ACCIONES INTERNACIONALES CONTRA EL CULTIVO

According to Parahoo (1997: 142), the research design involves the planning of “how, when and where” the data for the study is to be collected and analysed. Polit et al. (2001: 167) and Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016: 136) argue that research design is the

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researcher’s overall plan for testing the research hypothesis or answering the research questions. As such, the research questions from which the research objectives are derived, informs the methodological choices made by the researcher (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2016: 137).

However, as De Vaus and de Vaus (2001: 9) argue, research design is not just a “work plan” or “structure” that describes the research project, and how research will be carried out and the data collection methods used; it also ensures reliability in relation to the research questions, by eliminating threats to the eventual research claims and by encouraging internal validity. Therefore, an appropriate research design and methods enables a researcher to obtain relevant evidence and thus, to obtain as clear answers as possible to the research questions, or as accurate a description as possible of the phenomenon (Rwegoshora, 2016: 88). What Denscombe (2007: 1) calls a ‘safeguard

against making elementary errors’ is essential in the selection of research methodology, so care must be taken to choose the approach that is most suitable for the study being undertaken. It is not a case of ‘one size fits all’ and as Denscombe (2007: 134) states, ‘none of the possible methods for data collection can be regarded as perfect and none can be regarded as utterly useless’. Thus, the correct choice of methodology and its application are essential, and must derive from the purpose of the research. For that, the researcher must be very familiar with all research methods, and the tools used in each to collect data, regardless of their previous research experience (Atawee, 2000).

The commonly used research designs are quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research, which encompasses both quantitative and qualitative methods. The researcher weighed all methods before deciding to choose a qualitative research design.

3.1.1. Qualitative Research

The qualitative approach places emphasis on qualities, processes, and meanings that are examinable or measurable by experiments, in order to ascertain quality, intensity, amount, or frequency (Schwandt, 1997). Denzin and Lincoln (2000) argue that employing a qualitative approach is suitable for studies that aim to design a methodology that offers a contextualised depiction of social phenomena. Therefore, qualitative research is based on socially constructed reality (Creswell, 2003). Gubrium and Sankar (1994: 48) note that qualitative research is “inherently flexible and discovers details of subjects’ ethno-

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cultural realities”, while Ritchie et al. (2013: 33) point out that qualitative research effectively captures delicate, sensitive, and intangible issues, social constructs, behaviours, and beliefs. In addition, it has the ability to develop a deeper theoretical understanding as it generates rich and all-inclusive data, allowing collection of information which brings out the particular perspectives of the participant (Rubin and Babbie, 2016: 230; Patton, 2002, Denzin and Lincoln, 2000). As Bryman (1988: 3) states, qualitative researchers can employ a more lenient approach when collecting primary data, which allows the participants to more openly express their opinions. As a result, the qualitative researcher may collect more subtle primary data and identify factors that would otherwise not be visible in quantitative research (Ritchie et al., 2013: 211). Thus, Mangal and Mangal (2013: 162) suggest that a qualitative design can effectively provide information on values, norms, attitudes, opinions, behaviours, beliefs, emotions, motivations, relationships, gender roles, ethnicity, systems, and social context of a particular group of participants “whose role in research may not be readily apparent”. Therefore, qualitative research design permits in-depth understanding of issues and phenomena (Hancock et al., 1998:6).

Ritchie et al. (2013: 36) argue that while qualitative research studies uses small samples or few cases, it employs intensive interviews methods or in-depth analysis of the data to provide comprehensive account of events. As noted by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016: 145), Denzin and Lincoln (2003: 9-10) and Bryman (1988: 1), qualitative methodology involves techniques that generate or use non-numerical data, by collecting data through use of techniques such as interviews, and analysing data by procedures such as categorisation.

3.1.2. Rationale Behind the Qualitative Approach

When considering the choice of research design, the researcher struggled to decide the most appropriate approach, especially given that Middle Eastern research has been typically quantitative. On this subject, Clark (2006: 417) carried out a survey regarding qualitative studies, and concluded that “the literature on qualitative research methods largely focuses on democratic [countries] and not (…) the Middle East in particular”. Given the culture shock posed by qualitative research, the researcher considered it crucial

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to explore the potential methods employed to ensure that the research questions could be answered.

