Study data and methodology approaches

This study is comprised of two vertical case studies of Saudi and German accreditation systems. In order to collect the empirical study data in the vertical and horizontal axes, two different methodological approaches were used: documents analysis and expert interviews.

These are described in detail below.

4.10.1 Documents review

According to Creswell (2005), documents are considered to be a valuable source of information in qualitative research. They are one of the most well-known sources that provide an effective means to help the researcher in exploring the meaning and the different aspects regarding a research phenomenon (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In this study the origin of the idea

98

of quality assurance and accreditation practices in each system will be traced and the conditions and different actors of the formation processes will be analyzed at the three levels of the phenomenon. Attention was paid to selecting and reviewing documents that would provide a clear description for the vertical case study of the research process at its three levels.

These documents provided information on policy formation regarding quality assurance and accreditation system at the international level, its different actors and conditions, the reasons behind their adoption, and how they were established and improved in their current form at the national level as well as the current quality assurance and accreditation systems in both countries.

The documents reviewed in this stage consist of international declarations, governmental resolutions, and national agency guides and handbooks relating to the topic of quality assurance and accreditation. This research includes three levels of documents analysis:

international, national, and organizational. In general, for each document, an explanation for its context, background on motivations or conditions impacting its formation, and whether it was in response to another meeting’s document or report on a specific issue are provided.

For the international level, with reference to the theoretical framework of the study, this stage of document analysis identifies which international organizations have a direct effect on the adoption of quality assurance and accreditation practices in Saudi and German higher education institutions. Then their main documents containing recommendations and models for nations in this concern are analyzed to identify the actors and main conditions of this policy formation of these practices. The source of the documents of this stage are UNESCO, the OECD, CHEA, The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education INQAAHE, the EU, the European Council of Ministers, ENQA, and the Arab Conference of Higher Education Ministers.

At the national level, considering the research theoretical framework, in this stage of documents analysis includes selection of national documents in which quality assurance and accreditation ideas in the policy making area first appear as well as selection of the first national resolutions and documents for the adoption of quality assurance and accreditation practices. Finally, national agencies’ documents and handbooks for the current procedures are

99

analyzed. At this level, documents from the Saudi Ministry of Education, National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA), Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz) (KMK), German Rectors’ Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz) (HRK), and Accreditation Council (Akkreditierungsrat) are used as sources.

For the organizational level, the research examines the internal quality assurance and accreditation system of Tuebingen University as the organizational unit to explore how these practices were implemented at this level. Reports and documents from Tuebingen University are reviewed to accomplish this.

In the German context, there is no single source for the documents that meet the needs of this study’s questions with regard to education policy formation. The German documents include government declarations and government announcements of actions. In the Saudi context, national development plans and national record for higher education are chosen.

4.10.2 Interviews

Qualitative research interviews aim to provide more understanding of the different matters of daily life from the concerned persons’ points of view and experiences. In the case of this study, they also aim to explore different aspects of the accreditation adoption process from experts who have been personally involved in it. This was done by asking semi-structured questions on certain topics in line with the interview guide, which contains some prepared questions. The conversation was recorded transcribed, and then subjected to interpretation and analysis (Kvale, 1996).

Interviewing expert people in key positions at the NCAAA, the German Accreditation Council and at accreditation agencies and universities’ quality assurance deans in some Saudi and German universities represents the second methodology approach in this research. This step attempts to gain more clarification of documents or add additional information which was not included in the documents. By using the interviews, each interviewee’s opinion on the origin of accreditation in the system is explored, including his point of view on the reasons of its adoption and conditions that affected it.

100

Based on each interviewee’s own experience, ways this system was improved are identified. Understanding the timeline and development of events from the actors’ points of view was a focus. As well as, the organizational level of adoption: the requirements, problems and benefits will be investigated through the interviews. To complement the documents’ data, interviews were conducted with key members in the policymaking process. Six Saudi experts from the national level (NCAAA) and from the organizational level of universities, selected due to their long experience playing an important role in the formation process of the accreditation system in the Saudi higher education sector, were interviewed. Three German experts were interviewed. They were selected from three different levels: the national level represented by a member with one of the longest experiences in the German Accreditation Council, the agencies level represented by an expert from Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute –AQUIN, and the organizational level represented by the head of the Center of Quality Assurance at Tuebingen University.

Analysis of the interviews was integral to provide a complete image about the policy formation. First, they permitted questions about daily life and their own personal experiences, lacking in the documents. Second, they candidly offered their own opinions and points of view in a way that official documents did not. Third, and of particular importance, the interviews illustrated the controversies at play in the process of policy formation.

4.10.2.1 The use of interviews

Using the interview method to obtain information is a feature of the current era, and its societies are described as interview society (Atkinson & Silverman, 1997). According to Denzin and Lincoln (2013), an interview is an interaction of negotiation. Therefore, an interview concentrates on working to create an image of order in daily life.

The aim of using the interview method in this study is to collect information and enquiry and explain information from literature about the adoption processes of accreditation (e.g., the reasons and conditions of this adoption and how it was improved in each country) from experts who were involved at least in part of these reforms and adoptions. This allows meanings to be checked and topics to be investigated more deeply. In addition, people in key positions are the best resources for the information sought in this research. Any other method, such as a written

101

survey administered widely, would not obtain the desired information in the same way as the interview method. Moreover, interviews include two-way communication and provide the possibility to ask supplementary questions to clarify or inquire about some interviewees’

statements or answers (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000).

One of the most important advantages of the interview method is the rate and quality of participants’ responses (Oppenheim, 1992). The experts’ participation in a verbal way in this method as compared to the other methods such as a standard survey questionnaire plays a big role in their response. Interview provides access to more information about the subject of the study and enables handling more difficult and open-ended questions.

4.10.2.2 Interview process in Saudi Arabia

This process took place in Riyadh during the time between August and December 2015.

At the beginning, the Assistant Secretary General for Quality & Accreditation of NCAAA was contacted and told about the research and my desire to interview experts in the area of the Saudi accreditation system in different positions and levels. Then he provided a list of suggested names and contact data. From this list, four experts within NQAAA in the group with the longest experience in this system were selected. In addition, four quality assurance deans in different universities were chosen and contacted. It was only possible to interview two of them.

4.10.2.3 Interview process in Germany

The process of interviewing German experts went differently than in Saudi Arabia. The interviews took place in Tuebingen, Bonn, and Bayreuth.

All of the interviews were conducted face to face in each interviewee’s office in Riyadh, Tübingen, Bonn and Bayreuth. The interviews were taped, and some notes were taken during the interviews and later.

This chapter has established the theory and methods in relation to the study questions.

These questions will be answered in the next chapter, in which the empirical study is applied in line with the previously discussed theory and using the methods laid out in this chapter.

102

Chapter 5