CHAPTER FIVE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.0 Introduction The researcher has carried out the case study using quantitative and qualitative data. Research, Robson claims, is carried out systematically, skeptically and ethically (Hart, 2005, p.197). This descriptive research deals with a particular phenomenon at a certain time, explicitly a rapport between information and the managers of the DFCC Bank. The Questionnaire survey and the interviews were carried out during the year 2009 to 2010. Qualitative and quantitative data was obtained for the research analysis. 5.1 Methodology Approval for research involving DFCC Bank managers was obtained from the DFCC Bank Management. There were 3 principle stages for the completion of the research and the research instruments were a questionnaire which contributed to the quantitative analysis and an interview which contributed to obtain qualitative data. A pilot research with a few managers of the DFCC Bank Head Office, using a brief questionnaire was completed. The researcher made use of her observations of the information needs and information seeking behavior of the DFCC Bank managers during her training period at the DFCC Bank Library. This was in order obtain a clear view about the problems that the managers had when meeting their information needs. This revealed the existence of the research problem and the outcome was the need for further investigation to identify the problem in detail which created a pathway for the research proper. Consequently, the researcher determined the ways of healthy information seeking behavior patterns for managers of the DFCC Bank and their most needed information types, information sources and information services which 86

undermine the obstacles faced by DFCC bank managers when meeting their information needs. 5.2 Population and the Selection of Sample The research deals with the managers in the grades of, the Project Executives, Senior Project Executives, Assistant Vice Presidents, and Vice Presidents of the DFCC Bank. All these grades involved managerial activities at the DFCC Bank such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting (Gulick, 1937, cited in 12 Manage, 2010) Their designations were Assistant relationship managers, Relationship Managers, Senior Dealers, Legal Officers, Brand Managers, Assistant Brand Managers, Database administrators and apart from those certain strata from the management team whose grades were AVP and VPs were selected. For the purpose of selecting the participants for the study the whole population was selected. This was due to the fact that there were only 172 managers who belonged to the above grades in the Bank and as it was necessary to have sound representation of cases from all the departments namely; Audit, Corporate Communications, Finance, Human Resource and Special Loan Administration, Information Technology, Risk Management, Legal and Secretarial, Lending, Operations, Project Management, and Treasury (See Table 1). The information on the grades, and departments of the respondents was obtained through the DFCC Bank Human Resources Division and DFCC Bank Annual Report. Specifically the researcher obtained a list of the names of the managers who were taken as the population giving their respective designations, Business Divisions, Geographical location their working, from the Human Resources Division. Consequently, this contributed to the reliability of the research as well assisting to carry out the study systematically. Informed consent and treating information given by the respondents as confidential were factors observed by the researcher

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Business division Lending Human resources

Number of managers 116 and 13 05 04 06 10 05 02 03 03 05

percentage 67.44% 7.56% 2.91% 2.33% 3.49% 5.81% 2.91% 1.16% 1.74% 1.74% 2.91% 100.00%

special loan administration Treasury Finance Risk Management Operations Information Technology Legal and Secretarial Audit Corporate Communications Project Management

Total 172 Table 1 Distribution of the population by division 5.3 Case Study 5.3.1 Data Collection

Secondary data about the population namely the business divisions, geographical locations there are working, designation and number of research participants were obtained from the Human Resources Division of the DFCC Bank. In order to collect primary data, a questionnaire was distributed in October 2009 to all the group of managers at the DFCC Bank Head Office, Colombo Office and the branch offices in Anuradhapura, Badulla, Bandarawela, Galle, Kalutara, Gampaha Nawala, Malabe, Kurunegala, Kaduruwala, Galle, Kandy, and Matara. The questionnaires to the managers in the Head Office and Colombo Office were distributed with the help of the DFCC Bank Head office mail room staff and their official messengers, while the researcher distributed the other questionnaires to the branches by mail. All replies were received by post. Interviews were carried out in order to obtain qualitative data with a few managers For the purpose of the formulating the questionnaires, research interview, introduction, objectives, significance of the study, statement of the study, literature review, conceptual model, concepts and definitions, methodology, analysis, 88

