**3. Research methodology**

### **3.1 Description of the study area: Northern Cape Province**

The Northern Cape is approximately a third of South Africa's land area and is South Africa's biggest province. It is the least populated province in South Africa, with an area of 372889 km<sup>2</sup> and a population of 1,193,780.00. It is bounded by Namibia, Botswana, Northwest, Free State, Eastern Cape, and Western Cape provinces. The Atlantic Ocean forms the province's western border. Kimberley is the capital city of

the province. The province also has significant towns such as Upington, the centre of the karakul sheep and dried-fruit industries; Springbok, in the heart of Namaqualand spring-flower; and Kuruman and De Aar, the second most significant railway junction in South Africa. Again, Sutherland is home to the Southern African Large Telescope, the southern hemisphere's largest astronomical observatory. The Northern Cape is mineral-rich, and in Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth, alluvial diamonds can be collected from the beaches and sea.

The Sishen Mine in Kathu is South Africa's largest source of iron ore, while the copper mine at Okiep is one of the country's oldest. Springbok and Aggeneys also have copper mines. Asbestos, manganese, fluorspar, semi-precious stones, and marble are abundant in the province. The province is divided into 5 district municipalities: Frances Baard, John Taolo Gaetsewe, Namakwa, Pixley Ka Seme and ZF Mgcawu, further split into 26 local municipalities, as stated in **Figure 1**. The province was selected for this study because the province is currently experiencing infrastructure development to cope with the increasing population and economic development. Thus, identifying risk factors for infrastructure development will assist the authorities in reducing project failures and saving public resources.

#### **3.2 Research approach**

A qualitative research technique was used for this study. The qualitative research technique is appropriate since this study examines in-house peculiar risk factors from the participants with experiences and involvement in implementing and managing public infrastructure construction projects. The qualitative research approach uses

#### **Figure 1.**

*Five District Municipalities of Northern Cape Province. Source: https://municipalities.co.za/provinces/view/7/ northern-cape.*

*Risk Factors Affecting Public Infrastructure Projects DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112002*

interviews via open-ended interview questions or guides in collecting data from the participants. Thus, participants can freely express themselves based on their experiences of the phenomena under investigation [30]. According to Creswell [30], qualitative research techniques employ an approach to investigate and comprehend the meaning that people or groups assign to social or human problems. Unlike a quantitative approach that forces participants to select from predetermined variables or responses, a qualitative research strategy may place the researcher in the world of study participants, exposing them to the richness and depth of the participants' impressions of their experiences [31]. Thus, using a qualitative research strategy allows the researcher to examine the participant's experiences regarding the risk factors confronting their projects [32].
