In developing and completing the research methods, I worked with the Project Leadership Committee, through a five-stage process, as described by Czaja and Blair (2005), “1. Survey design and preliminary planning, 2. Pretesting, 3. Final survey design and planning, 4. Data collection, [and] 5. Data coding, data-file construction, analysis, and final report”
(p. 11). One limitation to a thesis is the time frame for submission. Due to the amount of data generated, the project only had the capacity for six people as providers of information. These six participants contributed to all three stages in the data-gathering process. The participants were initially identified by their employers as suitable to the project. A phone call provided the employer a chance to discuss with me the project and the characteristics of a good participant. The criteria for selection and participation were primarily based on the willingness of the individuals who stepped forward wishing to fully participate and be heard. The participants had a minimum of two years’ experience in the role of EC and had lived a minimum of six months in a rural or remote region. When the six participants were selected, the first of three steps in the data-gathering process began. Interviews were scheduled on a one-to-one basis with participants. Interviews took place through a phone call to participants in Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Fisher River Cree Nation, Selkirk, Thompson, and The Pas, Manitoba.
The offer to participate was voluntary for the EC. An invitation to participate was made by letter or phone invitation (see Appendix A). It was important that participants were motivated and committed to completing the research project. Ideally, the group will continue to network and dialogue far beyond the end of this study. I hope the group will continue with the look-think-act cycle (Stringer, 1999, p. 19), as they create new and unique approaches to helping the job seeker succeed in rural and northern communities.