Methods of Data Collection at Stage two of research process

Qualitative and qualitative data using semi structured interviews and questionnaires will aid data collection at stage two of the research process. Documents accessible and available to the researcher were also used.

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3.8.2.1 Semi structured interviews

According to Thomas (2011), semi-structured interviews adopts questioning based on a list of themes and the researcher where necessary has flexibility to follow-up on points raised by the interviewee. It also enables the use of a theoretically informed interview proforma to build structure into the data collection process (Fellows & Liu, 2015). In this research context, the semi-structured interviews allowed in-depth exploration of the themes that evolved from the literature on the characteristics of the CMS and efficacy on project cost performance in LcH project delivery. It also allows the gathering of implications for CMS improvements based on a variety of views of the case participants, to aid theoretical generalisation and a well-developed CMSM.

In February 2015, the researcher embarked on the qualitative phase of the fieldwork. To reach theoretical saturation, the researcher anticipated 30 semi-structured interviews with the PMT members. However, because of the challenges of participants’ availability, only 23 interviews was conducted. This number was considered appropriate following views by (Mason, 2010; Baker et al., 2012) on the number of relevant interviews associated with case studies. The 23 interviews all took place in the state capitals of Enugu, Imo, Anambra and Abia States, where many of the PMT organisations have their branch or head offices. On a few occasions, the interviews were held outside the Nigerian southeast zone where the organisations had resident offices outside the zone. The participants presented with consent and agreement forms and assured on anonymity as well as their freedom to decline to answer any question or withdraw at any stage of the interview. The ethical approval detail is as attached in the appendix. There were difficulties during the conduct of the interviews, such as frequent interruptions by interviewee colleagues or failure to meet at appointment times. In spite of the challenges encountered, the researcher was able to manage the situation by rescheduling meetings over the weekends as conveniently agreed with the interviewees, which lasted for an average of 43 minutes.

 Interview Guide

The interview guide contained four sections: background information; LcH project delivery features, CMS characteristics, and constraints and implications for improvement covering techniques, process, and IMSF drivers. Before the guide was administered, three revisions were made following a pilot study amongst quantity surveying and construction management

137 experts. This piloting process helped to rule out any ambiguity of the questions. The questions in the guide were pre-set themes evolving from findings from the literature and experiential knowledge. However, the researcher maintained flexibility in presenting the questions to allow the interviewees elaborate on the pre-set themes as well as give room for emergent themes. The findings of data generated from the semi-structured interviews effectively directed the specific variables to include as questions in the questionnaires to allow for further understanding of the concepts from a wider set of respondents across the zone.

3.8.2.2 Questionnaires

The questionnaire allows further investigation on the findings from a qualitative phase. The questionnaires were constructed to gain the breadth of understanding of the variable in each theme by a wider sample of respondents. The findings from the semi-structured interviews were structured into multiple questions. The questions were designed to capture the views of the respondents (PMT members involved in LcH projects in the zone) for the purpose of identifying the specific components needed to develop the CMSM.

The researcher travelled to the study area to administer the questionnaire by self and through recruited field agents’ (gatekeepers). The field agents were briefed on the purpose of the research and conduct of administering the questionnaires to the target respondents in the zone. Given the importance to maximise the response rates in a questionnaire survey (Saunders et al., 2012) the researcher adopted various means to enhance the response rate from the beginning of the questionnaire design to administration and collection. The researcher allowed sufficient time (2 months) for the collection of the questionnaires to ensure that a large possible return of completed questionnaires is achieved for meaningful data analysis. Email reminders, telephone calls (those that provided their email and telephone numbers) and revisits to offices were all follow-up measures to enhance the response rate. The researcher also ensured that the questionnaire was well-structured following recommendations from a pilot test.

 Questionnaire structure

The questionnaire was divided into two main parts (Appendix VII). Part A were background questions about respondents while part B contained questions on the LcH project cost performance, CMS, and IMSF drivers. The 4- point Likert scale was used to structure the

138 questions in the questionnaire to gather the respondents’ views on ratings in terms of the level of agreement, influence, frequency of use, and importance. The four- point Likert scale is used because it has no neutral option and allows useful choices to be selected from the listed answers (Tourangeau, et al., 2000). This scale was a good fit since the target respondents were presumed knowledgeable on the cost management practice in LcH project delivery in the zone. A pilot test on the questionnaire was carried out among ten construction experts from Academia and industry. Four academic experts from the School of Built Environment, the University of Salford, three from Architecture and quantity surveying, Imo State University and three from PMT members involved in LcH project delivery in the Nigerian southeast zone. These target respondents were practicing project managers, quantity surveyors, architects, and engineers. The pilot test was useful to eliminate ambiguity and refine the questionnaire where appropriate.

3.8.2.3 Documents

According to Yin (2009), documents are a source of evidence, which helps the researcher to review and evaluate both printed and electronic material that could be publicly available and less difficult to obtain. Documents are also important to help the researcher gain an insight into the historical evolution of the issue being investigated and provide information that serves as a guide to conduct interviews and administer questionnaires. The study reviews both the Nigerian NHP and project documents.