Chapter 3: Methodology
3.10 Validity and Reliability
93 through an interaction of these two. The primary source of data collection for the support dimension involved structured interviews with vice provosts of research, directors of student affairs, and deans of colleges. The complete list of deans interviewed and questions is shown in Appendix 1.
94 systematically grasp and relate concepts of internationalization of higher education at large and at the study site. The triangulation of data, including a questionnaire survey, individual interviews, document analysis, is intended to increase the level of accuracy of the findings. The data generated from the survey and interviews were confirmed by or examined for biases against information obtained from the documentation and observations. Lastly, the research instruments, including questionnaires and interview guides, were based on existing literature and studies conducted by known scholars in the field of internationalization of higher education.
External validity is concerned with the "problems of knowing whether a study's findings are generalizable" (Yin, 2003, p. 37). In this sense, external validity may be increased through the provision of a detailed description of (i) the phenomenon, (ii) the participants, and (iii) the context of the study. Each of these three ways of external validation is addressed in this study to ensure the grasp of the phenomenon is as comprehensive and accurate as possible. To this end, a detailed and in-depth description of the study's context (top UAE higher education institutions), the phenomenon (internationalization process), and research participants (administrators, faculty, and students) are provided. In addition, the results of this study are compared and related to the broader concepts of internationalization in the existing literature and previous studies, such as those of Knight (2008).
A test for reliability, i.e. "the extent to which one's findings can be replicated"
(Merriam and Tisdell, 2015, p. 250), is undertaken in this research study to reduce errors and biases and increase the quality of the study. Reliability lends itself to the idea that, if other investigators follow the same procedures and conduct the same case study, they will arrive at the same results and conclusions (Yin, 2003). The measures
95 taken in this research study to ensure reliability include: (i) the use of multiple sources of evidence (referred to as ‘triangulation’) of data; (ii) the thorough and in-depth description and explanation of the phenomenon under investigation and the study's context; (iii) a carefully-planned research design with systematic procedures of data collection and detailed research methods; and (iv) the use of research instruments based on previous studies by known scholars in the field. Moreover, statistically, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated to verify the reliability of items in the questionnaire. These measures were all employed to increase validity and reliability of the study.
In order to determine those factors considered relevant, a factor analysis, using rotation of components, was performed for both the faculty/admin and student questionnaires (Tables 6 and 7). Items that scored below 0.005 (six items) in the faculty/admin questionnaire were deemed as irrelevant. Complicated bureaucratic procedure, Lack of functional comprehensive strategy of internationalization, Lack of financial resources, Lack of human resources (appropriate skills and expertise), Lack of involvement and commitment to (internationalization of their institution) from institutional stakeholders, Lack of recognition and support from higher levels (ministry of education and national government) were the six items above mentioned. For the student questionnaire, one item “How would you rate the level of significance of internationalization at your institution” was scored low according to the factor analysis, as it was a standalone question. Therefore, it should not be removed from the questionnaire for future research
96 Table 6: Factor analysis of faculty/admin questionnaire (rotated component matrix)
Item Component
1 2 3 4
Internationalized student body and experience 0.034 -0.007 0.489 -0.119 Outbound /inbound mobility opportunities for faculty and
students
0.009 -0.055 0.544 0.026 International profile and experience of faculty 0.031 0.101 0.523 -0.130 International research collaboration 0.131 0.039 0.489 -0.006 International conferences and seminars -0.012 0.099 0.697 -0.034 International/intercultural curriculum 0.118 0.090 0.562 -0.063 Foreign language studies or courses in foreign languages 0.173 0.021 0.590 -0.002 Joint degrees with international universities 0.099 -0.005 0.526 0.139
A multicultural campus -0.016 0.062 0.578 -0.117
How would you rate the level of significance of Internationalization at your institution?
