Microsoft Word doctoral thesis final[1]. doc

6.5  
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 
 
The aim of the present study was to increase understanding of the management 
experiences of a particular group of people, that is, academic women HoDs.  

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These are generally a small selection of people because of their under-representation in 
the academe. 
 
Consequently, as the aim of the study was to focus on universities where women HoDs 
are present, a random sampling technique was not employed. Therefore, universities with 
no female HoDs were excluded from the study.  Subsequently the study has a restricted 
dataset which may limit generalisation of its findings. Since the study is exploratory and 
largely descriptive in nature, no attempt was made to put forward hypotheses to be 
rejected or confirmed. Rather, an attempt was made to 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. The intent of focus groups is not to infer but to understand, not to 
generalise but to determine the range, and not to make statements about the population 
but to provide insights about how people in the groups perceive a situation. Although the 
sample was representative in terms of race (black & white), it was predominantly white. 
The results will probably reflect that.