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To locate suitable UK participants, the websites of the two selected universities were
visited. A thorough search of each university’s departments was done to locate female
HoDs. Communication with all the UK informants was by email. Three women heads of
academic departments participated in the interviews.
b)
Data gathering
The video conference focus group interview (V Conf-FGI) was used to gather data from
nine informants (henceforth referred to as participants). Four
interview sessions were
held and participants attended according to pre-arranged schedules. Participants were
emailed semi-structured interview guides prior to attending the interviews. The
interviews were guided by the interview schedule and so were mostly “topic oriented” to
borrow Lee’s and Fielding’s words (2004:533). Interviews were recorded on videotape
and notes were taken at each interview session. These were examined for key themes and
written out according to topic and filed. The videotape was played back to listen for, and
to note, any patterns in the interview procedure and discussion which could be
incorporated into subsequent sessions.
c)
Analysis of qualitative data
Analysis of the data began as soon as the first interview was completed and continued
throughout data gathering. At the end of the interviews the video tapes
were transcribed
and the data examined for key issues raised by participants in response to each topic.
From these key issues, patterns were noted and data were categorised and discussed
accordingly. Qualitative data from the interviews which corresponded with that from the
survey were integrated. Patterns emerging from the data were noted and the findings were
interpreted.
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1.6.2.3 Issues during research
One of the main issues during research concerned the logistics of organising and
synchronising the video conference focus group interviews. The cost involved in
conducting the interviews was another problem, particularly because of the different
currencies and prevailing exchange rates between the UK Pound
Sterling and the South
African Rand.
1.6.2.4 Trustworthiness of data
In this study, both samples of participants (the survey and the interview) were gathered
from a similar pool of respondents. This ensured a greater likelihood of obtaining reliable
data. Moreover, standard conditions were established for each method of data collection.
The equivalent questionnaire was mailed out to participants after being piloted and
refined with the help of experts. For the interviews, the same procedure was followed.
The interview schedule was piloted and refined before final administration. The
participants were interviewed
under similar conditions; that included starting time and
duration of interview, interview schedule and role of researcher. To ensure reliability and
validity of the data, the interviews were video-recorded, and additional notes were taken.
The interviews took place under professional conditions. Every effort was made by the
researcher to establish rapport with the participants.
1.6.2.5 Limitations of research
An acknowledgement of the limitations of this study may be in order.
Firstly a random sampling technique was not employed as its aim was to focus on
universities with women heads of academic department. Therefore, universities with no
female heads of academic department were excluded from the study. Consequently the
research has a restricted dataset which limits generalisation of its findings. However,
since the study is exploratory in nature and
largely descriptive, no attempt was made to
put forward hypotheses to be rejected or confirmed. Rather, an attempt was made to
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establish patterns and trends and relationships between certain variables in the
quantitative part of the study, and to understand and describe the management and
leadership experiences of women HoDs in the qualitative part.
Secondly, although the sample was representative in terms of race (black and white), it
was predominantly white and the results may thus reflect the experiences of this majority.
Lastly, although the participants were drawn from a pool with similar characteristics,
there were two groups, one for the survey and another for interviews. The reason for this
choice was based on logistical considerations. Two countries halfway across the world
from each other were involved. They are in different time zones.
Calendars and heavy
work loads were considered. The amount of time for completing the questionnaire and for
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