Perhaps it’s time for a fresh approach to IS/IT gender research? - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 92

Main interviews
The eight main interviews took place in June and July 2002 and were conducted at
venues and times suitable to the participants. To maximise the level of comfort and in-
crease the likelihood of full, comprehensive and frank responses, the women taking part
were assured the interviews would be treated as confidential and no identifying inform-
ation would be incorporated into transcripts or subsequent analysis.
With the permission of the participants the interviews were tape recorded to enable the
researcher to capture the exchange with a high degree of accuracy. None of the parti-
cipants declined to have the interviews recorded. The intention, where the participants
indicated their willingness to do so, was that the transcripts would be provided to them
for checking. This approach was used to fulfil a validity test involving collaboration.

Interview transcription
Each interview was transcribed within 48 hours of completion. This was done to complete
the task while the memory of the researcher was still fresh, thereby reducing the risk
of error in the transcription should any words be indistinct on the tape. This approach
proved to be very successful with all but one of the tape recordings. The exceptional
recording was indistinct in parts due to high levels of background noise in combination
with a very softly spoken participant. Because the transcription was completed in a
timely manner the majority of data from this interview was recovered.

Data coding and analysis
The interviews were transcribed into Microsoft Word and then entered into an Excel
spreadsheet to facilitate the detailed breakdown of the data that qualitative analysis
demands. The aim of coding in qualitative analysis is to shatter the data and then manip-
ulate it into groupings that can be compared and regrouped (Maxwell, 1996). In coding
the data, a three-stage bottom-up coding process was adopted: open, axial and finally
selective.

Findings
The analysis and interpretation revealed three major themes in the data: supermum factor,
serendipity and culture . The major themes incorporated ten sub-themes, which are sum-
marised in Table 8.1.
Table 8.1. Research findings
Sub-themes Major themes

Supermum factor societal expectation; work-family balance; support

Serendipity skills; adaptive behaviour; outlook

Culture
Even though relationships were revealed both within themes and between themes, for
clarity and simplicity, each theme and the underlying sub-themes will now be presented
individually.
Support for the identified themes will be presented through use of quotations drawn
from the interview transcriptions. Due to the space limitations of this paper, the quota-
tions provided are usually just one example from among many alternatives available
from the findings. The use of quotations to support interpretation follows an established
technique used to demonstrate the validity of the findings (Whittemore et al., 2001). It
also provides the women participants a voice to examine, explain and explore the findings
(Broido and Manning, 2002).

paucity; definition; gender traits; distinction