3.1 Research designResearch design is a planning and arrangement of procedures for collection and analyzing of data in a way that the researcher will be able to achieve the research’s objectives (Kothari, 2004).
The study used a case study design because it was very flexible during the process of data collection as it helped the researcher to collect sufficient amount of data and information within a short period of time with minimum financial implications. Also, it was very easy to triangulate information from various sources. In this sense, the study described the extent to which code of ethics for internal auditors influence the effectiveness of internal audit function in the public sector.3.2 Area of the study The study was conducted in Dodoma region specifically at the Ministry of agriculture. The region was selected because the headquarters of the ministry are located in that region, so it was easy to get data and relevant information pertaining to the influence of code of ethics on the effectiveness of internal audit function in the public sector in Tanzania.3.3 Sampling FrameSampling frame is the list of entire population in which the sample is to be drawn (Kothari, 2009).
The sampling frame of the study was 117 employees from 6 departments and 11 units found in the ministry of agriculture.3.4 Population and Sample size 3.4.1 Population of the studyA population is a comprehensive itemized list of all subjects from which a sample was taken (Mugenda, 2003). A researcher has to have a specific population as his research population target upon which he uses to make all his inferences regarding validity of what he/she is researching on Kothari (2009). The study targeted 17 heads of departments in the ministry, 10 internal auditors and 90 other staff of the ministry from all 17 departments of the ministry. Thus, the target population of the study was 117 employees of the ministry of agriculture.
The population of the study has been addressed in Table 3.4.3.4.2 Sample size the studyThe study involved a sample size of 67 respondents grouped into three categories; 17 heads of departments, 10 internal auditors and 40 other staff of the ministry.
Heads of departments and internal auditors were chosen purposively while other staffs were chosen through simple random sampling technique. The sample size has been addressed in Table 3.4.3.5 Sampling techniquesSampling is the process of selecting a sample from the population of interest in order to make observation or making statistical inferences about the population under study (Neuman, 2007). In this research, two sampling procedures were employed, namely; purposive sampling and simple random techniques. Purposive sampling was used to select 27 respondents from the ministry due to their importance in this study and by virtue of their positions. Respondents who were selected by using this method were 6 heads of departments, 11 heads of units as well as 10 internal auditors of the ministry.
While simple random sampling was used to choose randomly 40 respondents from the population to avoid biasness.Table 3.4: Sample size and sampling selection The table below shows the categories of respondents, the targeted population, the sample size in each population category and the sampling selection procedures used by the researcher. S/N Respondent categories Target Pop Sample size in eachpop. Category Sampling selectionprocedure1 HRM Department 7 3 Simple random2 Finance and Account Unit 11 5 Simple random3 Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Unit 7 3 Simple random4 Training Unit 5 2 Simple random5 Internal Audit Unit 10 10 Purposive6 Procurement Management Unit 6 3 Simple random7 Government Communication Unit 2 1 Simple random8 Legal Unit 5 2 Simple random9 Management Information System Unit 7 3 Simple random10 Agriculture Environment Management Unit 5 2 Simple random11 Crop Development Unit 6 3 Simple random12 Agricultural Mechanization Department 5 2 Simple random13 Agricultural Land Management Department 5 2 Simple random14 Research and Development Department 4 2 Simple random15 Food Protection Department 5 2 Simple random16 Agricultural extension services Unit 6 3 Simple random17 Plant Breeder’s Right Unit 4 2 Simple random18 Heads of Departments and Units 17 17 PurposiveTOTAL 117 67 3.6 Data collection methodsThe study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through questionnaires and interview while secondary data were collected through documentary reviews.
3.6.1 Primary dataPrimary data is a data collected by researcher in the field for the purpose of answering research questions (Jamal and Kamuzora, 2008). Primary data provides the researcher with original and reliable first-hand information about the problem under the study. In this study, the primary data were collected through questionnaire and interview as follows.
3.6.1.1 QuestionnairesA questionnaire is a research tool consisting of a series of questions (Elliot and Jacobson, 2005). In this study, the questionnaire was developed from the research questions. The study used questionnaires designed in a 5-scale point Likert-type. This type of questionnaires was used because it was very easy to construct with minimum cost and helped the researcher to trap relevant information and data used in the analytical part of the study.
The questionnaires consisted of two parties. Part I, sought to gather general information on the respondents, while part II focused on the study information about the influence of code of ethics for internal auditors on the effectiveness of internal audit function in the public sector. Then, they were distributed to the 17 members of the management team, 40 supporting staffs and 10 internal auditors of the Ministry of agriculture in Tanzania. However, 65 questionnaires were filled by the respondents, making a response rate of 97.01%. The questions were both close-ended and open-ended in order to increase the validity of the responses. All the respondents were literate, hence forth they read and answered the questionnaires accordingly.
Thus, they helped the researcher to get an in-depth understanding on the effect of code of ethics for internal auditors on the effectiveness of internal audit function in the public sector. However, the questionnaires were administered at all time in order to have the intended numbers of the respondents and reduce some ambiguities of understanding some of the word(s) on the questionnaires where by clarifications were provided. The administration was by ‘drop and pick’ style that allowed respondents an ample time to complete the questionnaires. 3.
