Globalization, democratization and knowledge production

3.5.3 Document analysis

In addition to the two data collection methods described above, I reviewed certain national policy documents and regional policies relating to higher education as noted earlier in chapter two. These documents were retrieved mainly from the national government document websites and from participants at the universities. I also studied institutional policy documents that may have relevance to my study, for example, policies on research development, incentives to academics and affirmative action. The document analysis assisted in the analysis of the data, especially in the areas of systems relations and regional networks with other institutions and communities.

3.5.4 ‘Walking the campus’ observations

During the pilot study, I became aware that we gain impressions from very mundane experiences that, in fact, have a profound bearing on our interpretation of the data. Fisher refers to this as “walking the campus” and asserts that this kind of ethnographic research can be the source of valuable data for the study (D. Fisher, personal communication, 18 October, 2002). Consequently, as I walked around the campus sites, from one interview appointment to another, I formed impressions of the physical context and culture of the organization, which provided me with rich insights into the institution and its people. In a very practical way learned about access to resources, facilities, especially library facilities, faculty offices, the management of resources, institutional culture, faculty access to administrative support, interactions between students, in particular, black and white students, interactions between academics and students, academics and management, students and administrators, predominant languages, public relations capacity and interface with community, attitudes of administrative staff, which academics enjoy more privileges, and so forth. I recorded any striking or relevant observations between the interviews or at the end of the day. These observations have proven valuable and complementary to my data analysis.

3.6 BIAS AND REFLEXIVITY

As mentioned earlier, all research is value laden and cannot claim to be objective and free of bias. My underlying assumptions recognize the existence of bias on the part of the researcher and hence my need to be aware of my own discursive history as a black South African woman. As argued by Simon and Dippo (1986), the issue is not whether one is ‘biased’ but rather whose interests are being served (p. 196). According to Simon and Dippo, the problematic begins with a focus on ordered sets of social practices (in my case, knowledge producing processes and research capacity), what particular groups of people (the researchers, senior managers and librarians), concretely situated in time and space (changes since 1994 at the three universities), consitute as their pattern of everyday life (their research) (1986, p. 197). I am interested in how existing power relations “structure how every day will be lived” at these universities, even as they respond to change (ibid.). In this sense, as mentioned above, the histories of these institutions and of the individual participants are an integral part of the explanations of the social practices I seek to analyse. Furthermore, my aim is not to merely “tell it like it is” but rather to challenge the assumptions and values of the discourse itself (Simon & Dippo, 1986, p. 200).

I believe that keen attention to rigour and remaining reflexive at all times have helped to keep my biases in perspective. It has involved awareness on my part that data are not “found” but “produced” (ibid.). On the other hand, this very bias may have been an advantage to my study. It has contributed to deeper understandings and has enabled me to analyse situations critically, so that I could probe responses to elicit additional information. It also afforded me greater insights as I analysed the data. In addition, black participants and female participants felt comfortable about sharing their experiences with me probably because I was a black woman.

Scholars often allude to the unequal power relations between the researcher and the researched based on an assumption that the researcher has power in terms of being the dominant “voice” asking questions and writing final reports (Carspeken, 1996; Cohen & Manion, 1989; Guba & Lincoln, 1989; Norton, 2000; Palys, 1997). In this study, however, the participants were mainly senior researchers themselves, many of whom were white and male, and who may have viewed themselves as being in a position of power in relation to me, as a black female graduate student. My previous work in policy negotiations (including my work on various committees of the university Councils, such as the planning, audit and honourary degrees committees and on institutional transformation forums), affirmative action, conflict resolution and organizational transformation, and my skills in human relations, negotiations and conflict resolution ensured that ‘power struggles’ did not emerge. The participants were magnanimous in sharing information and their valuable time with me. The pilot study was valuable in affording me the opportunity to establish relations of trust and mutual respect between the participants and myself (Carspeken, 1996). An advantage of this selection of participants is that they value research and understand the importance of completing the questionnaires and granting me the time to interview them.

3.7 LIMITATIONS AND ISSUES OF VALIDITY

The study was limited to an examination of the impact of managerialism/ entrepreneurialism and democracy, equity and socially relevant research on researchers and their research programmes at three South African universities, and to determine what measures may increase research capacity and access at these universities. As noted, the study was limited to the Eastern Cape, a province that is predominantly rural and not typical of larger industrialized centers, such as Johannesburg and Cape Town. Hence, the contexts of the University of the Witwatersrand or the University of Pretoria, for example, differ greatly from those of the universities selected herein. Furthermore, my study focuses on the experiences, views and perceptions of particular individuals at these universities, comprising academics, graduate students, librarians and senior managers/ policy makers.