DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

Data collection is one of the most significant components in the research process as the data gathered will assist in responding to the research questions. A questionnaire consisting of eight sections as outlined in figure 3.1 below was used to collect data from respondents. The researcher developed closed-ended questions to provide greater uniformity of responses and are easily processed than open-ended questions.¹¹⁹

Table 1: Sections covered in the questionnaire

SECTIONS COMPONENTS

Section A Demographic information

Section B Intranet usage and knowledge sharing

Section C Information quality

Section D Service quality

Section E Systems quality

Section F User satisfaction

Section G Use

Section H Net benefits

The rationale behind using the DeLone and McLean constructs is to assess the current state of the intranet under study in comparison to the requirements of an effective information system as per the model. The questions posed to respondents are aimed at soliciting answers to the research question: How effective an intranet is, as a knowledge sharing tool in an ODL

118 Bless C, Higson-Smith, C, Sithole, S.L. Fundamentals of social research methods: an African perspective.

119 Babbie, E. 2010. The practice of social research

48 Library. In addition, the model measures the technological dimensions, namely; system quality, information quality and further measures the human dimension of measuring net benefits, service quality, intention to use, and user satisfaction, which are the focal points of this study.¹²⁰ No permission was requested to use the questions from the model as the information is in the public domain and freely available. Prior to the commencement of the process of collecting data, the data collection instrument had to undergo rigorous scrutiny from the Unisa Research Ethics Committee. This process is important to ensure the protection of participants, to develop trust with them, to promote the integrity of research and to guard against misconduct.¹²¹ The ethical clearance process is necessary in any study that involves human subjects. In this particular case, the ethical clearance process was imperative as the subjects of study are employed in the same organization as the researcher.

An online survey tool (Survey Monkey) was used to distribute the questionnaire link to 260 library permanent staff members. Survey Monkey was suitable for this study as the sample size was too large and yields data comparable to those obtained through face-to-face.¹²² Some social researchers argue that an online survey that is administered either through a website or via e-mail is not sufficiently representative as some of the respondents do not have access to internet or e-mail.¹²³ However, this is not the case in this study as all respondents have email access. Another argument raised on the administration of online surveys is that anonymity will be lost as respondents can be easily identified through their email addresses, especially since the researcher is also a permanent staff member of the library. The study is fully anonymised and no segments of the questionnaire could be linked back to a respondent. In addition, the respondents were only sent a link to the survey through a batch process. More discussions pertaining to ethical clearance issues will be outlined under the ethical clearance considerations section which forms part of this chapter.

120 Blaikie, N. 2010. Designing social research

121Cresswell, JW. 2009. Research design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches

122 Leedy, P.D, Ormrod, J.E. 2010. Practical research: planning and design

123 Babbie, E. 2010. The practice of social research

49 A five- points Likert scale was used to evaluate the different phenomena under investigation, where 1=strongly disagree; 2=disagree; 3= neutral; 4=agree; 5=strongly. Definition of concepts particularly on the DeLone and McLean’s model was also provided to respondents to clarify any uncertainties and confusion regarding the meaning of concepts. Though questionnaires are popular in quantitative research, they have the downside of soliciting low response rates which was the case in this study. A response rate affects sample accuracy as the principle of determining a sample size is that the smaller the population, the larger the sampling ratio. For a smaller population of fewer than 500 the sampling ratio should be about 30% to enable the study to achieve accuracy.¹²⁴ A very low response rate of 42 responses was received with the first e-mail sent to respondents. There are a number of reasons that could have influenced a low response rate in this particular study. One being that, as much as the language used to design the questionnaire was clear and comprehensive; the length of the questionnaire could have negatively contributed to the low response rate. The fact that the researcher is an employee of the same institution where data was collected could have compromised issues of confidentiality, even though a confidentiality clause was included.

Some of the respondents’ might not have felt comfortable to respond accordingly for fear of being identified. Lack of feedback on similar surveys commissioned by different sources in the past could have impacted negatively on the response rate.

To mitigate these shortcomings a reminder was sent to respondents to complete the questionnaire, which yielded an improvement in responses as 82 responses were received on the second call. To mitigate the challenge of the length of the questionnaire, the respondents had an option of saving the questionnaire and working on it over a period of time as it was sent electronically. On the issue of confidentiality, any personal identifying fields were removed and the responses were received through a link. The results of the study will be made available on the Unisa Library repository after completion of the study.

124 Neuman, W.L. 2011. Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches.

50 3.6 LOCATION OF ANALYSIS

The Unisa Library is part of the largest ODL institution in the southern hemisphere with a total staff component of 4500, servicing the needs of 315 000 students locally and globally¹²⁵. The Unisa Library has a footprint in nine provinces in the country in a form of branch libraries and regional centres as well as one branch in Ethiopia. The geographical spread of the Unisa Library is meant to support university’s vision, that is, ‘Towards the African University in shaping futures in the service of humanity.’ The presence and visibility of the Unisa Library in different areas is meant to support the information needs of Unisa students who are unable to visit the Main Library in Pretoria in the Gauteng Province due to geographical distance barriers. The intranet as a knowledge sharing tool is intended to break down the geographic distance barriers and serves as a central point for all the library staff members in different regions and centres. Moreover, the intranet provides a virtual platform where work-related information and knowledge is accessed, shared and stored.