Putting Qualitative Research in Sequence

Bryman and Bell (2003) provided an outline which represents the qualitative research process (Figure 30). The main steps of qualitative research in this study, adapted from the Bryman and Bell (2003) model, are:

1. General research questions. This is starting point that focuses on understanding the way logistics is managed in construction projects in Iran.

General research questions developed are:

a. To what extent are practitioners aware about logistics management in their projects?

b. What is the process of construction logistics? (What activities are included?)

c. What are the logistical problems and challenges that the Iranian construction experts experienced in their projects?

2. Selecting relevant site(s) and subjects. In this study, practitioners with ten or more years of experience in building construction were the focal point of attention. They should have broad understanding about the building sector and be involved in logistical affairs in construction projects. More information about the characteristics of the sample will be explained later in this chapter.

3. Collection of relevant data. The main method for collecting data in the qualitative phase of the study was conducting in-depth interviews. On average, each interview lasted around 60 minutes. In addition to interviews, where it was possible, photos from construction sites were taken to give a visual sense to some parts of the analysis.

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Figure 30: The process of conducting qualitative study (Bryman & Bell, 2003)

4. Interpretation of data. The approach to data analysis is the conventional temple analysis of interviews. This involves coding textual data, which means classifying and organising data through the creation of themes emerging from text.

5. Conceptual and theoretical work. This is about the contribution of the research which reveals local hidden aspects of logistics affairs in construction projects in Iran. This will be clarified in the analysis chapters (Chapters 7-10).

(5a) Tighter specification of the research question(s) and (5b) Collection of further data. Further data was collected using the quantitative strategy and survey questionnaire to complement the qualitative study.

6. Writing up findings/conclusions. In the final stage, interpretation was developed to produce a conclusion about the practice of construction logistics

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109 in Iran. Issues about the credibility and transferability of the research will be clarified at the end of the qualitative inquiry section in this chapter.

6. 5. Interviews

An interview is a contextual based collaboration between the researcher and the interviewees (Fontana & Frey, 2005). Unstructured in-depth open-ended interviewing is the major data collection method of this research. This method helps to explore in depth the subject of the research (Bryman & Bell, 2003; Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009). In contrast to structured and semi-structured interviewing, for unstructured interviews, there is no predetermined list of questions.

However, the interviewer should decide about practical matters, including how to access people, how to understand the language and culture of the interviewees, how to present him/herself, locating an informant, gaining trust, establishing rapport, and required equipment for collecting empirical material (Fontana & Frey, 2005).

In unstructured interviewing, there is no ‗yes or no‘ question and the interviewee is expected to expand on the topic (Zami & Lee, 2009). Moreover, the researcher is not required to stick to a specific order for questions to ask different interviewees and should allow the flow of the conversation to dictate the questions (Zami & Lee, 2009). Also, considering cultural matters in Iran, the researcher should avoid sensitive questions, such as irrelevant financial matters, because this may irritate the interviewee and interrupt the interview.

In this research, twenty four open-ended interviews were conducted with the experienced Iranian building construction practitioners. The interviewer had a few general topics in mind to discuss with the interviewees. The focus was on understanding different aspects of construction logistics in building projects. The unstructured interviewing process had five steps, expressed in the following section (Figure 31).

Figure 31: The interviewing process in this research

110 6.5.1. Interview Guide

An interview guide is a document which provides a short introduction to the research and the researcher, and includes one or two questions. It helps the researcher to be organised during the interview, ensures that important topics are covered and helps maintain some consistency across interviews with different interviewees (Zami &

Lee, 2009).

An interview guide was designed for the research with five sections (Appendix one).

The first part was used to record information such as date, time, name of interviewee and his affiliation. The second part introduced the researcher. The third part introduced the research, including logistics definition, aims and objectives and research methodology. This section also comprised of two general questions:

a. How do you manage logistics in your projects?

b. What logistical problems/issues have you experienced in construction projects?

