Development of the Questionnaire

This process involved different stages, namely identifying the sample population, deciding on the topics, drafting the questions and answers, designing the layout of the questionnaire and piloting the tool.

Deciding on the Sample Population

The target population or sample frame comprised adults aged 18 and over currently or previously involved with HE in Oman in whatever capacity, be it as students, employers or administrators. Any person under that age would not have had access to HE yet and their knowledge would be rather inadequate.

This population consisted of a large number that ran into thousands and included Omanis and non-Omanis, both males and females. So, taking a sample was the only practical way of surveying the population. The most desirable technique to get a truly representative sample is to use random or probability sampling (Creswell, 2009; Gillham, 2007) because it ensures equal probability of any eligible individual to be selected as well as the ability to generalise results to a given population (Creswell, 2009). Randomisation techniques, which required assigning a code or a number to everyone in the population and then randomly selecting codes or numbers to be included in the sample, was impractical and in fact unnecessary. The survey worked as a tentative, exploratory look to obtain an idea of the range of ideas people have about the use of Western methods in Omani HE. In such case, non-probability or non-random sampling was rendered satisfactory. Hence, convenience sampling was employed to get a wide range of people in the sample based on willingness to take part in the survey. Yet, no potential respondent was identified by name, age, occupation, geographical location or any other means as text messages and emails were sent out to a variety of potential respondents.

The desired final sample size was targeted at between 150 to 250. This proportion would be sufficient to provide a meaningful analysis.

Deciding on The Topic Areas

To explore the general perceptions of people towards the use of Western methods and the extent of their utility in the Omani higher education system, various topic areas were

first set down accordingly. However, the following topics were eventually used to draft the survey questions:

§ the appropriateness of education at both levels of school education and HE (how much they meet the needs of society)

§ the extent to which education systems in Oman incorporated the Islamic values and social traditions of Omani society

§ the degree to which government and private HE institutions (HEIs) reflected the respondents’ values, goals and views

§ the management of education systems

§ the importing of western methods, including management methods, in Omani education system

§ the adoption of quality management systems and philosophies in Omani HE

It is worthwhile to note that the topics were ordered in such a way as to allow the questions to move from general to more specific.

Construction of the Questions and Answers

At the beginning of this stage it was necessary to decide whether the questionnaire should be conducted in English, Arabic or both. Considering that English has been adopted as the medium of instruction in most Omani HEIs, respondents were expected to be able to answer a simple questionnaire in English easily. Hence, the original version was made in English but later used to produce an Arabic version, as it was less complicated to translate from English instead of developing two versions simultaneously. Providing the questionnaire in both languages guaranteed access to a wider range of respondents.

The Closed-Ended Questions

These were split into: questions of fact and questions of opinion.

Questions of Fact (Demographics)

Based on their probable relevance to the topics being explored, the following basic personal details were chosen:

§ Nationality § Gender § Age § Education

§ Current occupation

The purpose of building these categories into the questionnaire was to plan an analysis based on subgroups.

Questions of Opinion (The Questionnaire)

Questionnaire items did not come from other sources neither were they adapted from previous questionnaires, since there was almost no or limited research about the topic. They were developed particularly for the study; the questions stemmed entirely from the abovementioned topics (see Deciding on the topics) and were based on the Omani context.

Subsequently, the final form of the questionnaire (See Appendix B and Appendix C for English and Arabic versions) consisted of eleven closed-ended questions.

The Open-Ended Item

Although open-ended questions are more difficult to answer and analyse, it was still crucial to add one at the end of the questionnaire to give the respondents space to supply their own individual points of view in their own words, without being restricted to predetermined responses. Such a strategy does not only introduce variety, but can also produce unanticipated responses that can lead the researcher to think more deeply about the topic (Aldridge & Levine, 2001). Thus, the question was broadly formulated to get the respondents’ general feelings and how they appropriate the use of Western methods.

The Answers

Probable responses to the closed-ended items were constructed using the following two approaches:

Likert Scale

considered in the construction of this type of rating scale: the mid-point option and the format in which the responses were going to be presented.

1. Initially a five-point scale with a middle category (a sixth point ‘I don’t Know’ was later added based on feedback from the pilot stage) was drafted so as not to force respondents to choose between a negative or a positive answer because they may genuinely be neutral or indifferent toward a topic. Garland (1991) has indicated that eliminating the mid-point category in a rating scale can minimise social desirability bias, where respondents choose a middle category to appear helpful or to seek socially desirable answers. However, this is less likely to occur in online surveys (Aldridge & Levine, 2001; Fowler, 2002), which was the mode chosen to conduct the study’s questionnaire, due to the absence of the interviewer. Moreover, it has been indicated that allowing a middle category was preferable in survey research because denying the respondents a middle alternative would be “artificial and potentially annoying” (Aldridge & Levine, 2001, p. 113), but most importantly because it can improve the validity and reliability of scale as people would not randomly select an option closest to what might have been a middle option (Krosnick & Presser, 2010). Finally, a five-point scale was found to be adequate and more appropriately suited to the constructs instead of a seven-point scale, which is regarded as being redundant because respondents do not usually use the whole scale (Gillham, 2007).

2. Verbal, rather than numerical, scales were used throughout the questionnaire. Compared to a continuum of numbers with adjectives at each pole, words seemed much easier to be processed by the respondents, a point also supported by Krosnick and Presser (2010), who argue that the respondents’ task may prove more difficult using numerical labels.

Selected Responses

This was mainly used to formulate responses for questions about personal details in addition to one opinion item. The ‘Other’ category was sometimes included in case respondents wanted to supply a different answer.