Analysing data involves a process of systematically organising, integrating and examining the findings of the study in ways that provide a better understanding of the focus of inquiry
(Neuman, 2011: 507). In choosing a methodology for data analysis, it is important to have a clear understanding of the complexity of the research questions as well as the objectives of the study which will determine the type of analysis to be adopted (De Vaus, 2001: 203). The main focus of this study is on a contextual analysis of the information literacy skills and practices of aspirant barristers in Nigeria. Chapter one section 1.4 outlined the research questions and objectives of this study, namely:
Objectives 1: (the big picture)
a. To explore the connection between formal legal education and work related information literacy knowledge, skills and practices.
b. To examine changes in the curriculum of the Nigerian Law School and its response to these changes with respect to legal information literacy instruction.
Question 1:
1.1. What is the role of formal legal education in facilitating an information literate work force in the legal profession?
1.2. To what extent do the professional legal skills outlined in the MacCrate Report of the American Bar Association (1992) reflect the expectations of information literacy in developing skill competencies for legal practice in Nigeria?
1.3. What is the responsibility of the Nigerian Law School in increasing the efficiency with which aspirant barristers develop professional expertise in the legal workplace?
1.4. What are the changes to the curriculum of the Nigerian Law School and what has been their response to these changes with respect to legal information literacy instruction?
1.5. What are the information literacy skill demands for legal practice required for aspirant barristers in Nigeria?
1.6. How have changes in current legal practice affected problems of skills deficiency in the workplace in Nigeria?
Objectives 2: (IL knowledge, skills and practices in the workplace)
a. To examine evidence of information literacy related practices in the legal workplace in Nigeria.
b. To examine the application of Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) model to the context of legal education and practice in Nigeria.
Question 2:
2.1 How do the stages of the ISP model illustrate the process of developing expertise in legal practice?
2.2 To what extent do the components of information literacy, as put forward in Kuhlthau’s ISP model, reflect the ideal concept of knowledge and skills required for legal practice in Nigeria?
2.3. What is the nature of uncertainty experienced by the aspirant barristers in the course of information seeking and use?
2.4. How do the aspirant barristers’ information seeking practices at the formulation stage reflect the nature of their information needs in complex tasks and their perception of legal practice in the context of the workplace in Nigeria?
Objectives 3: (relationship between legal education and practice)
a. To identify the extent to which professional legal training by the Nigerian Law School equips aspirant barristers with competencies for the legal workplace.
b. To assess the level of transferability of professional legal training to the workplace in Nigeria.
c. To investigate outcomes of information literacy training in relation to current legal practice.
d. To identify a means whereby collaborative work between legal practitioners and the Nigerian Law School can facilitate skills training and development of the legal profession.
Question 3:
3.1 What workplace competencies are required by Nigerian law firms and are these being met by current legal education?
3.2. To what extent are knowledge, skills and competencies of formal legal education transferred to the workplace?
3.3. What should the nature of an IL curriculum be in order to ensure that legal education is fully relevant and transferable to the workplace?
3.4. What kind of collaboration is needed between the various players in legal education and practice in order to promote the development of competency skills among aspirant barristers?
These research questions and objectives informed the formulation and organisation of the
research instrument and the sources of data that were employed for the data collection process of the study (See appendix 4 and 5).
5.1.1. Method of analysis and presentation
In analysing the data, SPSS version 18 was used for the quantitative data after a process of cleaning and coding by assigning numerical values to each batch of data. This process enabled the researcher to identify and minimise errors, incompleteness, misclassification and gaps in the information obtained from respondents (Kumar, 2005: 220-221). Categories were then created to enable the data to be compared and inter-related in order to produce a more encompassing analysis. Consequently, the format of the two research instruments which contained various
sections aimed at addressing specific sets of questions was used as a guideline for developing the categories for the analysis of the data. The categories include:
Aspirant barristers’ questionnaire Category 1: Demographic information.
Category 2: Educational background.
Category 3: Skills acquired at university and level of application.
Category 4: Perception of the importance of legal skills training of aspirant barristers during the attachment.
Category 5: Employment related section - experience in legal practice and task complexity in legal work.
Law firms’ questionnaire
Category 1: Organisational structure.
Category 2: Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Category 3: Legal education and legal practice in Nigeria.
Quantitative data for the aspirant barristers are covered in sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and parts of section 5 of the research instrument; while for the law firms, quantitative data is covered in sections 1, 2 and parts of section 3. Descriptive statistics were used in this study for the analysis of
frequencies and percentages and to analyse the significance of data and results. The data is presented using tables. In the presentation, percentages were rounded to one decimal place for easy comprehension.
For the qualitative data, a descriptive approach was employed by which themes and patterns that emerged from the data were used to address the research questions. This process was carried out by examining the responses to the questionnaire and integrating them into the analysis. Verbatim responses were also included in the discussion where appropriate (Kumar, 2005: 223).
Qualitative data in the research instrument include parts of section 5 in the questionnaire for aspirant barristers and parts of section 3 in the questionnaire for the law firms. Qualitative analysis was also used in analysing the reflective journals produced by the aspirant barristers;
responses to this data are presented separately.
The analyses for both quantitative and qualitative data are presented in two phases, phase 1 (aspirant barristers) and phase 2 (law firms). Where applicable, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in the analysis of the two data sets. This process enabled the researcher to link related aspects of the research questions to the data from both types of method thereby facilitating a better understanding of the issues in context (Ngulube, Mokwatlo & Ndwandwe, 2009: 107).