discussion, conclusion and recommendations, the researcher also used information sources such as books on DFCC Bank, annual reports of the DFCC Bank, websites, scholarly electronic and paper based journals and news paper articles, a document and certain clarifications from the HR Division of the DFCC Bank. Apart from that the researcher had an interview with an eminent banker. In the Chapter 1 of this study, the bank managers were generally divided to 2 basic sections; For the purpose of categorizing the DFCC Bank managers the researcher, divided the DFCC Bank managers into 3 categories. They are managers whose work roles are mainly connected to the external environment of the Bank, managers whose work roles are mainly concerned with the internal processes of the bank and managers of the Human Resources and Special Loans Administration Division. This was due to the fact that Human Resources Division was mainly concerned with the internal processes of the bank while Special Loans Administration Division was mainly connected to the external environment of the bank 5.3.1.1 Stage 1 Pilot Research The pilot research which included both observation and a questionnaire revealed that the DFCC managers were only moderately satisfied in the fulfillment of their information needs. The managers used their corporate libraries, other external libraries, conferences, formal and informal meetings, workshops and seminars local and abroad. This in turn reinforced their awareness of the importance of information and its necessity to perform their work. The usage of information types such as financial data, external and internal customers, business trends, products and services, market information, political and economic information and information sources, and information services had a positive impact on the fulfillment of their information needs. It is note worthy to indicate that their satisfaction level was only 89

moderate and the pilot research showed that a systematic, fact finding research is appropriate for further investigations. 5.3.1.2. Stage Two Questionnaire Survey Inevitably, if scattered or large numbers of users are being surveyed and resources limited, then time dictates the use of questionnaires (Nicholas, 1996, p.45). First the research objectives and research questions were established. The information gathered through the literature review further helped in formulating the research instrument which was a structured questionnaire with a few open ended questions. In order to increase the response rate, simple language was used and the researcher constructed the questionnaire in such a way that when pretesting the questionnaire with several managers it took less than 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire within one session. When posting the questionnaire under registered cover to the managers to collect data the researcher sent a stamped self addressed envelope to all the respondents for their convenience as they had a busy schedule. In the cover letter sent to the managers with the questionnaire the researcher indicated the purpose of the research and its importance and the potential value to the respondents. Furthermore, the researcher assured the respondents of the confidentiality which would be maintained with regard to the data collected from the respondents. The questionnaires were sent to the 172 managers at the DFCC Bank. Through follow up calls the researcher reminded the respondent to reply. Respondents were given 2 and half weeks to answer and reply the questionnaires to the researcher. Researcher received 112 responses. 4 out of 112 replies were not compatible for the purpose of data analysis. Thus they were not used for analysis.(See Appendix 2) The 11 Main Sections of the Questionnaire Section 1 -The demographic details of the respondents. 90

It dealt with gender, educational qualifications and they were closed ended structured questions and nominal data was gathered. The question related to the age group was a categorical data yielding question in that section. The questions with regard to professional qualifications, and the time period that the respondents worked at the DFCC Bank were open ended. Section 2 -Data related to the organizational information and its connectivity with the managers. It dealt with grades of the managers, divisions they worked in, and both questions were close ended. These questions were constructed by gathering information from the DFCC Annual report and the DFCC Bank Human Resources Division. First two sections provided and introduction to the managers of the DFCC Bank and it helped the screening process. Sections 3 to 11 were the main data yielding sections where the questions were in compliance with the objectives and the research questions of the study. Sections 3 to section 7 had questions which had free choice which helped to gather nominal data and ranking question were also included. The study, Managers perception of information management and the role of information and knowledge managers: The Malaysian perspective (Karim and Hussein, 2008) was used as a guideline for the formulation of section 4 and 5 of the questionnaire. Section 3- Managers access to information: it had a question with multiple options as answers. This questions was formulated by following the questionnaire of the masters degree research namely A Study to Determine the Usage of Information by Financiers of Micro Enterprises in Sri Lanka (Weerasinghe, 2002). Section 4 -Information types needed by the DFCC Bank Managers and the three most important information types needed by each of the Managers. 91

1st part of the section 4 comprised of a question which had a multiple options as responses which helped in yielding nominal data and it was close ended. This was a slight modification of the question in the study by Karim and Hussein (2008). The second question was related to ranking of 3 most important information types according to the order of importance. This was formulated in order to identify the most important information types needed by managers of the DFCC Bank. The section 5- Information sources used by the managers In this section information sources were divided in to 3 categories explicitly as, external non institutional information sources, external institutional information sources and internal sources. The study by Weerasinghe (2002) and the study namely, Sources of Information, Formal and Informal (Kaye, 1995) functioned as the guidelines for the constructing of this question. It is note worthy to indicate that Kaye (1995) has categorized management information systems/decision support systems/ executive information systems, and office automation systems as types of internal information sources. Thus they are also included in the questionnaire in the internal information sources section. The researcher has instructed the respondents to rank the information sources according to the order of importance the first three most important information sources from each category. This as a result helped to reach the conclusions regarding most wanted sources for the organizational managerial activities. Furthermore the researcher was able to categorize most important information sources to the managers of the Business Divisions and recommend on maximizing the facilitation of access to information types needed by managers principally through these information sources. Section 6- Data related to information services needed by the managers. The researcher formulated this specific question in order identify the suitability of information service audit to the DFCC Bank managers. The respondents were 92

provided once again with a multiple choice questions and it was in order to yield nominal data. Instructions were once again given to rank the first 3 most important information services needed by the managers.

