3.5 Source of Data
In this research, decisions were based on what Vincent (2010:114) points out concerning data sources including primary data which is the data collected by the organisation itself for the purpose. Rationale behind primary data is that it answers the problems at hand, not data that merely applies to an industry or specific type of business. According to Shao (2002:150), “existing information directly related to the problem at hand. Primary data was gathered by using a questionnaire as the main research instrument. Secondary data which is the data collected by someone else for another purpose which may provide useful information, were used as a backdrop to primary research. It acted as a substitute for field research, and used as a technique in itself (Vincent, 2010).
3.6 Sample Size and Selection
3.6.1 Study Population
The researcher considered contacting Senior managers of NICO; Middle Managers of NICO; Junior NICO staff; Retrenched staff; NICO individual clients; and NICO corporate clients and their employees. The researcher considered using 100 participants including: 5 Senior managers of NICO; 5 Middle Managers of NICO; 10 Junior NICO staff; 10 Retrenched staff; 40 NICO individual clients; and 30 NICO corporate clients and their employees.
3.6.2 Sampling Techniques
The researcher used simple random sampling because this method of sampling is fast and cheap considering the type of the respondents in the research. The three types of non-probability sampling used:
i. Convenience: This occurs at the convenience of the researcher. This was used when interviewing corporate clients and their employees.
ii. Judgement sampling: This is sampling that is done to the judgement of the researcher. This was used in surveying with managers of NICO as participants.
iii. Quota sampling: This sample incorporated a representative number of items in the same proportion of the population. This was used for both NICO junior staff and corporate clients’ employees and individual customers.
3.7 Data Collection Methods
Surveys were used in the form of interviews by using unstructured interviews and depth interviews.
a) Unstructured Interviews. These are important in this research because neither the interviewer nor respondent is bound by the structure of the questionnaire. Unstructured interviews are a very useful way of capturing data which is qualitative in nature. Such interviews may also provide the researcher with relevant questions which could be put to a wider audience or respondents.
b) Depth Interviews. These are typically unstructured, one-on-one conversations between a highly skilled interviewer and a member of a target population, and the depth interviews give researchers ample opportunity to explore individuals’ responses and the following are requirements for effective depth interviews (Shao, 2002:161). The researcher considered: allowing between a half hour and two hours to each session, screening each respondent carefully, ensuring the interviewer is capable using a tape recorder, making the interview setting comfortable, and providing rewards for participation in terms of caps, mugs, and umbrellas. Depth interviews have certain advantages which have forced our research agency to consider using them including the fact that when the topic is embarrassing or highly sensitive, respondents may feel more comfortable discussing the issues with just one person (Shao, 2002). All these justify the fact of using depth interviews in the research. Five Depth Interviews for each NICO Holdings Limited’s company are expected to be carried out.
c) Projective Techniques. In order to overcome the problems of difficulty in articulating complex or subconscious motivations, researchers have borrowed some approaches and techniques organised by clinical psychologists in their studies of mentally disturbed individuals, who have similar problems in explaining their behavior to others. According to Crouch and Housden (1996), these techniques are often called ‘projective techniques’. They set up situations in which individuals are required to bring their own points of view to interpret or complete an ambiguous stimulus provided by the researcher. The technique was included as part of the questionnaire where respondents will be expected to reveal to researchers what their own views are. Therefore, in this research, consideration on using two projective techniques to meet objectives: sentence completion and story completion were used.
Research instruments refer to the tools that the researcher uses in order to collect primary data for the study at hand (Kotler et al, 2009). In this study, the researcher used questionnaires as the main instrument in primary data collection although diaries, computer and own mobile phone will be used. Basically, it is argued that because of its flexibility, the use of questionnaires is by far the most common instrument used to collect primary data (Kotler et al, 2009).
Structured questionnaires with open-ended questions were designed. Open–ended questions in this study played a pivotal role on the fact that it will help the researcher to measure and discover salient challenges that persons with disabilities face when it comes to accessing tertiary education. Kotler et al (2009) explained that open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think, hence, such questions are useful in exploratory research where the researcher looks for insight into how people think.