6.1.2 Interview The interview method of data collection involves presentation of oral verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral verbal responses (Kothari, 2009). This method helps to clarify ambiguous responses and fill in missing gaps because there is a direct contact between researcher and respondent. In this study, face-to-face interviews were administered to 10 internal auditors at the ministry. The interview guideline was used because of its flexibility in adding additional information which was not appeared in the questionnaire. The respondents apart from being provided with the questionnaires it was viewed that it was important to hear their opinion in respect to the implementation of code of ethics for internal auditors at the ministry. They were given questions to respond and were free to share their experience.
During the process of interview the researcher had been taking some notes on the responses for records, avoidance of exaggeration and misinterpretations of the information and further analysis. Therefore, this method enabled the researcher to obtain relevant qualitative data from the respondents which aided to accomplish the research.3.6.2 Secondary dataSecondary data are data which are not new and original at the date of publication (Saunders et al., 2009).
They belong to someone else rather than the current author and it has already been collected and analyzed by someone else. In this study, secondary data was collected through documentary review as follows:3.6.2.1 Documentary review Documentary is the data that is already available and already collected and analyzed by someone else (Kothari, 2004). Since the ministry of agriculture in Tanzania had the data which were already collected, analyzed and stored, thus, they were very useful to the researcher.
The researcher reviewed the ministry’s quarterly and annual reports for the financial years 2013/2014 to 2016/2017; the central government internal audit manual issued by the Accountant General Department, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Tanzania; the Internal Audit Handbook issued by the Ministry of Finance and Planning; the Code of ethics for internal auditors issued by the Institute of internal auditors; the training programs of the ministry for the financial year 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 respectively and various internal audit journals as shown in the reference part of this dissertation report. 3.7 Data Validity and Reliability Validity is defined as the extent to which data collection methods accurately measures what they were intended to measure (Saunder et al., 2009).
Simply, validity means the accuracy, correctness or truth of measuring instruments. In this study validity was done during planning stage where by the supervisor was consulted to check the questionnaire before the process of actual data collection started. All questions were pretested in the areas in order to ensure that, data collected were valid.Reliability refers to a state that exists when data are sufficiently complete and error free to be convincing for their purpose and context (Morgan and Waring, 2004). The researcher used SPSS to measure the consistency of the questionnaire designed in a Likert-type scale. The researcher conducted a pilot study to pretest the questionnaire in order to increase its reliability in data collection and identify any ambiguous and unclear questions. The pilot study was carried out by administering 10 questionnaires which also helped the researcher to determine the suitability of the instrument in collecting relevant information before administered to the entire target group. After making the relevant amendments to the questionnaire in response to the results of the pilot study, it was then administered to all the respondents.
To carry out the reliability analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha (?) which is the most common measure of scale reliability was used. According to Cohen and Sayag (2010) a value greater than 0.700 is very acceptable. The value of the Cronbach’s Alpha (?) of the study is shown in the table below:Table 4.
1 Reliability StatisticsCronbach’s Alpha Cronbach’s Alpha Based on Standardized Items N of Items0.732 0.784 10Sources: research data, 2018 SPSS outputFrom table 4.1 above, the value for Cronbach’s Alpha (?) was 0.732 for all variables and thus the responses generated for all of the variables used in this research were reliable enough for data analysis. 3.7 Data analysis In this study, data collected from primary and secondary sources were recorded, organized, analyzed, interpreted and presented in relation to research questions. To arrive into findings, the study employed Statistical Packages for Social Science version 20 (SPSS) for analyzing descriptive data whereby different tables, figures, percentage and frequencies were generated from the software.
Qualitative data were presented in word statements. The study used SPSS because of its capacity in generating verities of findings and accommodate large quantitative data. 3.8 The Regression Model of the studyThe study used regression model. The model was used because it normally employed to explore the relationship between one dependent variable and a number of independent variables and provides information about the model as a whole (Pallant, 2010).
Thus, the model helped the researcher to explore the predictive ability of a set of independent variables on one dependent variable. In this study, the independent variables were; integrity, objectivity, confidentiality and competence of internal auditors while the dependent variable was effectiveness of internal audit function in the public sector in Tanzania. The model of the study was;Y = ?1X1+ ?2X2 + ?3X3+ ?4X4 + ? Where: Y stands for the effectiveness of internal audit function;X1 stands for Integrity of internal auditors; X2 stands for Objectivity of internal auditors; X3 stands for Confidentiality of internal auditors; X4 stands for Competence of internal auditors;?1, ?2, ?3 and ?4 stand for correlation coefficients of independent variables; and? was the error term. The study explored the model in details on how a unit increase in integrity, objectivity, confidentiality and competence of internal auditors would affect the effectiveness of internal audit function in the public sector as explained in the chapter five of this study.3.8 Ethical considerationRespondents were assured of the confidentiality of data they had provided that the information would be used for academic purposes only.
Meanwhile, the participants were also free to withdraw from the study at any time, the manner which demanded replacement to ensure balance of the targeted sample size. Moreover, the research clearance letter was collected from the university to enable easy collection of the required data from the targeted respondents. Respondents consent was free and no force was used to induce respondents towards participating in responding to interview and questionnaires.
