**4. Methods**

#### **4.1 Research design and sample**

The study used the embedded/nested mixed-method design to concurrently collect both quantitative and qualitative data. However, the latter played a complementary role in supporting the former [38]. The choice of the design enabled us to give a holistic picture and broader perspective of the extent to which university teachers in the developing world effectively used their digital leadership role to promote the use of digital technology in instructional delivery. The study used the accidental sampling technique to select 252 university teachers across Ghana. The sample size was considered appropriate based on Krejcie and Morgan's [39] standard criteria for determining sample size. **Table 1** presents details of the demographic characteristics of the sample.

#### **4.2 Research instrument**

A self-developed questionnaire was used for the research. The instrument had three sections. The first section ("A") was on the demographic background of respondents. The second section ("B") dealt with kinds of digital technology tools university teachers often applied in their instructional delivery. The third and final section ("C") also elicited responses on the effectiveness of the tools in promoting academic work. Although the instrument was mainly structured, the second and third sections gave respondents an opportunity to express their own qualitative opinions not captured in the structured items. The design of the items in the two sections was informed by the authoritative views expressed in the extant literature gleaned for this research. The items were put on a five-point Likert scale in both sections as follows: Section "B": (1) never used; (2) rarely used; (3) occasionally used; (4) frequently used; and (5) more frequently used. Section "C": (1) strongly disagree; (2) Disagree; (3) Unsure; (4) Agree; and (5) Strongly agree. Prior to using the instrument, a face validity test was conducted on it to ascertain the extent to which the items in the second and third sections met the objective of the research and the findings proved positive. Again, the instrument was piloted among accidentally selected 63 (i.e., a quarter of the sample size) university teachers in Ghana who were not part of the sample. A Cronbach's alpha test yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.81 making the instrument undoubtedly reliable for use in the research.

#### **4.3 Data collection and analysis**

The data collection exercise was done using the self-constructed questionnaire and took a period of 102 days to complete. As explained already, the accidental technique was used, and it allowed the distribution of the instrument among university

#### *Leadership in a Changing World - A Multidimensional Perspective*


#### **Table 1.**

*Demographic characteristics of participants.*

teachers on the basis of availability and willingness to participate. Using the SPSS version 21, preliminary analyses were done by organizing the data according to the five-point Likert scale and subjecting them to frequency and percentage analyses. The same data were subsequently converted into means and standard deviations. The qualitative data were grouped into common themes to be analyzed using descriptive statistics. However, because the themes generated did not yield new issues remarkably different from the main items already captured in the questionnaire, the intention was shelved.

#### **4.4 Ethics**

A written consent was obtained from the participants before their involvement in the study. To ensure confidentiality and to check that the rights of the participants are not disregarded and abused, ethical clearance with reference number ECH 101/19-20 was obtained from one of the universities' ethics committees for the humanities. Besides, participation in the research process was voluntary, and participants could withdraw at any point in the research process. Participants' identities were also concealed.