In order to decide between quantitative and qualitative approaches, the researcher proceeded to firstly contact the section for Planning and Development in the MoHE and KAU, to obtain some statistics about the women’s section of KAU. However, given the fact that no reports or studies regarding the section at KAU could be shared due to the Kingdom’s policy, the researcher considered Creswell’s (2003: 22) suggestion that “if a concept or phenomenon needs to be understood because little research has been done on it, then it merits a qualitative approach”.

Nevertheless, prior to deciding on the qualitative design, the research also considered the benefits of quantitative methods, which ultimately were deemed incapable of showcasing the breadth of the research aims and objectives. Traditional interpretations of quantitative approaches place emphasis on measuring and analysing the cause-effect relationship for variables in a study (Ritchie et al., 2013: 29). This implies that the main goal is to determine the existing relationship between variables and further establish the dependent and independent variables (Ritchie et al., 2013: 80). For the present study, quantitative research design would require the researcher to categorise the SE process, QA and academic accreditation as dependent or independent variables (Johnson and Christensen, 2008: 347). Notably, according to Bryman (2012), studies that assume this approach are either descriptive or experimental, while the data generated is typically numerical, for instance, using a questionnaire to collect data that can be presented in the form of graphs or statistical tables. Furthermore, as Skinner et al. (2014: 320) argue, applying quantitative research design is believed to give the researcher an advantage in identifying and isolating specific variables that are present in a study framework. Therefore, establishing their relationships, correlation, and causality is less complicated (Lichtman, 2012: 10). However, Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016: 472) note that the narrow conclusions that are achieved based on the statistical significance of the results, which are not significant in interpreting individual responses, also reduce the benefits of using the approach in social research. For this study, for instance, a quantitative field enquiry would have been very narrow and constrained in terms of answering the research issues, and this is why the qualitative approach has been chosen. More specifically, the researcher’s aim was not only to identify whether a specific QA approach for Saudi higher education is efficient or whether it is preferred, but also to identify the specific

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issues that accompany these QA approaches, and how people react to these issues. As such, the researcher wanted to identify the roots of the problems as perceived by individuals, so as to offer recommendations in an attempt to enhance the Saudi QA system, instead of simply determining whether something is successful.

Secondly, the researcher considered what Amaratunga et al. (2002: 19) state – that the qualitative approach “concentrates on words and observations to express reality and attempts to describe people in natural situations”. Similarly, Creswell (2007: 37) argues that qualitative researchers have a tendency towards collecting data in the environment where the phenomena are experienced by the participants, and not in a manufactured environment. This approach was sought after by the researcher, who aimed to capture the behaviours, intentions and beliefs of the participants in a natural setting. In addition, Creswell (2007: 39) indicates that “the research process for qualitative researchers is emergent”, thus several elements of the research can be subjected to change during the development of the study, including questions, forms of data collection, such as the number of participants interviewed. The purpose of qualitative research is to gather as much data as needed to become utmost informed about the subject and issues studies, which resonates with the general purpose of the researcher (Creswell, 2007: 39). In a similar manner, Charmaz (2006:14) describes qualitative research as a method that allows the researcher to add new pieces to the research puzzle or conjure new puzzles while gathering data, which can even occur later in the data analysis stage. Thus, the researcher also considered the flexibility of the qualitative approach when designing the research. As Maxwell (2012: 30) points out, qualitative research “has an inherent openness and flexibility that allows you to modify your design and focus during the research to pursue new discoveries and relationships”.

Furthermore, the researcher also considered her previous professional experience in educational evaluation in the women’s section of KAU, and has taken into account some of the negative opinions about the mechanics of evaluation, and the fears, hopes and obstacles that she encountered in her professional capacity at the university. Therefore, the researcher aimed to conduct a study that would help stakeholders, by promoting further studies on QA and the academic accreditation system, or to seek to repair and modify the current system. Due to the nature of this study, the research may also help the MoHE in KSA to see how the development of quality assurance systems can be further achieved.

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Lastly, given that quantitative research is overwhelmingly the choice in Saudi academia, it is possible that this research represents a new paradigm for a new community and network for qualitative research in KSA.

For these reasons, the researcher considered qualitative research design and therefore, qualitative data collection methods such as field enquiry, documentation analysis and interviews. The researcher was more concerned with obtaining precise perspectives of the informants by identifying themes associated with self-evaluation processes at the University. The approach was also considered appropriate as it provides a more in-depth view of the situation, which would not be possible if numerical data was considered. As such, the researcher was in a position to express the real perspectives of the participants, because there was room to be immersed in a prevailing situation and thus achieving a better level of interaction with the informants.