Data collection

3.5.1. Methodology and data collection

In the above discussions on the approach followed in this thesis I noted that various researchers support the use of a case study design in qualitative research. This thesis is for the most part informed by qualitative data transcribed from interviews with participants from both North West and Gauteng provinces which each lasted more than one hour. The qualitative data from these research processes forms the foundation of this thesis research findings and conclusions. Furthermore, secondary quantitative data, such as published reports, are used to emphasise and compare views during the analysis stage of the research.

3.5.2. Period of the study

The data collection instruments included an interview topic guide used during one-on-one interviews, follow up emails with further

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questions confirming findings and final summarised thesis findings and recommendation lists sent to all the interviewees for comments that I took into account in finalising the thesis. The actual field work for this thesis was conducted in many intervals. The initial stage took more than four months and this was followed by follow-up data collection process subsequent to transcription and further analysis. The process of performing the main fieldwork for data collection through interviewing participants in both NW and GP provinces was initiated in July 2011 and March 2012 in a period of eight months. Further discussions took place with interviewees through emails and telephone calls to follow up on the initial interviews.

The period of the main data collection through interviews, emails and telephonic discussions took longer than the planned time, which was originally intended to be three months. The travelling distance between me and the geographical location of the research subjects contributed to the increase in duration of the data collection process. The research focuses on South Africa which is more than seven thousand miles distant from the United Kingdom. Moreover, the two provincial governments are merely three hundred fifty kilometres apart from each other. Additionally, some interview participants cancelled interview dates due to unforeseen circumstance, and some of these experiences were not adequately anticipated.

3.5.3. Sampling

The thesis is mainly informed through the primary data that was collected by interviewing three categories of role-players in provincial government accountability: namely, provincial government executives, provincial legislatures and accountability institutions in NW and GP. A total of fifty-eight officials from all three categories in both provinces participated in this thesis. The study selected two provinces, as the aim is to have a comparative analysis between the two provincial governments’ views of accountability.

The aim of the comparative study is mainly to emphasise views raised from different provinces’ interviewees. The interviewees in the selected provinces could be easily and efficiently accessed in comparison to other (not selected for study) provinces that are far

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apart from each other. In the initial analysis of which potential interviewees to invite, common government departments and accountability institutions were selected (APPENDIX B shows a list of participating institutions).

Letter of invitations to take part in the research were sent to every government department, accountability institution and legislature offices in both provinces. A sample copy of the main letter sent as invitation is attached as part of APPENDIX C.

Identifying common departments for data collection allowed a comparative analysis to be performed from similar perspectives, much like comparing an apple to an apple. The invitation to interviewees in the research was also extended to those departments which were not commonly represented in other provinces. Inviting each department to participate further emphasised the views represented by each province in cases of similarity and also whether variances are significant. Similar government departments in both provinces that were invited to take part in the research were: the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Department of Community Safety, the Department of Local Government.

A detailed list of all the provincial government departments in both provinces participating through their representatives and are given in APPENDIX B. Accountability institutions that were invited and participated in the thesis through their representatives in both provinces include the Office of the Auditor General (AG), the Office of the Public Service Commission, the Treasury Office, the National Department of Public Service and Administration, the National Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, and the Office of the Premier. Representatives of the provincial legislature in both provinces were also invited to participate in interviews.

3.5.4. Rate of participation

APPENDIX D shows a detailed list of all the potential interviewees that were invited to take part in the research. This thesis received interest from more government departments than otherwise expected.

I had not expected many to take part due to a perception about the concept of accountability prevalent amongst government executives.

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In the NW province, out of eleven provincial departments invited to take part only one department did not respond to the invitation.

Moreover, all the accountability institutions and both legislatures agreed to participate in the thesis processes. In the GP province, every department invited to take part in the study agreed to participate by sending their representatives. The rate of participation in the thesis is more than ninety per cent of invited interviewees.

3.5.5. Interviews guides

The quantitative data analysed was collected from government and non-government reports that are made available to the public through websites and other institutions in printed format. The pilot was conducted by interviewing different government and non-government officials from South Africa. Similar interview strategies as used during the pilot interviews were adopted during the main data collection process. APPENDIX A shows a comparison between the pilot and main study data collection instruments. Both the pilot and the main interviews were conducted using research instruments that I constructed after analysing the literature and legislation on accountability in South Africa, and particularly Ashworth and Skelcher’s (2005) four dimensional accountability approach that led to the creation of the PATIGAHAR analytical model. An extract comparison of both the pilot and actual data collection instrument is given in Table 3.1.

Table 3 1.Comparison of pilot and main topic guides

75 Source: Developed by the author

Research instruments were adjusted according to the responses made by interviewees during the pilot. The actual data collection process was conducted with sharper research instruments and was conducted in different intervals. The provinces that form the analytical approach of this thesis are not a great distance apart from each other.