Innovation Processes And Practices In Construction Industry In Anambra State Of Nigeria

CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The method of research used in this study for the generating of data is the survey method of research. It was however conducted in the form of oral interviews and questionnaire administration to three (3) construction stakeholders (i.e client, contractors and consultants) in Anambra state, Nigeria.
3.1    POPULATION OF STUDY AND SAMPLE SIZE
The population of this study consists of the three (3) major stakeholders in the construction industry in Anambra State which includes the clients, the contractors and the consultants who are basically construction professionals made up of Builders, Engineers, Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Estate Surveyors, Land Surveyors and Town Planners. A total sample size of 140 (one hundred and forty) was drawn for the study.
3.2    SAMPLING SELECTION AND TECHNIQUES Disproportionate stratified random sampling is the technique used for this study by the researcher. From the sample size of 140, questionnaires were randomly distributed to clients, contractors and consultants who are also professionals in the construction industry; 20 (twenty) questionnaires were administered to clients, 45 (forty five) were administered to contractors while 75 (seventy five) were administered to consultants.
3.3    SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION
The data used for this research was from both primary source and secondary source.
3.3.1    PRIMARY SOURCE
The primary source of data was through oral interview and questionnaire distribution.
Oral Interview
This was done during the study in the course of administration of questionnaire to the respondents. This was to enable respondents express raw opinions freely. It equally helped to broaden the researchers knowledge about innovation in the construction industry.
3.3.2    SECONDARY SOURCE
This includes information generated from similar studies which have been previously written, discussed or researched. This however comes in the form of research works, magazines, journals, seminars, textbooks, published and unpublished works. The information gathered contributed in the comprehensive structuring of this research.
3.4    VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENT
Ogunoh (2005), stated that the validity of an instrument refers to the extent an instrument of measurement actually measures what it is intended to measure. He however maintained that an instrument is valid to the extent that it is tailored to achieve the research objectives. The researcher however ensured that the questions in the questionnaire were easily understood by the respondents. The questionnaire was organized to maintain consistency from the respondents. For reliability, the questionnaire was presented to three (3) professional builders in the department of building of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. Their suggestions were used to further draft the questionnaire finally.
3.5    ADMINISTRATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE
The form of administration of the questionnaire to the respondents by the researcher is by hand. During the administering, the researcher took time to explain to the respondents what is required of them and how to answer or respond to the questions. However among the 140 (one hundred and forty) respondents who questionnaires were distributed to; only 80 (eighty) questionnaires were recovered. Therefore only the questionnaire of 80 respondents which represents about 57.1% response rate were recovered. However 60 (sixty) questionnaires were unable to be recovered which represents about 42.9%, The breakdown of the questionnaire distribution administered and returned is as shown in table 1 below.

3.6    METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
The data generated from this study were subjected to analyses using simple percentages, frequency tables, and mean score. This however enabled the result to be properly evaluated and understood.
The mean score formula is given by
(4N4 + 3N3 + 2N2 + 1N)/n
Using 4 (four) point LIKERT SCALE which corresponds to “4” = strongly Agree
“3” = Agree
“2” = Disagree
“1” Strongly Disagree
Where N = number of respondents to a particular scale n = total number of respondents.
And
(4 +3 + 2 + 1)/4 =    2.5 (i.e. positive decision)
Decision Rule
Any mean score below 2.5 is considered a negative decision, while any mean score from 2.5 and above is considered a positive decision.