In this stage, interviewees were expected to discuss logistics planning, the actual process of construction logistics, and logistical challenges. The fourth section was a blank page for taking notes by the interviewer (Figure 36). In some cases, this space was also used by interviewees, if they were willing to write a note or draw a chart or a diagram (Figure 37). The fifth section was used to remind the interviewer on how to close the interview and ask the following questions:

a. Is there any document, e.g. photos, statistical data, catalogue, etc., that you want to provide to support your statements?

b. Is it possible to take a few photos from your site?

c. Do you recommend a specific person to be interviewed about this topic?

To test and evaluate the effectiveness of the interview guide and equipment, one pilot interview was conducted with a construction management student in Iran, which led to some modifications of interview plan. The result of the pilot interview was not considered in the analysis.

In addition to the interview guide, an interview protocol was also defined. The protocol was read before each interview by the interviewer to remind himself of the

Chapter 6

b. The interviewee should be given a freedom to speak around the topic and the interviewer should avoid directing the interview as much as possible.

c. There is no need to give a detailed definition of logistics or a long explanation about the research.

d. No question should be asked about irrelevant matters including political issues and financial performance of the company.

e. No answer should be suggested and no sign of agreement or disagreement should be shown by the interviewee.

f. Before each interview, a specific interview guide should be provided and all equipments should be tested.

g. If an answer or discussion is incomplete, nothing should be presumed and the interviewee should be asked for clarification.

6.5.2. Sampling

Owing to the qualitative nature of the study, a small, but focused and carefully selected sample, was chosen to be interviewed. As the goal of the qualitative inquiry is not to generalise outcomes to all settings, a non-probability sampling strategy was utilised which means not everyone has an equal chance of being in the study. Among different non-probability sampling methods, purposive sampling and snowball sampling were used. Purposive sampling categorises participants according to preselected criteria relevant to a particular research question (Mack, Woodsong, MacQue, Guest, & Namey, 2005). Snowballing sampling is a type of purposive sampling in which a participant uses his/her social networks to refer the researcher to other people who have the potential to contribute to the study by participating in interviews (Mack, Woodsong, MacQue, Guest, & Namey, 2005). To be interviewed, participants should meet three criteria:

1. Interviewees should have ten or more years of experience in the building sector of the construction industry.

112 2. The interviewees‘ affiliated company should be involved in the building

projects: residential, commercial or leisure projects.

3. Interviewees should be aware of day-to-day issues of the building industry in Iran and be familiar with logistical affairs, such as purchasing, transportation, storage and handling.

Based on these criteria, senior project managers, site supervisors and senior consultants were considered as potential participants for this study. As the researcher received his undergraduate degree in Iran, he used his network of ex-colleagues and friends to find potential participants.

In contrast to a quantitative study, in qualitative research, sample size is not fixed before the fieldwork and it is determined on the basis of theoretical saturation (Mack, Woodsong, MacQue, Guest, & Namey, 2005). This is the point in the data collection that the researcher understood responses are being repeated by new interviewees and critical and sensitive information could not be received from them anymore. In other words, new data no longer brings additional insights to the research objectives.

Overall, twenty four unstructured interviews were conducted with the experienced Iranian practitioners. Individuals were initially contacted by telephone and informed about the outline of the research and the contribution they could make to it. The majority of interviewees asked to have a list of questions before the interview session because they expected a structured interview. Although the methodology of the research was explained clearly to the interviewees, given that there was no predetermined set of questions, they preferred to have a written document in hand to know if they would be able to answer the questions. To address this expectation, a three-page letter was provided to be sent to interviewees via fax before the interview sessions. This letter had: a coversheet; a body which thanked the interviewee for participation in the study and introduced the research and the researcher; and a short introduction to construction logistics with the two general questions to be discussed.

Among the twenty four interviews, 18 interviewees categorised their companies as contractors, while six consultants were interviewed. The majority of the interviewees were civil engineers, while there were eight architects and two structural engineers in the sample (Figure 32). In terms of education, 15 participants had MSc or MA degrees, eight people had Bachelor degrees and one person had a PhD (Figure 33). In

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METHODOLOGY

113 terms of job, 12 interviewees worked as senior managers, while there were five senior project managers and 7 site supervisors in the sample (Figure 34). More information about the characteristics of the interviewees is provided in Appendix two.

Figure 32: Division of interviewees based on their fields of study

Figure 33: Division of interviewees based on their level of education

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Figure 34: Division of interviewees based on their jobs