Interviews

A case such as a project or programme involves certain “mini cases” within it (Patton, 2002). Even though the case is usually decided in advance, there are subsequent choices to make about persons, places, and events to observe because it is not possible to study everything in a case (Stake 1994). Therefore, “within-case sampling” is an important feature of case study research (Stake 1994). Making such choices involves the same process as case selection (Stake 1994), that is, selecting those samples that can maximize opportunities for learning and theory development.

Four important criteria were considered in the selection of interviewees. As described in section 3.4.1, the FLE model involved three different organisations – a government agency (DAE), an NGO, and village groups. Logically, therefore, the first criterion was to select interviewees from all these three organisations. The second criterion was to select interviewees based on their position or role in the project. For example, within the DAE and the NGO, people from several hierarchical levels (e.g. top level executives, fieldworkers, etc.) were involved with the case study project (section 3.4.1). These people had different designations and roles in the project such as project coordinators, line managers, and fieldworkers. Similarly, within the village groups, there were different positions such as farmer promoters, group leaders, and common members (section 3.4.1). Therefore, the interviewees from the three organisations were chosen based on their position and role in the project. However, in the case of the village groups, interviews were

carried out only with some selected farmer promoters. Third, the project was implemented at multiple sites in Bangladesh, known as the Upazillas and the

Unions (section 3.4.1). Therefore, the interviewees were chosen from the multiple sites where the project was implemented. Finally, alongside interviewing the people involved with the project, some non-project people were also interviewed to triangulate the data sources. A total of 42 interviews were carried out in this study. Table 3.4 summarises the profiles and the number of people interviewed8.

To identify the interviewees, at first, a list of the people involved with the project was obtained from the project implementation documents. This list provided a basis for identifying the preliminary contact persons from the DAE, the NGO, and the communities. After completing a couple of interviews with these initial contacts, the rest of the interviewees were selected using a snowball sampling technique (Patton, 2002). This technique involved identifying successive interviewees based on the information provided by an interviewee. This was necessary because some interviewees told that they did not know about certain issues and/or were unable to comment on those. In such instances, the interviewees were requested to refer to the appropriate person who could provide the information. In this way, successive interviewees were identified. This process continued until the investigator was satisfied that no new concepts were emerging from the data.

A semi-structured or interview guide method was used to conduct the interviews. The guide included a list of the information required from the interviewees. Despite having the list, however, the investigator did not attempt to restrict the interviewees’ responses within the concept (s) guiding the interviews. This was deliberately done to let new concepts emerge from the data. During an interview, the sequence in which the questions were asked varied according to the situation.

In interviewing a person, at first the person was contacted by telephone and/or through a face-to-face visit. During this contact, the objectives and purpose of the study, including the identity of the researcher, were briefly introduced to the interviewee and his or her consent was obtained. Obtaining consent involved both formal such as written consents as well as informal or oral consents. The time and

8 _{People who had been the ASIRP steering committee members (section 3.4.1) could not be interviewed, although} attempts were made. This deficiency was complemented through document analyses (section 3.4.3.3).

place of interview were chosen according to the preference of the interviewees. As the investigator resided in the study area during the entire period of data collection, it was possible to adapt to the requirements of the interviewees.

Table 3.4 Distribution of the interviewees according to their position in the case study project

Designation or position in FLE Identity of the interviewees Total number of people involved Number of people interviewed Project-staff Project Directors and Coordinators

High-ranking officials and executives from the DAE and the NGO

12 (8 from DAE and 4from the NGOs)

4 (2 from DAE, 2 from NGO)

Resource Team members

District and Upazilla level managers from the DAE and the NGO

14 (8 from DAE and 6 from NGO)

4 (2 from DAE, 2 from NGO)

Local Area Facilitation Team Members

Field level workers from the DAE and the NGO who directly interacted with the farmers in the project

18 (9 from DAE, 9 from NGO)

8 (6 from DAE, 2 from NGO)

Farmer promoters Community members involved with the project

144 promoters in 72 farmer groups 8 (3 females and 5 males) Non-project interviewees DAE and NGO employees

Top-level and mid-level officials

N/A 6 (4 from DAE and

2 from NGO) Employees from

other government agencies

Mid-level officers N/A 4

Farmers from the FLE villages

Key informants from the villages

N/A 8

Total interviews 42

The first interview was undertaken on 3 November 2004. At the beginning of each interview, simple non-threatening questions were asked to relax the interviewee, as suggested by Patton (2002). Then, the broad questions as outlined in the interview guide were asked and in this way the interview was carried on in a conversational style. Thus, although the broad questions remained the same, the specific questions that were asked varied in different interviews. The interviewees were given complete freedom to answer or decline to answer the questions according to their choice. They were given assurance of confidentiality and anonymity. This was especially important because of the sensitivity of the topic of sustainability.

Each interview took one to two hours depending on the time that the respondents could spare at one time. Because of other commitments, many interviewees could not complete the interview at one time. This required interviewing the same person

several times to cover all of the questions. The investigator did not pressurise any interviewee to complete the interview at one time because that might have meant that information lacked sufficient depth.

The interview data were audio-recorded in most cases. However, some of the interviewees declined to provide audio-taped interviews or became hesitant in expressing their views when confronted by the tape recorder. Some interviewees also became suspicious about the investigator’s role. This happened with most of the top-level and mid-level officers in the DAE. However, in some instances when the audio-recorder was removed, the interviewees felt free to express their opinions. In those instances, the interviewees’ answers were recorded in the personal diaries of the investigator.

It was realised during the interviewing that formal interviews, particularly in the instances where the responses were recorded, created certain limitations. Observing those limitations, it was necessary to apply informal interview techniques as well. The informal interview took place during the evening hours and out-of- office hours in the forms of socialisation in local shops and tea stalls. This was not difficult as the investigator was born in the area and is proficient in the local language and dialect. Moreover, many of the interviewees in the sample were the alumni of Bangladesh Agricultural University where the investigator was employed. This facilitated the development of rapport with the interviewees. This acquaintance enabled the investigator to locate knowledgeable people who were involved with the FLE project, and facilitated his access to the project documents. Informal interviews were also carried out with the rural people to complement the information obtained though focus group discussions (description follows). The information obtained from the informal conversations was recorded in personal diaries.