The researcher intended to use face-to-face, telephone and email contact methods. According to Crouch and Housden (1996), interviews are the most flexible data collection methods as they are general application for differing information requirements and differing situations and as a result are widely used. The advantage of personal contact methods is that they normally produce a high response rate, and this means that error, which might be introduced by many people refusing to co-operate in the survey is minimised. Therefore such personal interviews will be carried out by fully structured interviews through the medium of a questionnaire; and semi-structured where open-ended questions will be included in the questionnaire.
An administered questionnaire delivered via the telephone was the other approach where according to Baker (2003) has advantages including: low cost per completed questionnaire, and permits firm administrative control of interviewers, thus reducing the potential for interviewer bias and error; quicker results may be produced, compared with mail questionnaires and face-to-face interviews; allows for samples to be drawn, easily, from a wide geographical area. According to Vincent (2010), the advantage is that the response is rapid, standard sampling frame is used with wider geographical coverage. The e-questionnaire or Internet) questionnaires are those delivered by e-mail and will be used as they are an increasingly popular research method where the questionnaire is sent, via the Internet, to designated individuals, completed and then returned (Baker, 2003).
3.8 Data Analysis
The researcher embarked on classifying the raw data into some purposeful and usable categories along with coding operation. The categories of data were changed into symbols that were tabulated and counted. Editing was to meet the quality of the data for coding. Coding was vital as it helped researcher to be ready for tabulation. A great deal of data was tabulated by the computer. Therefore key responses were coded and later tabulated, compared and interpreted in a bar chats, and pie charts. The quantitative data were edited to ensure accuracy, consistency, uniformity and completeness then entered into Excel spreadsheet and Tables for analysis. On the other hand, qualitative data which comprised of field notes were coded to achieve a uniform pattern to ensure that the study research questions are effectively responded to.
3.9 Reliability and Validity
Questionnaires were prepared in line with the research guidelines where a pilot survey using the questionnaire was conducted in order to minimise vagueness of results. Validity of an instrument was obtained using factor analysis to confirm the dimensions of factors that were operationally defined while reliability was achieved by using inter item consistency to achieve consistence of answers from participants. Validity was also managed by checking the dates of publications used, telephone and email contacts with respondents where assessment was done by posing three questions relating to ascertaining how measures were to yield the same results on other occasions; whether similar observations were to be reached by other observers; and to find out degree of transparency in how sense was made from the raw data.
3.10 Timescale
A Gant chart was prepared indicating how each activity was to be carried from the start to its completion date as indicated in the Gantt chart below. The time frame for this project was three months; which was observed carefully by the researcher.
Figure 3.3: Gantt chart on Research Project Plan
TIME SCALE FOUR MONTHS PERIOD
RESEARCH ACTIVITY MONTH MONTH MONTH MONTH MONTH MONTH
Apr, 2016 May, 2016 June, 2016 July, 2016 Aug, 2016 Sept, 2016
Research Topic development
Literature review
Submission of Proposal
Developing research questionnaire
Piloting the Questionnaire
Field work
Administering the questionnaire
Depth Interviews
Secondary data collection
Data analysis
Final literature review
Development the draft report
Correction of the research report
Printing of the Final Report and Submission
Defending Thesis
3.11 Resources
The researcher is expected to use MK 635,000.00 in this study as listed in the Table 2.1.
Table 3.1 Research Budget
ITEM AMOUNT(MK) TOTAL (MK)
Stationery 20,000.00 20,000.00
Cell phone units 30,000.00 30,000.00
Principal Researcher (1) 200,000.00 200,000.00
Field Assistants (3) 25,000.00 each 75,000.00
Travel 100,000.00 50,000.00
Accommodation 150,000.00 150,000.00
Interviews 50,000.00 50,000.00
TOTAL 575,000.00
Contingency (10%) of the total 57,500.00 57,500.00
Grand Total 635,000.00
3.12 Conclusion
The change management has well been shown to be a key to managing organisations in modern times where a number of factors are affecting organisations. The study was therefore based on a number of issues including research methods such as primary and secondary data collection and observation of research ethics along with the resources budget and timetable. Research philosophy and strategy which enabled the researcher to meet research objectives set in Chapter on by considering research ethics, in particular, data protection. However, some limitations were faced in the process of data collection such as power problems due to electricity shedding programme by ESCOM.