Questionnaires are usually used in descriptive and analytical surveys in order to find out facts,
opinions and views on what is happening: who, where, how many (Naoum, 2007:53). The current study adopted open-ended and closed-ended questions. Closed-ended questions, also called structured or multiple-choice questions contain specific, mutually exclusive response categories from which respondents choose a category that best fits their response (Fox &
Bayat, 2007:91). The questions used are phrased in such a way that respondents are directed to select an answer from among two or more specifically stated alternatives (Fox & Bayat, 2007:91). Open-ended questions are used to be enable the respondent to answer a question completely (Fellows & Liu, 2008:153).
Two questionnaires for female mentees (Appendix B) and one for mentors (Appendix C) were designed for the main study. Table 3.1 shows the questionnaire design used in the study. The questionnaires consisted of Section A in which information about the profile of the participants collected to fulfill Objective 3; Section B is on the influence of the psychosocial mentoring function to achieve Objective 1; in Section C information regarding the influence of the career mentoring function is collected to accomplish Objective 2. Section D accomplishes Objective 5 on the attitude of the mentors towards the mentorship of female mentees and Section E collects data on the indicators of successful mentorship of female mentees to achieve Objective 4.
Table 3.1: Questionnaire design
Section Section Title Objective to be achieved A Profile of the participants Objective 3 B The influence of psychosocial mentoring function Objective 1
C The influence of career mentoring function Objective 2
D The attitude of the mentor Objective 5 E Indicators of successful mentorship Objective 4
3.8.2. Interview protocol
In the qualitative approach, a multi-case study research was collected in the Western Cape province of South Africa by means of interviews. Stratified random sampling technique was applied to select three different types of organisations, such as a parastatal firm which is Company A; a contracting firm which is Company B, and a quantity surveying firm which is Company C. A purposive sampling technique was used to select seven female mentees who have graduated in construction courses in different levels of employment.
According to Naoum (2007:56), an interview is a technique used to collect accurate information and opinions. Information is collected by the researcher through different forms of interaction with people (Kumar, 2011:144). These interactions are usually face-to-face, between two or more individuals with a specific purpose in mind (Kumar, 2011:144). Furthermore, the questions asked should be relevant to the research hypothesis (Naoum, 2007:56). The following highlights the reasons for using the interview technique: It is used when the participants have similar characteristics (Naoum, 2007:56); the participants are usually well known and are asked important questions (Naoum, 2007:56); it is important for questions to be explained and described to the participants (Naoum, 2007:56).
Interview technique is used to obtain answers to questions of the research relating to details such as: how; when; what; why things happen the way they do (Naoum, 2007:56; Fellows & Liu, 2008:156). The current study investigated the following: how successful the mentorship of women in the construction industry is; when is the mentorship successful; what are the factors that are contributing to the successful mentorship of women.
Interview questions are usually open-ended (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010:184). For example, when the answer is ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘agree’, or ‘disagree’, the respondents are required to explain their answer or the feeling they have towards the answer (Naoum, 2007:56). There are three types of interview techniques: unstructured, semi-structured and structured (Naoum, 2007:56; Fellows &
Liu, 2008:157). Semi-structured interviews are applied in a qualitative approach (Bloor & Wood, 2006:104). The questionnaire guide, with questions, is prepared (Bloor & Wood, 2006:104), leaving time for further development of answers and includes more open-ended questions (Walliman, 2009:285).
Semi-structured interviews were used in the pilot study because there was limited information about mentorship of women in the South African construction industry from previous research.
Semi-structured interviews of female mentee participants were used to gain more insight about the study. The pilot study interview protocol shown in Appendix A consisted of Section A which was used in obtaining information regarding the profile of the participants; Section B was about the indicators of the successful mentorship; Section C concerned the career mentoring function;
Section D was about the psychosocial mentoring function; Section E was about the demographics of the mentor-mentee relationship which included gender, race and age; Section F concerned the mentor-mentee relationship; and Section G was about the attitude of the mentor towards the mentee.
In Section A, questions about the profile of the mentee were asked. What is the position of the mentee in the organisation? What are the positions that the mentees held during their working span in the construction industry? What is the period of their current position? Does the mentee have a mentor? What type of company does the mentee work for?
In Section B, questions regarding the identified indicators of successful mentorship were asked.
Mentees were asked: to rate their performance within the last five years of their working life on the job; whether they own their own businesses; whether they would like to own their own businesses – in order to know their entrepreneurial ability.
In Section C and D, the mentees were asked to rate the career and psychosocial mentoring functions they received from their mentors. This was done in order to establish which mentoring function the mentees found more useful. These sections were also used to establish which functions they lacked in their mentorship.
In Section E, questions were asked to determine whether the demographics of the mentor- mentee relationship influenced the successful mentorship of women. Questions were asked with regard to: the gender of the mentor; the race of the mentor; the age of the mentor; whether the mentor was younger, the same age or older than the mentee.
Section F examined whether the mentor-mentee relationship has an impact on the successful mentorship of women. Female mentees are asked to indicate the type of relationship they have been in and to explain how this influenced the success of the mentorship received.
Section G questions whether the attitude of the mentor towards the mentee has a positive impact on the successful mentorship of women. Participants are asked to indicate the option that best describes the attitude of their mentors. They are also asked whether the attitude of the mentor influences their mentorship, and in what way.