0.534 0.431 0.194 -0.033 To access new knowledge and technology 0.021 0.171 0.631 -0.066 To develop an innovative curriculum -0.040 0.089 0.745 0.014 To develop human resource capacity 0.078 0.137 0.622 -0.057 To diversify sources of income and financial support 0.122 0.051 0.585 0.181
To enhance academic quality -0.153 0.117 0.618 -0.144
To strengthen the institutional profile and reputation -0.008 0.142 0.578 -0.033 To establish networks and alliances 0.003 0.201 0.640 0.029 Creation of a globally homogenized curriculum -0.060 0.010 -0.017 0.662 Increased foreign ‘degree mills’ and low-quality education
providers
-0.069 -0.068 -0.005 0.692 Inequality of access to international education -0.057 -0.048 -0.044 0.663 Dependency on institutional partnerships 0.015 -0.025 -0.023 0.553 Loss of national identity and cultural values -0.064 0.059 -0.138 0.682 Overuse of foreign languages 0.100 -0.032 -0.130 0.671 Political incongruences/threats 0.024 -0.011 -0.151 0.607
97 Table 6: Factor analysis of faculty/admin questionnaire (rotated component matrix) (continued)
Item Component
1 2 3 4
Is there a policy on internationalization for the entire institution?
0.662 0.241 0.178 -0.065 Is there an office to oversee the implementation? 0.727 0.218 0.206 0.087 Is there a budgetary provision for implementation? 0.763 0.205 0.156 0.033 Is there a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess
progress?
0.748 0.266 0.196 0.072 Are there explicit targets and benchmarks used with regards
to policy?
0.759 0.203 0.255 0.138 Is an international dimension/component included in any
other institutional policy/strategic plans?
0.736 0.230 0.127 0.077 My institution has an internationalization implementation
strategy
0.739 0.347 0.173 0.012 Process of developing policies on international activities
(planning, evaluation, and assessment)
0.683 0.461 0.139 -0.002 Overall implementation strategy for internationalization of
higher education
0.675 0.431 0.137 0.015 Academic quality of international standards 0.345 0.575 0.044 -0.080
Acceptance of foreign students 0.498 0.560 0.078 0.025
International collaborative degree programs 0.389 0.532 0.167 0.220 International conferences and seminars 0.288 0.659 -0.020 0.077 International institutional agreements 0.326 0.622 0.118 0.108 International research collaboration 0.290 0.704 0.009 -0.007 International/intercultural campus events 0.401 0.556 0.092 0.059 International/intercultural curriculum 0.427 0.585 0.036 0.052 Outgoing mobility opportunities for students and staff 0.456 0.640 0.046 -0.034 Recruitment of foreign faculty and visiting professors 0.076 0.590 -0.079 -0.121 Internationalization has contributed positively to my
institution
0.153 0.665 0.190 -0.227 International standards of learning that lead to a globally
competent workforce
-0.036 0.732 0.261 -0.199 Experience and knowledge sharing that lead to improved
quality of teaching and learning
0.024 0.739 0.245 -0.087 Strengthened institutional research and knowledge production
capacity
0.009 0.734 0.309 -0.122
98 Table 6: Factor analysis of faculty/admin questionnaire (rotated component matrix) (continued)
Item Component
1 2 3 4
Enhanced international presence, brand profile, and better world rankings
0.160 0.720 0.168 -0.003 Commodification and commercialization of education
programs
-0.039 -0.066 -0.054 0.600 Quality assurance and accreditation are strategies for
university branding purposes only
-0.182 -0.056 -0.017 0.569 Difficulties of recognition and equivalences of qualifications,
study programs, and course credits
-0.245 -0.058 0.060 0.546
Brain drain 0.038 0.020 -0.011 0.638
Complicated bureaucratic procedure -0.500 -0.024 0.078 0.196 Lack of functional, comprehensive strategy of
internationalization
-0.692 -0.110 0.091 0.338
Lack of financial resources -0.483 0.031 0.155 0.373
Lack of human resources (appropriate skills and expertise) -0.557 -0.102 0.188 0.334 Lack of facility and material resources -0.501 -0.071 0.204 0.428 Lack of involvement and commitment to
(internationalization of their institution) from institutional stakeholders
-0.653 -0.119 0.206 0.386
Lack of recognition and support from higher levels (ministry of education and national government)
-0.573 -0.079 0.200 0.330 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization a. Rotation converged in 7 iterations.
