Appendix 1: Methodology Interviews
A1 Sampling Strategy
Creswell noted that in qualitative research, “the intent is not to generalize to a
population, but to develop an in-depth exploration of a central phenomenon”, which is
best achieved by using purposeful sampling strategies (2005:203). A random
sampling strategy would be inappropriate for the exploration of the central
phenomenon of this study because the purpose here is not to generate a
representative sample and then generalize the results to other coordination
mechanisms or other contexts, but rather to learn from people who are 'information
rich' and can best help to understand the specific interest of this research, UN-Water
and its role in GWG.
For the expert interviews, a sampling strategy has been chosen that combines
elements of the maximal variation and snowball sampling procedures. The snowball
strategy is a form of purposeful sampling in qualitative research that “typically
proceeds after a study begins and occurs when the researcher asks participants to
recommend other individuals to study” (Creswell 2005:206). The researchers' initial
unfamiliarity with the topic and the complexity of the central phenomenon at hand
were the decisive factors behind the choice for the snowball approach. The sampling
process was initiated by an independent expert who was not interviewed, but
exclusively served as 'trigger' to get the different snowballs rolling (c.f. Figure A1).
However, once this process was underway, it needed to be steered in certain
directions in order to give voice to experts from different backgrounds who might
have different perspectives on the central phenomenon. The maximal variation
approach allows for obtaining this diversity and thereby accounting for the complexity
of the problem at hand. It is “a purposeful sampling strategy in which the researcher
samples cases or individuals that differ on some characteristic or trait” (Creswell
2005:204). The characteristic of interest here is the expert's perspective(s) on UN-
Water, which can basically fall in one or several of the four categories listed below
1
:
• Members: experts of UN-Water member organizations.
• Partners: experts of UN-Water partner organizations.
• Affiliates: experts working for UN-Water or one of the affiliated programs.
• Observers: GWG experts with no direct organizational link to UN-Water.
After consideration of the limited time availability for the research process of this MSc
thesis and the relative weight of the expert interviews in relation to the literature and
document review, a sample size of a total of ten interviews, each between 30 and 45
minutes, has been deemed appropriate.
1
This categorization is of course not mutually exclusive but it is exhaustive for the experts under
consideration (people who are unfamiliar with UN-Water are not considered as experts here).
