RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.9 RESEARCH VIGOUR
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data using the questionnaire items from our focus group discussions; then themes were sought for; the fifth stage was review of the themes that emerged, which preceded defining and naming of the themes for subsequent reporting.
The stages of analysis outlined above provided data which answered Research Question One.
4.8.2 Phase II: Research Question Two
This phase addressed Research Question Two. Data for the second research question was analysed using the interface concept (Singh-Pillay, 2010). This was achieved through cross-analysis, whereby the themes that emerged from the analysis of data generated from policy documents, teachers, graduate cohorts and employers were juxtaposed for interface among the three stakeholders.
The final stage of analysis in this study involved the use of the theoretical framework to make sense of the data generated from findings of: policy
recommendations, teachers and graduates perception and employers requirements on employability skills which graduates of Technical Colleges needed to possess to be employed. More so, the framework was also used to ascertain the type of relationship that exists between the Technical College, industry and government.
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recommends, in conjunction, to address divergent views, different responses from participants in the group be checked for consensus. More so, to achieve internal validity, methods such as pattern matching, explanation building, logic models, or addressing conflicting descriptions are used. As stated by Amerson (2011, p. 428)
“construct validity can be achieved using several sources of evidence, sustaining an arrangement of proof, and having a key informant review the draft of the case study report or through member checking”. During the focus group discussions, I asked participants for clarity where there were divergent views in order to ascertain a consensus response which helped to achieve internal validity.
Construct validity was achieved through utilising several sources of evidence; all audio recorded interviews were kept safely and reviewed during analysis to avoid uncertainty.
Further, many researchers in qualitative research submit that to evaluate and ascertain the quality of a qualitative research work, terms such as trustworthiness, relevant, confirmable, credible dependability, transferability or plausible are used (Norman K. Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 24).
However, to ascertain the extent and how worthwhile my research will be, I have adopted credibility in place of validity.
4.9.2 Credibility
In other to ensure credibility of my study, there were detailed description of the settings, participants and themes of my study (Creswell & Miller, 2000, p. 128).
4.9.3 Triangulation
Triangulation is also a means of ensuring validity. It is done to increase credibility and check dependability and is accomplished by sourcing information from multiple sources to form themes (Creswell & Miller, 2000, p. 126). To prevent bias and improve
trustworthiness in this study, data were collected through document analysis, an open- ended questionnaire, one-on-one semi-structured interviews, and focus group
interviews.
71 4.10 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The involvement of humans in social science research generates room for the possibility of ethical issues (Burns, 2002). Ethics as defined by De Vos (2002, p. 75) is “a set of principles with widely accepted morale suggested by an individual or group; ethics offers rules and behavioural expectations to subjects, respondents, employees, sponsors, researchers, parents and learners”. Ethics centres on moral justification of doing the right or wrong thing when there is interaction with humans, animals or the environment and must be given due considerations at different stages in the research process (Miller
& Brewer, 2003). While dealing with participants in a study, the following
responsibilities should be assumed: the rights of participants taking part in the research, the rights of participants in data and publication, circumventing harm to participants, avoiding undue intrusion, interactive information and obtaining informed consent, rights to confidentiality and concealment, fair return for assistance (Laws, Harper, & Marcus, 2003).
4.10.1 Informed Consent
The rights of individuals (participants/respondent) taking part in a research study is expressed as informed consent, anonymity, privacy and confidentiality (Cohen et al., 2011). Informed consent entails that the participants taking part in a study must be have the legal and mental capability to accept taking part in a study, and also reserve the right to withdraw as and when they wish to, particularly when the purpose of the study is not clearly made known to the participants. In some cases, there could be deception
emanating from the refusal of the researcher to make known the purpose of the study to participants (De Vos & 2002).
In order to refrain from such challenges emanating from participants opting out half way through the study, I explained to the employers, educators and graduates of Technical Colleges the purpose of my study. The idea of inducement of any kind to participants was highly discouraged in order to avoid bias in the information provided by participants of my study.
72 4.10.2 Ethical dilemmas
The use of or analysis of documents in a study could pose some challenges to the researcher; this is because the analysis of some documents could result in a stigmatised reputational damage to an institution of agency, and the researcher could face societal discrimination as a result (McCulloch, 2004). However, McCulloch (2004)) opined that such researchers were seen as broadcasters because every organisation would always improve on their unsafe practices. Having this in mind, I knew that the documents analysed in this study were not produced by the participants who gave me access to it, and as such it called for high morale ethics which was also taken care of. Besides, as an educator that has served for some years with experience, the ethics of the teaching profession was applied; this allowed participants the freedom of participation without being compelled. All these were achieved when I issued an informed consent to the principal of Government Technical College, Ahoada, Rivers State, Nigeria seeking permission to conduct research at the Technical College, and the educators who participated in the study, who all then granted me their consent.
Consequent upon the considerations presented above I put in place all ethical measures in order to cushion challenges arising from research ethics. In line with the institution‟s research ethics, before I proceeded to the field for data collection I applied for ethical clearance from the University of KwaZulu-Natal Research Ethics Committee which was subsequently granted on the 30th of January, 2014.