Section 7 -Problems related to accessing information faced by managers when carrying out their managerial duties. This was a question with multiple options given to the respondents. The goal of the researcher by constructing this question was to determine healthy information seeking behavior patterns recommendation of improved usage of information. This question brought out the flaws which had a negative impact on the level of satisfaction in the fulfillment of the information needs of the managers. This question also served the purpose of obtaining data which would serve the purpose of proposing productive knowledge and information management, evaluation of library and information services. The questions dealing with different variable such as information sources, information types, information services, problems related to information needs, business divisions, grade of the managers, education level, gender and access to information had multiple choices consisted of mutually exclusive and mutually exhaustive attributes to the variables dealt in .

The section 8 -The satisfaction of the management in the fulfillment of the information needs It had given four options and the variable satisfaction level had 4 attributes which were mutually exclusive and mutually exhaustive. The questions 9, 10 and 11 helped to gather supplementary data which contributed to the description of the satisfaction levels in the fulfillment of the information needs. Section 9- Filter question and the contribution of information to DFCC Bank 93

These questions helped to the further development of the view of the managers with regard to the contribution made by Information to the DFCC Bank. The managerial activities indicated in this section were introduced by Gulick as cited by 12 Manage (2010). Section 10 -Filter question, and the development of the business unit It progressively developed the contribution made by information to the improvement of the respective business units of the managers of the DFCC Bank. Section 11- Filter question and the career development of the managers This dealt with the improvement made by information with regard to each managers career development. 5.3.1.3 Stage 3 Interviews Interviews carried out to gather further details on the information needs of the managers which were discussed in the questionnaire. six interviews were carried out in order to obtain qualitative data with 6 managers from different grades and business divisions. three interviews were done at DFCC Head Office and 1 at the Colombo Office, One manager opted to face the interview at her home while another manager faced the interview at the researchers home. Interviews were carried out in the months of December 2009 and January 2010. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The researcher interviewed 4 project executives, 1 senior project executive and an Assistant Vice President. These managers were from the Human Resources and Special Loan Administration Division, Corporate Communication Division, project Administration Division, Operations, Risk Management and Lending. The researcher discussed mainly the themes on access to information, nature of the information types, form of the information types, 94

coverage of the information types and media of information types. In addition, information sharing, ways to improve information sources and services, Information Communication Technology, obstacle when meeting information and the satisfaction level in the fulfillment of the information needs were discussed. Thus, focusing the specific objectives, the researcher gathered detailed information on access to information, information types, information sources, information services, problems encountered when meeting information needs, and the satisfaction level of the managers in the fulfillment of the information needs. The researcher for the purpose of formulating the guidelines for the interview, used certain aspects of the paper by Devadason and Lingam (1996).The interview findings linked the specific objectives of the study to conceptual frame work which reflected relationship between the managerial tasks and their information needs. These interviews were carried out informally to assist managers to express their personal experiences and divisional situation in the limelight of the above themes. Time period of the interviews were between 15 minutes to 30 minutes. The interview respondents were assured of confidentiality.(See Appendix 3) 5.3.2 Data Analysis For purpose of analyzing the data, the researcher used the Microsoft Office Excel. Percentages, frequencies and averages were calculated and reported in the survey findings and analysis chapter. The interviews were analyzed by concentrating on common patterns, themes and concepts and coding them which contributed for a comparative understanding of the of the interviewees viewpoints important to the research (Ge, 2005).In the discussion, conclusions and recommendations the researcher used her knowledge, print and electronic media, commonalities and differences between the findings and the literature review and also so certain aspects of the introduction. 95

5.3.3 Response Rate Out of the entire 172 questionnaires only 112 questionnaires were returned and out of them only 108 were usable for the research purposes. (See Table 2)
Response Rate Business Division Sent Corporate communication 3 Finance 4 Human Resources & Special Loans Administration 13 Information Technology 5 Risk Management 6 Legal and Secretarial 2 Lending 116 Operations 10 Project Management 5 Treasury 5 Audit 3 Total 172 Returns 2 4 7 4 6 2 74 6 4 3 0 112 Percentage % 66.67 100.00 53.85 80.00 100.00 100.00 63.79 60.00 80.00 60.00 0.00 65.62

