Aspectos diferenciales en las distintas áreas de desarrollo en el niño con

Data collection for this study included both primary and secondary sources. Appropriate research instruments were chosen to collect reliable data to answer the research questions. These were obtained from reading journals, which described suitable instruments for case study research. The research instruments used in this study were interviews and a document review. Interviews were used to generate primary data, and secondary data were obtained from a document review (Cooper & Schindler 2006). Interviews were conducted with four participants from each of the five PSOs (see Table 4.1), as well as the OCIA and the OAG because of their connection to the IAF. There were 22 interview respondents in total.

The OAG was involved in the interviews as the external auditor for the government of Rwanda (MINECOFIN 2006a; OAG 2017). Interviews were conducted at the organisations during office hours. The process of conducting interview sessions is expounded in Section 4.4.3. Ritchie and Lewis (2003) and Gillham (2000) described interviews as a managed verbal exchange, and Yin (2009) noted that interviews are the most important sources of case study information. Thus, interviews conducted with multiple participants require well-developed interview questions to help generate comparable data to answer the research questions.

4.3.1 Development of Interview Questions as a Research Instrument

Semi-structured interview questions were developed to generate in-depth data through the effective application of interview skills. The development of the interview questions was mainly guided by the research questions to generate the data required to understand how IAF achieves stakeholders’ expectations, as well as the factors that influence IAE in PSOs. The interview questions were designed in two parts. Part one was designed to generate data concerning stakeholders’ satisfaction, and part two was designed to generate data regarding the factors that influence IAE.

The use of semi-structured interview questions required the researcher to listen attentively (Clough & Nutbrown 2007), pause where necessary, generate probing questions from responses and prompt interviewees to talk more where necessary. The approach to interviews followed David and Sutton’s (2004) proposal of listing key

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themes and sub-questions in advance to create order from which to draw questions for unplanned encounters. Key themes proposed by David and Sutton (2004) were the concepts generated from the conceptual framework. Along with sub-questions, these concepts helped the researcher to stay focused on the research objectives during the interview sessions.

The trend of the interview session was flexible and allowed interviewees to speak freely. In most cases, this changed the order of the questions depending on the direction of the interview, and additional questions were asked to guide the interview and probe for more information. This helped the researcher to determine the order of generating information for the topic under investigation (Gray 2004; Lloyd & Hopkins 2015). Semi-structured interviews helped the researcher to maintain discretion regarding the issues, and they generated information that would not have been generated if the participants had been asked direct questions (Corbetta 2003; Lloyd & Hopkins 2015). Supplementary to the list of interview questions, the researcher asked sub-questions focusing on the concepts to probe for an in-depth understanding of the subject. The concepts that were generated were complementary to the sub-questions and supplemented the semi-structured interview questions. The concepts included a legal framework that establishes the public organisation, dependence affiliations, effect of bureaucracy, stakeholders’ satisfaction, professionalism, internal audit performance and IAE.

The interview questions were prepared in different sets for each group to enhance focus and consistency (see Appendix 2), and to maximise the time available. The first set of questions were for CEOs (set A), the second set was for audit committee members (set B), the third set was for heads of the IAF or internal auditors (where there was no fully flagged IA structure; set C) and the fourth set was for operational managers (auditees; set D). Two sets of interview questions were also designed for the OAG and OCIA. Thus, there were six sets of interview questions in total.

4.3.2 Interview Process

A list of questions was sent to each participant prior to the interview session to help them understand what to expect. After arriving at the participant’s organisation, the interviewee led the researcher to the pre-arranged place. The researcher was welcomed

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to the organisation and given an opportunity to provide an introduction. The researcher introduced herself and explained the purpose of the study and the interview process. Sufficient information about the study was provided, repeated what was written in the plain language statement, but did not ask the interview questions before the discussion begun. The researcher allowed the participant to ask questions for clarification. When the participant was satisfied and prepared to continue with the interview, the researcher asked the participant to sign the consent form. This exercise confirmed that the individual participants agreed to participate in the data collection process for that particular area.

The interviewer began by asking a question and allowing the participant to understand the aim of the interview before going into detail. The interviewer waited for the initial response without interrupting. She waited for the participant to answer the question in their own words, and she used encouraging body language. The interviewer requested examples or relevant documents to illustrate the participant’s responses by asking questions such as: ‘Can you tell me more about that?’ or ‘Can you give us an example from your own experience?’ and giving them time to think and talk.

After asking the questions, the interviewer asked the participant whether they had anything to add. Some participants added further information, and others did not. The interviewer was flexible, but at the same time strict with time. She thanked each participant and told them that the interview recordings would be transcribed and returned to them for approval. After concluding the interview, the interviewer shed light on how the data would be analysed and used, and she committed to providing feedback with the thesis report or papers that would arise from the study.

There were no language issues during the interviews; the interviewer and all participants understood English and the local language because the researcher had a similar background. This helped the researcher to establish a bond of respect and trust, which encouraged the interviewees to talk freely. This approach created a conducive atmosphere to generate in-depth data (David & Sutton 2004; Lloyd & Hopkins 2015); therefore, the interview process was successful.

64 4.3.3 Document Review

A document review was used as a complementary source of data. Table 4.2 shows the types of documents used, the objective of each document and its purpose in the analysis of the data generated.

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Table 4.2: Document Types, Objectives and Purposes

Document type Objective Purpose in the analytical framework

1. Internal audit

documents:

a) Audit reports

b) Activity reports

c) Internal audit plans,

programs and other working papers d) Feedback (audit committee, CEO, auditees and auditors) e) Minutes from several meetings (audit committee, CEO and auditors)

Document showed:

b) quality and quantity

prepared

c) scope of completed

tasks

d) scope and level of

planning activities

e) interactions and how

active they were

f) level of involvement

in IAF activities and how helpful they are towards achieving set goals

a), b) Examine scope, content of reports and format to assess whether they are easy for everyone to read and understand

c) Examine the level of planning

and how effective as compared with special assignments

d) Examine how comprehensive

the scope would be and compare with the reports to measure achievement.

e) Examine how useful is the

feedback from the superiors

f) Examine issues discussed

with audit committee, CEO and auditors

2. Organisational chart Establish the organisational

position of the IAFs within the organisations

Examine independence, authority and assess objectivity of the IAF

3. Constitution and the

organic law

Generate data on regulations of the IA profession in Rwanda

Examine legal support and government expectations

Correspondence between the IA unit and other functions

Collect data on decisions relevant to IA activities

Examine how the IAF is perceived and assess independence and objectivity

5. Internal audit charter and rules prepared by the Ministry of Finance and Economic

Planning for IADs

Collect data relevant to authority and responsibility of IA activity

Examine whether the function guides the responsibilities of the area in the provision of

independent internal audit services

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These documents were collected during interview sessions as evidence of some of the research participants’ responses. Research participants were willing to provide printed copies, but the researcher preferred soft copies for easy storage and retrieval. The participants sent the documents via email, which provided assurance of their security and validity.