Data Collection Techniques

Data collection techniques are referring to the approaches that are used to collect the qualitative and quantitative data. In this study, triangulating the methods of both qualitative and quantitative research will help the researcher increase a personal understanding of the phenomenon in question. Thus using the quantitative method will allow the researcher to gain a general picture of the real situation regarding implementation of LTA on ground and general perspectives of end-users on the ILAs policies in Iraq. In addition, using the qualitative method will assist the researcher gain an in-depth understanding the institutional units of LTA by exploring the studied phenomenon in order to get a fuller picture of LTA aspects in Iraq.

As already mentioned, this research adopted the mixed methods approach to secure the advantages of both methods. Accordingly, the following data collection techniques have been used for the study. In this respect, the study dealt with several types of Data collection; a literature review, semi-structured interviews with experts from ILAs agencies, and document review were undertaken to obtain qualitative data within the case studies. In order to obtain an overall view on the concepts of LTA and its practices within the ILAs policies and the role of institutional units perspectives of the influences of current situation on their policies and regarding the users’ needs and rights in the existing system in Iraq, a semi-structured interview was carried out (Table 6.1 and Appendix A). While a questionnaire is employed to gather quantitative data from end- user views to explore their experiences of the implementation of LTA in ground (see table 6.2 and Appendix B). However, this situation has reduced the ability to confirm or refute responses from participants. The current insurable and insecurity situations and semi-absence of central system of digital data have the potential influences on data collection of this PhD study, and thus they were reduced the ability to achieve more detailed research (Figure 6.7).

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Figure 6.7: The Research’s methods adopted

In this respect, a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and documentation review are undertaken to obtain and enrich qualitative data, whereas a questionnaire is

employed to gather qualitative datafor the research. These methods are now discussed:

1. Literature Review

As with all other methods of data collection, literature reviews have used to consist of comprehensive samples of all sources of secondary sources of data in the research

area (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008;Sutrisna, 2009). Also, literature reviews can help

to provide a conceptual framework for further analysing the information and reaching robust conduction to the social science studies (Punch, 2005). The literature review in this research conducted in three chapters; two, three and four, in order to capture effectively the administrative aspects and users’ needs with these related problems in respect to LTA systems and its critical aspects in Iraq for the research.

2. Documentations

It is one of the most critical ways of supporting evidence collected from other sources (Yin, 2009). Construct validity was established the correct measures for the studied concepts and can be increased by using one of the three tactics: using multiple

The Mixed Methods Approach Qualitative Data Data Collection ILAs Interviewees Formal Documents Data Collection Techniques Quantitative Data End-users Questionnaire

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sources of evidence, establishing a chain of evidence and having the key informants review draft case study report (Yin, 2003). In this research, the primary data were data collected through interviews and questionnaires, while secondary data were mainly: books, articles, papers, research, theses, and the internet, the secondary data resource in this research is obtained by reviewing the available documentations which are textual or visual. In this respect, the study will deal with several types of documentations which were consulted (see Yin, 2009), and these are as follows:

1) Administrative documents: these available forms of the internal progress report and these official statements associated of populations, and these adopted plans and strategies about LTA aspects from these 6 agencies in ILAs at both national and local levels, and at Al-Nassiriya city’s master plans and manuals at the provinces/city level which relates to LTA issues;

2) Archival records: these available forms of service records of agencies’ roles and achievements, Iraqi land tenure, the several statistical records of land use, housing units and numbers of staffs enrolled in the urban sector councils, and its local assessment reports in Iraqi cities (Al-Nassiriya city), within different periods from ILAs archive. The ILAs archives help to view the LTA development in urban areas and the tenure security challenges in Iraqi cities to have appropriate regulations and applications;

3) Public documents: the statistical year- books from the Iraqi Central Bureau of Statistics (as estimated by ICBS, 2014, 2015,and 2016) from the Iraqi ministry of planning, and also these statistics from Ministry of Housing & Construction (MoH&C), and the Ministry of Municipalities & Public Works (MoM&PW), and these formal reports from the Iraqi Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which is the main unit of the study since the national land policy and legislations forms are primarily shaped under its responsibility;

4) Formal reports: these official statements and evaluation reports related to the research topics from the ILAs agencies, and also these complaints from peoples (end-users) at both national and local councils, and these publishing from ILAs such as posters and newspapers about LTA and strategies in Iraq.

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In this research the purpose of collecting documents depends on the availability and relevance of obtaining information about the ILAs current role and their administrative ability to deliver a best LTA in line with the users’ needs in Iraq, as most of obtained documents have been used to describe the current situation in the Iraqi case of LTA system and its efficiency (Chapter 4). Also, the documents were selected and classified according to the research directions and at the time of the research interview sessions conducted in the ILAs agencies (Chapter 7). Therefore, these documents added a good base to the validity and reliability of this research. In this research, the collected documents were analysed qualitatively and were interpreted within the study’s discussion (Chapter 8).