Table 2 Response rate of the population 5.3.4 Operational Definitions Bank Managers - The term Bank Managers was defined by the researcher for the purpose of this study, as all those who carry out managerial activities introduced by Gulick as cited by 12 Manage (2010): namely planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting. DFCC Bank Managers- For the purpose of the research the DFCC Bank managers were defined as those who are Project Executives, Senior Project Executives, Assistant Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents of the DFCC Bank as they are carrying out managerial activities named by Gulick as cited by 12 Manage ( 2010). The study excluded Senior Vice Presidents, Executive

Vice Presidents, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Officer Banks- researcher defines a Bank as an institution in the financial services sector. Sri Lanka- A Developing Country in South Asia DFCC Bank- For the purpose of this study the researcher defines DFCC Bank as one of the first development banks in Asia.

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Information - For the purpose of the research Information, the researcher defines information as a resource needed by Bank managers in order to carry their managerial activities.

Assessment For the purpose of this study the researcher defines the term Assessment as the evaluation of different types of information types,

information sources, information services needed by DFCC Bank managers and the depth that obstacles impact DFCC Bank managers when meeting information needs. 5.3.5 Limitations The researcher did not obtain permission to include the grades Senior Vice Presidents, Executive Vice Presidents and Chief Information Officer, and Chief Executive Officer to the research. It could be noted that, this situation could impact on the extent of the validity of the research as these grades belong to Senior Management team of the DFCC Bank. The study only deals with the managers of business division of the DFCC bank and all the managers of DFCC Bank as a whole as business division mainly deals with specific goals contributing to the overall management of the DFCC Bank. Thus, an assessment about the Information needs of the DFCC Bank managers in keeping with their grades which manifest managerial hierarchy was not carried out. Furthermore the study only deals with DFCC Bank and it excludes the other associates and subsidiaries of the DFCC Group. The researcher has not dealt in depth with regard to Information Technology as its a different discipline to a greater extent from the library and information science although Information Technology is important for a information and knowledge management in the banking industry. Consequently this research is mainly related to 97

the feild of special librarian ship and information as a resource to the DFCC Bank managers. Furthermore, as for the response rate, the researcher did not receive any answered completed questionnaires from the audit division. This could also have an impact to the research when carrying out the case study systematically

References 12 Manage. (2010). POSDCORB (Gulick) [Online]. [Accesssed 20 th February 2010]. s.l. 12 Manage. Available from: World Wide Web http://www.12manage.com/methods_gulick_posdcorb.html

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Devadason F. and Lingam, P. (1996) A Methodology for the Identification of Information Needs of Users. Proceedings of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 62nd General Conference held in Beijing, Republic of China 25-31 August 2005. [online]. Available from

http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla62/62-devf.htm [Accessed 20th January 2009] DFCC Bank (2009) DFCC Bank Annual Report 2008/2009.. Colombo: DFCC Bank Ge, X. (2005) Information Seeking Behavior of Social Science and Humanities Researcher in the Internet Age. Master of Science. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hart, C. (2005). Doing Your Masters Dissertation. p.197. New Delhi: Vistaar Publications Karim, N. S. A. & Hussein, R. (2008). Managers perception of information management and the role of information and knowledge managers: The Malaysian perspectives. International Journal of Information Management. 28. 114-127. Fulltext [online]. Science Direct [Accessed 25th March 2008]. Kaye, D. (1995). Sources of Information, formal and informal. Library Management. 33(5), p. 16-19. Full text [online]. Emeraldinsight [Accessed 26 th April 2008] Nicholas, D. (1996). Assessing Information Needs: Tools and Techniques. p.45. London: Aslib, Association for Information Management Weerasinghe, S. (2002). A Study to Determine the Usage of Information by financiers fo Micro Enterprises in Sri Lanka. Masters in Libarary and Information Science. University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

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William, M. K. T. (2006). Research Methods: Knowledge Base. [e-book]. s.l. Web centre for social research methods. Available from:

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/ [accessed 20th February 2010] Wilson, T. D., (1999) Models in information behavior research Journal of Documentation, 55(3) 249-270 [Available at

http://informatoinr.net/tdw/publ/papers/1999JDoc.html] [Accessed 12 August 2008] (Citation as instructed)

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