Method of Data Analysis

Data collected in this study was analysed using thematic content analysis procedures. More than just a single technique, content analysis is a set of

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methods for analysing the symbolic content of any communication. The basic idea is to reduce the total content of a communication (e.g., all of the words or all of the visual imagery) to a set of categories that represent some characteristic of research interest. Thus, content analysis may involve the systematic description of either verbal or nonverbal materials (Singleton Jr. & Straits, 1999: 383).

The analytic procedure I observed in analysing the data obtained is as outlined by Marshall & Rossman (2006: 151-167). Some of the procedures involved are concurrent in nature:

(a) Organising the Data. The first activity I observed was to organise the information collected by sorting and tagging it to indicate names, dates, time and places where the interviews were held. This process made matching of the transcribed interviews to the appropriate respondent easy.

(b) Immersion in the Data. The second critical process in analysing the data was immersing myself in the data. This involved the act of reading and re-reading through all the transcribed interview data sets. This process was iterative in nature because I had been listening to the audio recording of the interviews while still in the field. This enabled me to get myself fully acquainted and familiar with the responses of various respondents and the entire data in general which also enabled me to start seeing the emerging pattern of explanations to the study’s research questions.

(c) Generating Themes/Categories. Having successfully acquainted and familiarised myself with the data, I developed the themes used in coding the data. Descriptive themes are topical issues relating to the research questions and which also show a pattern in the data. The themes had direct bearing to the research questions. Accordingly, the following themes that linked the data with the research questions were developed:

(i). Opinions and insights about the sources and drivers of the Niger Delta conflict.

(ii). Opinion and insights about how the Nigerian government has managed the conflict and how effective the management was.

(iii). Opinions and insights regarding how the programme was conceptualised, designed and implemented and the effect these factors have had on the programme’s success or otherwise.

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(iv). Opinions and insights regarding the extent to which the programme has achieved its objectives or not.

(d) Coding the Data. At this stage of the analysis, I carried out the actual coding of the information according to the themes identified in c (i- iv) above. Again, it is important to point out that in the process of coding the data I took due cognizance of manifest and latent content in the data. Berg (2004: 269-270) posits that manifest data are those apparent categories or themes that are obvious in the data and can easily be identified and coded while latent are hidden content or meanings contained in the data that require serious analytical thinking and reflection to identify and interpret them.

(e) Writing Analytic Memos/Marginal Notes. At this stage, I began to develop marginal notes that reflected my deeper analytical thinking, reflections and interpretations of the issues contained in the coded portions of the data being analysed in relations to my research questions.

However, drawing analytic memos and marginal notes was a continuous process that I commenced while in the field and listening to the recorded interviews.

(f) Offering Interpretations. At this stage, I began extrapolating; in terms of providing interpretations of the coded data through inferences and deductions. The process at this stage involved comparing and contrasting various portions of the information being analysed.

(g) Searching for Alternative Understandings. At this stage of the analysis, I offered a self-critique of the deductions, inferences, findings and conclusion reached in (f) above. To achieve the most refined and plausible meanings and interpretations of the data, I applied triangulation. Willis et al (2007:218) have argued in support of the application of triangulation at the level of data interpretation. As they note, ‘in qualitative research there is a…concept called triangulation. It is often used as a qualitative equivalent of validity and reliability. The essential idea of triangulation is to find multiple sources of confirmation when you want to draw a conclusion’.

Therefore, the analytical value of multiple points of view in the field of political economy of armed conflict, the DDR literature and social science,

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in general, were applied in the process of comprehending the data and different events and occurrences derived from the field. Furthermore, throughout the analysis I resorted to extracting, a technique which ‘…

emphasizes “pulling” out some section of a source material for purposes of quotation especially direct quotations’ (Amajirionwu, 1987:30) to support and buttress my assertions and conclusions.

(h) Writing the Final Report of the Case Study Research. As stated in the significance of this study, the final report of this case study will make a substantial contribution to existing academic debates on the role of DDR in conflict prevention, the sub-field of the political economy of armed conflict, the literature on the Niger Delta conflict and the Nigerian State.

Similarly, at the empirical level, it will provide insights for better future DDR design and implementation.