Population and Sampling

3.4.1 Online Questionnaire

A good sample should be representative of the target population. To achieve such a sample, different sampling strategies can be used; however, selecting a truly representative sample is a hard and costly process (Dörnyei, 2003). If resources permit, a researcher can study the total population, rather than only a sample of the cases. In the context of this research study, there are approximately 120 HoDs in Al-Jawda University. As this questionnaire targeted HoDs in particular, a link to the online questionnaire was distributed to all HoDs, thereby covering the total population. With 59 questionnaires being completed, the response rate was almost 50%, which is a good response rate for an online survey, considering that online surveys generally have a lower response rate than paper-based ones (Nulty, 2008).

3.4.2 Semi-Structured Interviews

Purposive sampling, was used for selecting participants for interviews. In purposive sampling, participants or cases are selected “with purpose”, which implies that the participants or cases are chosen because their characteristics or experiences are relevant to the research questions (Matthews and Ross, 2010). This gives the researcher an opportunity to study the research topic in-depth. Care is observed to select only those cases that have potential to reveal the most about the research topic being studied (Matthews and Ross, 2010, p.167).

Although purposive sampling is criticised as being non-representative of the broader population and for selection bias (Cohen et al., 2000), it suited the purpose of this study, which was to gain an insight into, and a deeper understanding of, the participants’ perceptions regarding the achievement of quality in Al-Jawda University, rather than generalisability of findings to the wider population. The selected sample consisted of male and female participants, including Saudi and non-Saudi nationals involved in QA systems in Al-Jawda University.

In total, 36 participants were interviewed, including 15 HoDs and 21 other key players in quality achievement. In line with Strauss and Corbin (1990), a range of factors including access, resources, research objectives and the available time were considered when deciding the number of interviews to be conducted. It was felt that 36 interviews offered a substantial dataset in terms of the themes related to the research questions. It is important to note that faculty structure in Saudi Arabian universities differs from that in the UK. For example, Business is classified as a science while Sport belongs to humanities. Hence, in the results section, participants’ disciplines have been broadly categorised (i.e. engineering and computer science have been included under ‘Science College’) in order to protect their identities. Interview participants were drawn from diverse disciplinary, national, gender and linguistic backgrounds (see Appendix K for more details about the interviewees). The inclusion of these participants in the study aided me in obtaining a holistic picture of the phenomenon of quality achievement in the University. Table 5 shows the number of interview participants in each category/job role.

Table 5: The Participation According to Category and Volume

Category Level Participants No. of Participants

Departmental HoDs 13

Deputy HoDs 2

Heads of Departmental Quality

Committees (HQC) 2

College Deans 3

Vice-Dean of Quality 1

Heads of Quality Units (HQU) 5

University Former Rector 1

Vice-Rector of Quality and Development 1

Quality & Development Deanship

Members (DDQMS) 8

The following section provides details about how the interview participants were recruited and selected.

Departmental level participants:

1. HoDs: Care was taken to select HoDs from as many colleges and departments in Al-Jawda University as possible. The online questionnaire was used to select participants for semi-structured interviews. The selection was based on (a) the respondents’ willingness to participate in the semi-structured interviews (b) their prioritising different aspects of quality. Selection was also based on (c) their extended suggestions on how quality achievement can be improved. The majority of the interviewed HoDs were relatively junior members; however, it is not known whether this situation is typical in all Saudi universities or is a distinctive feature of Al-Jawda University. If so, this can potentially limit the transferability of the findings to other prestigious Saudi universities. Profiles of HoDs are given in Appendix K (items 1-13). All HoDs in Al-Jawda University are male, except

for one. Efforts were made to contact the female HoD to obtain a different perspective on the issue, but to no avail.

2. Deputy HoDs: Two females were invited from the female campus to give an insight into their responsibilities as HoDs (see Appendix K, items 14-15). It is worth mentioning here that HoD is a title given to males who work in the male campus; while their female counterparts in the female campuses have the same responsibilities but a different title, i.e. Deputy Head. Therefore, in the findings chapters both are referred to as HoDs.

3. HQC: I conducted two interviews with HQC from two different departments. These Heads were selected with help from the Vice-Deans of their respective colleges (see items 33 and 34 in Appendix K).It is possible that being nominated by the Vice-Dean skewed the data; however, there was no alterative way of gaining access and the quote given in the later section demonstrate that the participants did speak very honestly.

College level participants

4. Deans: I had a meeting with the Assistant Vice-Rector for Development and Quality. We discussed the organogram of the University-level Quality Department. On the basis of this discussion, I selected participants for interviews. The Assistant also proved helpful in facilitating contacts with the participants; however, he did not exert any influence on selecting particular respondents for interviews. The profiles of the Deans are given in Appendix K (items 16-18).

5. Vice-Dean for Quality and Development: The response rate from Vice-Deans for Quality in academic colleges was relatively low. Therefore, only one Vice-

Dean of Quality from one of the Science Colleges was interviewed. This Vice- Dean was recommended by his Dean (see Appendix K, item 19).

6. HQU: I conducted five interviews with female HQU from different colleges and of different nationalities (see items 28-32 in Appendix K). The Vice-Dean of DDQ provided her support for further selection of HQU.

University level participants

7. Former Rector: I conducted an interview with a Former Rector (the leader of the Quality Revolution in Al-Jawda University), who was recommended by Vice- Rector Assistant of Development and Quality (see item 36 in Appendix K). 8. Vice-Rector: I conducted an interview with the Vice-Rector for Development

and Quality, who was introduced by the Assistant Vice-Rector for Development and Quality (see item 35 in Appendix K).

9. DDQMs: I conducted eight interviews with the members of DDQ; i.e. the Dean, two Vice-Deans and five consultants of different nationalities. I contacted the Dean at the start of the project and he extended his support by helping me in accessing and interviewing his colleagues (see Appendix K, items 20 - 27).

3.5. Access

The Rector of Al-Jawda University was identified as the person most suited to authorise the research. A letter introducing the project and its methodology, along with an endorsement from my supervisor, was sent to the Rector of the selected university, requesting access to HoDs and others involved in the implementation of a QA system. That Rector gave immediate permission by signing off the access permit indicates the interest of higher-level management in the research. The Rector delegated this task

(accessing potential participants), to the Vice-Rector for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, who subsequently acted as a facilitator within this institution.

The questionnaire was formally endorsed by the Vice-Rectorate for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research in May 2014. The validated questionnaires were then distributed to all HoDs in Al-Jawda University through their official e-mail addresses. The majority of interview volunteers provided contact details on the questionnaires. Although I faced some difficulties in identifying and contacting potential participants, my overall experience of undertaking fieldwork was positive. Senior leaders were very cooperative, in that they facilitated access to the participants, enabling me to complete the interviews in a relatively smooth manner.