• Non-judgmental positioning.

Symbolic interactionism ‘believes’ knowledge is not found in the library but in the field, and it is for that very reason, Rock (2001) argues, that ethnographers carry out fieldwork. He (2001:29) points out “It is evident that any research grounded in symbolic interactionism will be tentative, empirical and responsive to meaning. The social world is taken to be a place where little can be taken for granted, .. a place not of statics but of process, where acts, objects and people have evolving and intertwined local identities that may not be revealed at the outset or to an outsider”.

Symbolic interactionism is characterized by the following three assumptions (Blumer, 1969:2):

• Human Beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them.

• The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one’s fellows.

• These meanings are handled in, and modified through and interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he encounters.

In order to investigate the topic of child sex tourism I used a case-study approach to exemplify this world phenomenon, in which I have attempted to evaluate, analyze and explain the effects and potential positive or negative changes in a society, in this case Costa Rica, as a result of this fight against child sex tourism. According to Jennings (2001: 176), a case study is ¨an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially, when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident¨. Stake (1995: XI) defines a case study as ¨the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, coming to understand its activity within important circumstances¨. Looking at the advantages of a case-study approach, as summed up by Jennings, using a case study is a good way to study such a sensitive and complex topic as sex tourism, and more specifically the fight against child sex tourism.

In a case study, a collection of in-depth data is carried out on multiple cases or a single case, evidence is based in the social setting that is being studied, methodological triangulation is used and member checking possibly takes away researcher bias (Jennings: 2001). However, I also realize, referring to Jennings mentioning the disadvantages of a case study research, that the focus of a case-study emerges during the process. As the research progresses the focus is refined. The focus of a case study is not clearly expressed at the beginning of the study. Often this requires an extensive amount of resources both in time and money to conduct the study. Furthermore, I do keep in mind that the results of a case-study are specific for that case-study. It is not possible to generalize these findings to other cases.