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4.4.2    The survey 
 
4.4.2.1 Sample population and sample size 
 
Out of a sample of thirty HoDs for the survey  a total of   twenty-three participated. In the 
case of South African universities, retained universities not merging with other 
institutions, were chosen for the study so as to facilitate communication and to ensure 
stability. The participants at these sites were not expected to be drastically affected by the 
mobility and turnover occurring in merging institutions. The size and type of university 
was considered in the selection. The university had to be large, and representative of the 
demographics of the country. The likelihood of female heads of academic departments 
was necessary. The university also had to have at least one hard science faculty, either 
engineering or science or both. In other words, traditionally male dominated disciplines 
had to be present. A large university, typically, has several academic departments and a 
student enrolment of over 10,000.  The selected universities in both countries met all the 
criteria described above. The selected South African universities were: University of Fort 
Hare; University of the Western Cape, University of Cape Town and University of 
Pretoria. In the UK the two universities selected were: Bristol University and University 
of London.  

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4.4.2.2 Selection of participants and the role of the researcher 
 
Although random selection is preferred as it minimises selection bias (Krueger & Casey 
2000:83) the pool of participants for this study was not sufficiently large to permit 
random sampling procedures. Therefore participants were chosen ‘purposefully’. This is 
a strategy to choose small groups or individuals most likely to be knowledgeable and 
informative about the phenomena of interest (McMillan & Schumacher 1993:413). The 
criteria used for selection are outlined below. 
 
The participants were selected on the basis of their position and length of service in that 
position. They were all female heads of academic departments who had been in the 
position for at least two years.  For the focus group interview, participants were selected 
from a similar pool to that which completed the questionnaire. Care was also taken to 
ensure that heads of traditionally male oriented disciplines were included.  Two groups of 
HoDs participated in the study, N= 9 in the VConf-FGI and  N= 23 in the survey. Only 1 
woman participated in both the survey and the interviews. 
 
In the survey the role of the researcher was to distribute questionnaires via overland- 
post, conduct follow ups and check on non-respondents. 
 
4.4.2.3 Locating participants 
 
In South Africa, the participants were drawn from retained universities, namely those 
which were not merging with other universities. The four universities selected in South 
Africa comprised a traditionally English one; a traditionally Afrikaans one; an African 
one and one traditionally Coloured/Indian. Participants were first located through 
telephone contact with the human resources department of the relevant institution. Once 
contact with the prospective participant was established, a brief telephone interview was 
conducted to screen her. Thereafter she was informed that an email would follow with 
more details concerning the research. When all the prospective participants had been 
screened by telephone, a list was drawn up including their relevant details. This list was 

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then carefully scrutinised to determine which of the prospective participants was suitable 
for the survey. Once the selection was made, the prospective participants were contacted 
by email and/or by telephone.