Descripción del trabajo

The primary data collection strategy employed in this research deemed the most suitable tool was the semi-structured interview. According to Collis and Hussey (2003), the use of the interpretive inductive approach focuses on the quality, depth and the richness of data that can be collected. This thus assists the researcher to produce useful information so as to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the participants’ views or situation in a more systematic way, as well as to bring forth interesting areas for further investigation. The researcher will then be able to explore further certain issues that may arise during the interviews in greater depth (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The aim of the exploratory primary data collection was to gain an up-to-date knowledge on the relevant issues on local regeneration partnerships in Nigeria, information relating to the implications of the collaboration elements (mutual interdependence, trust, transparency and accountability) on the collaboration processes in partnership working. The researcher used the themes which arose from the secondary data collection, explicitly from the academic literature, government reports, and reports on the partnership to frame the interview questions. The use of qualitative, interpretive inductive approach entails focus on the quality, depth and the richness of data that can be collected (Collis and Hussey, 2003). To aid the data gathering, an interview schedule was developed.

119 4.7.1 Development of the interview schedule

The interview schedule consisted of a set of semi-structured interview questions that were developed to assist in structuring the interview process and to guide the direction of the discussions with the participants. The semi-structured interviews are usually non-standardised and the questions are normally open ended to encourage the participants to express their views more broadly and to elaborate better on the issues raised by the researcher (Denscombe, 2010). The researcher usually has a list of themes and key questions to be covered, however, the themes and questions covered and the order of questions could vary from interview to interview depending on specific organisational context and the flow of the conversation (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012). This interview approach clearly differs from structured interviews that entail having tight control over the wordings of the questions and answers and the order in which the questions occur. Structured interviews are referred to as quantitative research interview, hence used to collect quantifiable data (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012; Denscombe, 2010).

In this research, the interview schedule was initially tested during the pilot study before the commencement of the main data collection. The findings from the pilot study served as a guide to redefine and restructure the interview schedule. The questions were carefully framed to avoid ambiguity and were open ended questions. The questions were arranged into three categories: the introductory questions, the questions that addressed the research aim and objectives and then the concluding questions. A member of the researcher’s supervisory team offered feedback on the interview schedule before the commencement of the pilot study. The pilot study also offered the opportunity to check if participants understood the questions and to assess the depth of the research inquiry.

The researcher did not follow a rigid sequence in asking the questions in the interview schedule, the sequence was either based on the order they were structured in the schedule, the flow of the discussions with the participants or based on the specific involvement of the participants in the partnership arrangements. In addition, the order of asking the questions became flexible as the data collection progressed to allow some questions that arose from the interviews to be asked.

120 4.7.2 Primary data collection

Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews during two field visits. The data was collected primarily from experts from four partner type organisations (private development organisations, government institutions, consultancy and advisory institutions and the funding institutions). The interviews also provided the researcher with an opportunity to gain more personal insights into the participants’ perceptions and their interpretations of the construction of reality. A total of 42 interviews were conducted for the research. The type of questions asked is linked to the interpretivist paradigm as they required detailed exploration and explanation of the context within which the phenomenon exists.

4.7.3 Making initial contact

The researcher made initial contact with the organisations through emails and to state the nature of interview request. Subsequent contacts were either made through emails or by phone calls prior to a formal meeting. When the request for interviews are granted, the participant information sheet was then sent to the participants. Six of the participants requested for further information about the nature of the research to which the researcher responded. Within the context of the Nigerian culture, the concept of booking interview appointments, for instance, a few months in advance is not common practice. Making appointments with the participants thus proved to be a bit of a challenge; the researcher was often told “Do call me when you are in the country to schedule a meeting”, so most of the appointments were made within the first couple of weeks of the researcher’s arrival to the country. Another practicality was the importance attached to building strong working relationships and personal networks. While the researcher started off with purposive sampling, networking and recommendation from the initial participants facilitated contacts to be made with other potential participants.

4.7.4 Conducting the interviews

Before the commencement of each interview, the researcher established rapport by making some general conversations. Taking ethical considerations into account, digital recording of the interviews only occurred when consent was given. This was

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then backed up to security protected storage devices to ensure participants confidentiality. Where consent was not given, the researcher took down some notes while the interview was being conducted, notes were also taken during interviews with given consents.

To initiate the commencement of the interview, introductory questions were always asked. The first couple of questions were: (a) ‘Could you kindly introduce yourself?’ (b) ‘Could you tell me about the local regeneration partnership? (s) you are currently involved in?’ The depth of answering each question was dependent on the participants, as they were allowed to go into as much detail has they could on the questions asked and on the issues they considered to be important in answering the questions. While the researcher assumed a passive role, probing questions were asked when necessary in terms of clarification of statements made or to encourage the participant to offer more information.

The interviews were conducted in two geographically areas in Nigeria, Lagos in the South-Western part and Abuja in the central part of the country. The exploratory phase of the data collection took place between March and April 2014 as discussed in (section 4.6.1). The main data collection from four cases was conducted between October 2014 and January 2015, during which the researcher conducted 28 interviews. The length of the interviews was dependent on the time the participant had available, usually between 40 to 90 minutes. A total of 42 interviews were conducted at the end of the data collection period and these took place mainly at the business premises of the participants. On one occasion however, a participant from the Gamma District Partnership requested to meet at a convenient venue (at a snack bar), this was because the participant was on leave from work at the time and it was more convenient to meet up there. There were follow-up interviews with four of the participants from the pilot study (the managing director, transaction advisory institution; private sector specialist, funding institution B; director, regulatory commission and the team leader, core infrastructure) during the main data collection. The emerging themes and issues were shared with these participants for the purpose of verifying, disconfirming or elaborating on the initial findings. At the end of each interview, the researcher reflected on the issues that emanated from the interviews and the perceptions of the

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participants. The aim of this was to improve the interview technique for the next interview or to find more about an issue that might have newly come up.

4.7.5 Interview transcription

The researcher could not fully transcribe the entire interviews while on the field due to the tight time schedule for the data collection. However, the researcher replayed the interviews and made notes of the emerging themes to have an overview of the data collected and to identify areas that needed further clarification that could be revisited in subsequent interviews. The transcribing of the interviews took place between February and April 2015. After an initial transcription of the interviews, the researcher listened to the tapes again to ensure accuracy and high quality transcripts. Listening to the recording more than once, served to enrich the researcher’s interpretation of the evidence. The transcripts of the interviews and the notes taking during the interviews allowed an in-depth and accurate understanding of the discussions with the participants.