Data collection strategy

In Section 1.5, it was established that according to the GT method, an initial review of the literature on the research area should be undertaken in order to provide a general

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theoretical background to assist the planning phase of the research. Then, when the data collection and analysis process commences, the review of literature on emergent themes from interview data becomes relevant. (Glaser 1978) emphasises that trying to force the findings into a preconceived theoretical framework should be avoided in reviewing the literature. Further, an exhaustive revision of the literature is deliberately avoided yet without ignoring extant and relevant knowledge (Glaser and Stern 1998). This is to ensure that the analysis of the data actually refers to what is grounded in the data as opposed to analyse it through existing theoretical frameworks to keep the researcher free of influences. Any theoretical framework must earn its relevance by emergence alone in a grounded theory study (Glaser 2001).

In Section 1.4, it was explained that one of the principal aims of this research is to review how design practices within the Australian food and beverage industry are conducted, acknowledging issues that concern those involved as they themselves perceive such issues. In terms of strategies for the collection and analysis of qualitative empirical data, Miles and Huberman (1994) distinguish six: ethnography; field study; interviewee and non-interviewee observation; interviews; and archival records. To these, Bryman (2008) adds three: focus groups; discourse and conversation analysis; and collection and qualitative analysis of texts and documents. Creswell (2006) proposes two more: phenomenology and Grounded Theory. Yet Glaser (2001) asserts that GT is a general method for the generation of theory that can be used either in quantitative or qualitative research. According to Yin (2002), all of these strategies can be used for three different purposes – explanation, exploration and description.

4.5.1 Data collection through interviews

This section describes the initial planning of the research procedure, beginning at the point when the research purpose was established, including the selection and preparation of interviews as the primary research method for data collection. In Section 4.7, the final interview cohort is described, including how the recruitment of interviewees was altered as a result of the theoretical sampling process. In the Glaserian GT approach “all is data”:

“anything that crosses the researcher’s way” can be used to enlighten the analysis process (Glaser 1992, p. 145). An appropriate use of interviews as a data collection method should aim to access

what is ‘inside a person’s head’, […] to measure what a person knows (knowledge and information); what a person likes or dislikes (values and

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preferences), or what a person thinks (attributes and beliefs) (Tuckman 1972, p.34).

Here, interviews allow the collection of non-numerical and unstructured data regarding the perceptions, opinions and assumptions of those involved in design practices. Then, the relevance of conducting interviews as a research method relies on the fact that they are non-ordinary conversations, as they are constructed and have a specific purpose (Dyer 1995). In this case they are an exchange of views of assumed mutual interest between interviewer and interviewee on the research topic: issues arising from design practices and transformations required for progression toward packaging sustainability. The character of this interaction becomes the production of knowledge, which is actively and socially created by the interviewer and interviewee in a conversational structure through the use of questions and answers about the area of study (Kvale 1996, Kvale and Brinkmann 2009).

It is thus crucial for the interviewer to ensure that the knowledge produced during interviews is research-relevant (Cannell and Kahn 1968).

In terms of the structure, semi-structured, open-ended interviews were chosen, since they are a direct and accessible means to observe and elicit interpretations about design practices in the organisational context of the AF&BPI. Semi-structured interviews allow for flexibility in format, yet they are conducted in a systematic, controlled way by the interviewer and it is necessary that the content be related to specific research questions and purposes (Sarantakos 1998, Cohen et al. 2007). In terms of format, open-ended questions were selected, since they provide, according to Kerlinger (1970), a point of reference for interviewees’ answers, rather than forcing them. Kvale and Brinkmann (2009) state that open-ended interviews seek to

obtain descriptions of the interviewees’ lived world with respect to interpretation of the meaning of the described phenomena (Kvale and Brinkmann 2009, p. 27).

Open-ended questions also provide the interviewer with an opportunity to assess the respondent’s knowledge; they allow the interviewer to make a more accurate appraisal of the interviewee’s beliefs; and they can also result in unexpected or unanticipated answers which enrich the relationships between variables made earlier (Kerlinger 1970). In terms of interview form, individual, face-to-face is the preferred interview method, one that is widely used in qualitative research since it provides the possibility of dispelling ambiguity in respondents’ answers (Cohen et al. 2007).

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4.5.2 Interview schedule

The content of the interview is created by translating the research objectives into questions which will become the basis of the interview schedule (see appendix A) (Cohen et al. 2007). The format of the schedule, however, is considered a guide, with topics that include suggested questions (Dyer 1995). This means that if a new topic emerges from the interview, then the researcher has the flexibility to ask a question about such a topic.

Flexibility is also allowed in the sequence and wording of questions, as well as follow-up questions, since they create a conversation-like atmosphere and interviewees are able to talk more freely about their insights and opinions (Kvale and Brinkmann 2009). That is, there is still the opportunity for spontaneity, and the interviewer is able to push for complete answers and also for deeper responses about complex issues; thus, the answers have a low level of ‘uniformity’.

To delineate the interview questions it is necessary to name the variables or areas of the research problem that the investigation aims to ‘assess’ (Tuckman 1972). In this investigation, interviews are divided into 3 main themes which consist of eleven questions in total. The three main themes are: packaging design issues, packaging industry issues and packaging sustainability issues, and are explained below (Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.5 Main themes of the interviews

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In the packaging design issues section, questions relate to the perceptions that interviewees have of their own roles and responsibilities (open to interpretation), and the way they describe their involvement in a design situation, design processes and design-related activities. This reflects what type of decisions they make as well as the type of interaction they have with others involved in design practices.

The packaging industry issues section includes questions related to interviewees’

perspectives on the current role of packaging: a discussion on issues related to the physical configuration of packaging, including the perceived drivers for packaging innovation and influences for near-future trends, as well as their understandings on what

‘successful’ packaging is.

The packaging sustainability issues section comprises questions addressing interviewees’

perspectives on their understandings of packaging sustainability and issues of their decision-making process, including their ranking of the importance of environmental considerations from their role’s perspective. Also in this section, are issues of the type of tools or information that interviewees use or, in their opinion, may be useful in making more

‘informed’ decisions: issues related to their opinions about ways to encourage organisations to engage in issues of packaging sustainability, as well as the challenges faced by the AF&BPI from the interviewees’ points of view.

Once the topics are defined, another important consideration is the interview structure and the question-response mode. For this investigation, a semi-structured interview format was selected (Cannell and Kahn 1968, Fontana and Frey 2000). The interview schedule consists of the three general themes that in turn have a list of potential questions.

As was previously explained, the content of the interview guide is based on and directly linked to the research questions as portrayed in Figure 4.6 (p. 108).

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Figure 4.6 Relationship between research questions and interview questions

Chapters [ 5 ], [ 6 ], [ 7 ] and [ 8 ] explain in more detail how the research questions guide the study in discovering the main concerns of interviewees by discussing topics that allow for an understanding of their beliefs, actions and interactions. They present the raw interview data along with explanations on how themes and concepts were developed.