99 Table 7: Factor analysis of student questionnaire (rotated component matrix)
Item Component
1 2 3 4
Internationalized student body and experience 0.547 0.037 0.002 0.154 Outbound /inbound mobility opportunities for faculty and
students 0.568 0.057 -0.010 0.022
International profile and experience of faculty 0.618 0.106 0.005 0.090 International research collaboration 0.601 0.093 0.062 0.046 International conferences and seminars 0.610 0.082 0.011 0.018 International/intercultural curriculum 0.675 0.113 -0.123 -0.051 Foreign language studies or courses in foreign languages 0.539 0.156 0.024 -0.172 Joint degrees with international universities 0.622 0.152 0.037 0.010
A multicultural campus 0.591 0.113 -0.115 0.044
How would you rate the level of significance of
internationalization at your institution? 0.355 0.352 -0.065 0.228 To access new knowledge and technology 0.632 0.108 0.055 0.174 To develop an innovative curriculum 0.686 0.071 0.002 0.098 To develop human resource capacity 0.666 0.077 0.085 0.150 To diversify sources of income and financial support 0.589 0.147 0.098 0.106
To enhance academic quality 0.681 0.065 0.019 0.235
To strengthen the institutional profile and reputation 0.580 0.116 0.032 0.173 To establish networks and alliances 0.610 0.114 -0.022 0.184 Creation of a globally homogenized curriculum -0.040 0.101 0.543 -0.101 Increased foreign ‘degree mills’ and low-quality education
providers 0.035 0.049 0.693 -0.077
Inequality of access to international education 0.053 -0.009 0.683 -0.091 Dependency on institutional partnerships 0.046 0.071 0.591 -0.116 Loss of national identity and cultural values -0.042 0.076 0.705 -0.127 Overuse of foreign languages -0.052 0.096 0.606 -0.134 Political incongruences/threats -0.006 0.018 0.708 -0.107 Academic quality of international standard 0.153 0.671 0.011 0.148 Acceptance of foreign students 0.077 0.564 -0.004 0.108
100 Table 7: Factor analysis of student questionnaire (rotated component matrix)
(continued)
Item Component
1 2 3 4
Facility and IT development 0.114 0.682 0.071 0.131
International collaborative degree programs 0.108 0.802 0.100 0.096 International conferences and seminars
0.140 0.763 -
0.003 0.087 International institutional agreements 0.164 0.800 0.012 0.106 International research collaboration 0.161 0.794 0.003 0.098 International/intercultural campus events 0.091 0.754 0.078 0.154 International/intercultural curriculum 0.154 0.794 0.041 0.088 Outgoing mobility opportunities for students and staff 0.110 0.756 0.036 0.100 Recruitment of foreign faculty and visiting professors 0.129 0.583 0.039 0.078 Internationalization has contributed positively to your
institution 0.252 0.278
-
0.156 0.563 International standards of learning that lead to a globally
competent workforce 0.304 0.255
-
0.060 0.686 Experience and knowledge sharing that lead to improved
quality of teaching and learning 0.319 0.239 0.004 0.729 Strengthened institutional research and knowledge
production capacity 0.334 0.218 0.010 0.712
Enhanced international presence, brand profile, and better
world rankings 0.308 0.249 0.060 0.662
Commodification and commercialization of education
programs 0.008 -0.043 0.624 0.207
Treatment of quality assurance and accreditation as strategies
for the university branding purposes only 0.028 -0.035 0.632 0.247 Difficulties of recognition and equivalences of qualifications,
study programs, and course credits 0.080 -0.063 0.655 0.171
Brain drain 0.003 0.003 0.642 0.136
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 5 iterations.
101