Data analysis

The
collected
data
was
analyzed
in
order
to
answer
the
research
question.
The
researchers
 carried
out
a
practical
content
analysis,
based
on
elements
and
techniques
from
Grounded
 theory.
The
term
grounded
theory
is
sometimes
used
simply
to
imply
that
the
analyst
has
 grounded
his
or
her
theory
in
data
(Bryman
&
Bell;
2007;
p.585).
Furthermore,
there
is
 considerable
controversy
about
what
grounded
theory
is
and
entails
(Charmaz;
2000).


Researchers
sometimes
appear
to
use
just
one
or
two
features
of
grounded
theory
(Bryman


&
Bell;
2007).
The
researchers
therefore
carried
out
a
modified
version
of
grounded
theory,
 while
still
achieving
the
main
purpose,
which
is
to
infer
the
theory
out
of
the
data.
This
was
 done
by
coding
and
categorising
the
data.


The
data
was
categorised
in
order
to
organise
the
topics
presented
in
the
study,
help
find
a
 pattern
in
the
answers
and
develop
core
categories.
Coding
serves
as
a
short
hand
device
to
 label,
separate,
compile
and
organize
data
(Bryman
&
Bell;
2007).
However,
there
is
some
 criticism
towards
coding.
Not
all
information
can
be
labelled,
and
there
is
also
a
danger
of
 loosing
data
and
the
context
of
what
is
said
(Bryman
&
Bell;
2007).
The
analysis
was
 therefore
only
based
on
some
elements
of
coding.



In
order
to
develop
categories,
the
most
important
areas
were
chosen
from
the
topic
guide
 used
during
the
interviews,
as
well
as
from
topics
which
came
up
during
the
research.
The
 researchers
than
looked
for
patterns
and
areas
of
agreement
and
disagreement,
and
the
 reason
behind
the
phenomena.
Evidence
was
extracted
from
the
data
collected,
consisting
 of
the
transcribed
interviews,
in
the
form
of
illustrative
comments
and/or
quotes
which
 relate
to
the
topic.



Different
comments
from
different
people
were
identified
and
then
tagged,
in
a
sense
like
 coding.
Based
on
this
process,
core
categories
were
developed.
These
comments
were
then
 clustered
together
by
using
content
cards.
Concept
cards
were
used
to
identify
important
 concepts
in
the
data,
by
accumulating
events,
pieces
of
conversation
and
other
elements
 related
to
a
particular
theme,
and
categorising
them
together
under
a
label(Bryman
&
Bell;


587).

This
process
was
applied
to
the
chosen,
most
relevant
and
important
areas
of
 relevance
to
the
study.
The
same
approach
was
used
to
extract
information
and
evidence
 from
the
performed
customer
surveys.



5.2 Validity and reliability

The
most
prominent
criteria
for
the
evaluation
of
research
are
reliability
and
validity


(Bryman
&
Bell;
2007).
Reliability
is
fundamentally
concerned
with
issues
of
consistency
of
a
 measure
of
a
concept.
There
are
mainly
three
factors
involved
when
considering
whether
a
 measure
is
reliable;


1. Stability
over
time
 2. Internal
reliability
and


3. Inter‐observer
consistency,
relating
to
the
consistency
of
the
observers
decisions

 


In
other
words,
reliability
is
the
degree
to
which
the
findings
are
independent
of
accidental
 circumstances
in
the
research.
Validity
on
the
other
hand,
is
in
many
ways
the
most


important
criterion
of
research
(Bryman
&
Bell;
2007).
Validity
refers
to
the
issue
of
whether
 or
not
an
indicator
devised
to
measure
a
concept
really
measures
that
concept
(Bryman
&


Bell;
2007),
and
can
be
though
of
as
the
degree
to
which
the
findings
are
interpreted
 correctly.
The
validity
of
qualitative
research
lies
in
whether
the
information
and
the
 recommendations
made
by
the
researcher
are
sound,
defensible
and
of
use
to
the
client
 (Wright
&
Crimp;
2000).



A
number
of
measures
have
been
taken
to
ensure
validity
and
reliability
in
the
research.
The
 use
of
multiple
data
collection
methods
enabled
facilitation
of
the
core
research,
and


allowed
for
triangulation,
an
approach
which
allows
for
multiple
observers,
theoretical
 perspectives,
sources
of
data
and
methodologies
(Bryman
&
Bell,
2007:
Denzin;
1970).


Triangulation
was
conceptualized
by
Webb
et.
al
(1996)
as
an
approach
to
the
development
 of
measures
of
concepts,
whereby
more
than
one
method
is
employed,
resulting
in
greater
 confidence
in
the
findings
(Bryman
&
Bell;
2007).
Furthermore,
validity
was
increased
as
the
 interviewees
were
asked
the
same
set
of
questions,
while
allowing
time
for
follow‐up
 questions.


5.2 Research Limitations

The
researcher’s
presence
and
the
surroundings
might
produce
bias
responses
in
the
 interview
setting.
The
interviews
were
carried
out
by
two
and
two
researchers,
as
this
 allowed
for
the
person
conducting
the
interviews
to
focus
on
attentiveness
towards
the
 interviewee,
while
the
other
person
would
sit
in
the
background
and
take
extensive
notes.


This
ensured
that
the
natural
flow
of
the
conversation
was
not
disturbed.



The
interviews
were
carried
out
using
a
tape
recorder
to
ensure
that
no
information
was
 missed.
However,
the
presence
of
the
tape
recorder
could
also
have
negative
effects
in
 terms
of
making
the
interviewee
uneasy.
More
interesting
information
might
also
be
 revealed
when
it
is
turned
off.
However,
steps
were
taken
to
ensure
that
the
interviewee
 was
comfortable
with
the
tape
recorder
present.
To
ensure
this,
a
casual
conversation
was
 carried
out
before
the
interview
itself,
and
the
interviewee
was
ensured
that
the
interviews
 are
subject
to
strict
confidentiality.



5.3 Ethical
considerations


The
interviews
were
tape
recorded
in
order
to
ensure
that
no
data
was
lost.
In
order
to
 ensure
that
the
interviewees
agreed
to
participation
in
this
study,
they
were
made
aware
of
 the
tape
recorder
before
the
interview
itself,
to
which
they
agreed.
The
researchers
also
 informed
that
the
participation
in
the
study
was
subject
to
strict
confidentiality.
Names,
 store
names,
and
turnover
figures
are
therefore
held
strictly
confidential.



5.4 Conclusion


This
chapter
has
presented
the
research
strategy
and
methods
used
for
the
purpose
of
this
 study,
including
the
use
of
interviews
and
customer
surveys.
Furthermore,
validity
and
 reliability
have
been
established
through
research
triangulation.
The
following
chapter
will
 present
the
research
findings,
which
will
then
be
discussed
and
analyzed.