![Current
SituaDon
• The
current
Canadian
Federal
Government
seeks
to
control
the
disseminaDon
of
informaDon.
Accordingly,
with
the
centralizaDon
of
informaDon
it
is
increasingly
difficult
for
journalists
and
researchers
to
interview
public
servants
and
government
scienDsts.
• While
the
CommunicaDons
Policy
for
the
Government
of
Canada
(2006)
does,
“encourage
public
service
managers
and
employees
to
communicate
openly
with
the
public…[they]
must
respect
privacy
rights,
ma9ers
before
the
courts,
na4onal
security,
Cabinet
confidences
and
ministerial
responsibility”.
• Cabinet
confidences
and
ministerial
responsibility
can
create
a
hesita4on
on
the
side
of
public
servants
to
share
informaDon
for
fear
that
it
will
stray
into
privacy
issues
or
expose
these
confidences
and
responsibiliDes
that
many
not
be
clearly
defined.
(Jiwani
&
Krawchenko,
2014)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/keyinformantinterviewslidesharefinal2-140310221541-phpapp01/85/Key-Informant-Interviews-with-Federal-Government-Public-Servants-4-320.jpg)
Key Informant Interviews with Federal Government Public Servants
- 1. Key Informant Interviews with Canadian Federal Government Public Servants Ryan Southwood University of Guelph March 2014
- 2. IntroducDon • This presentaDon will touch on: – The different categories of Key Informant Interviews (KII) – How to use this qualitaDve method when seeking informaDon from public servants – The Access to InformaDon process • In-‐depth interviews with public servants have long been a tool used to research government policies. With the centralizaDon of informaDon preferred by the current federal government, current research has indicated that it has become more difficult for academics and journalists to have access to public servants to gather data for analysis.
- 3. Key Informant Interviews Category Descrip4on Unstructured Interviews Ø Historic beginnings for KII Ø Ethnographers would observe acDviDes from the sidelines and then parDcipate in guided conversaDons to gather more in-‐depth informaDon Semi-‐structured Interviews Ø Rarely includes observaDon of interviewee in daily life Ø Usually structured around a series of open and closed ended quesDons Ø The guide is used as a framework and new informaDon that is uncovered is explored during the interview. Structured Interviews Ø Follow the developed guide much more closely Ø Limit the interviewer’s ability to explore new data uncovered in the interview Ø Most oYen used to collect quanDtaDve data DiCicco-‐Bloom & Crabtree (2006)
- 4. Current SituaDon • The current Canadian Federal Government seeks to control the disseminaDon of informaDon. Accordingly, with the centralizaDon of informaDon it is increasingly difficult for journalists and researchers to interview public servants and government scienDsts. • While the CommunicaDons Policy for the Government of Canada (2006) does, “encourage public service managers and employees to communicate openly with the public…[they] must respect privacy rights, ma9ers before the courts, na4onal security, Cabinet confidences and ministerial responsibility”. • Cabinet confidences and ministerial responsibility can create a hesita4on on the side of public servants to share informaDon for fear that it will stray into privacy issues or expose these confidences and responsibiliDes that many not be clearly defined. (Jiwani & Krawchenko, 2014)
- 5. Public Service Interviews • It is becoming increasing difficult for academics to get approval to talk with public servants if going through formal channels. If these requests are to be entertained a full list of quesDons that will be asked must be submifed, the interviewee draYs the responses, and the responses are reviewed by a senior execuDve. Approval levels depend on the department but are usually held at the director or assistant deputy minister level. These approvals may lead to interviews with higher level bureaucrats than the researcher anDcipated (Jiwani & Krawchenko, 2014). • This format forces the researcher into a structured interview and severely limits the freedom to explore unanDcipated areas that might be uncovered during the interview. • Researchers that have extensive contacts in government have had more success requesDng interviews through their networks in an informal manner. These interviews are rarely conducted at the interviewees place of work and the interviewee will want to ensure anonymity. • In cases like this, the snowball sampling technique may be a researchers only opDon. The researcher will rely on the informal network to provide addiDonal contacts who may be willing to be interviewed.
- 6. Access to InformaDon • As formal approvals for interviews with public servants are harder to receive, many researchers are turning to the Access to InformaDon Act to gain informaDon. • The data gathered from an Access to InformaDon (ATI) request can be used to triangulate data gathered from interviews, to formulate addiDonal ATI requests, or create addiDonal interview quesDons for public servants. • To be eligible to make a request under the Access to InformaDon Act you must be a Canadian ci4zen, a permanent resident of Canada or an individual or corpora4on currently present in Canada. The process is as follows: IdenDfy which insDtuDon holds the informaDon you wish. Look at hfp:// www.infosource.gc.ca/ emp/emp05-‐ eng.asp#chapters Fill out the online or paper request form. Be as specific as possible. Online form available at hfps://aDp-‐aiprp.apps.gc.ca/ aDp/welcome.do?lang=en Pay the mandatory $5 fee. This fee enDtles you to 5 hours of searching or preparaDon. If more Dme is required there will be addiDonal charges. Wait for the government to respond. Simple, Right?
- 7. Not so fast… • The department you have submifed the ATI request to has 30 days from receipt of the request to respond. However, the government can request an extension for reasons such as the volume of requests and consultaDon with other parDes. • Study the ATI Act to learn what you are enDtled to under the Act. A Canadian journalist named, Puguliese (2006) writes of his experiences gaining informaDon under the Act. Bureaucrats have: – Led him to think that work was being done on the request unDl it was too late to file a complaint – Claimed that because he did not respond in a Dmely manner to one of their lefers, they were abandoning the request (there is no porDon of the Act that allows for this) – Requested informaDon would be costly to photocopy and deliver. Puguliese (2006) discovered that researchers can go in and view the documents in person. The documents can also be sent to the closest government office at no charge so the documents can be viewed. • Puguliese (2006) ended his arDcle by staDng he had interviewed, “a former ATO analyst who told me that at the departments he had worked in, the main goal was to discourage ATI users to the point where they didn’t file any more requests”.
- 8. Complaints • A complaint can be filed with the Office of the InformaDon Commissioner related to a request through the ATI Act. These complaints can be about: – ExempDons applied to your request – Delays in response Dme – Fees – Other issues • Complaints must be filed in wriDng and within 60 days of a response from the government. All complaints must be filed one year from the Dme your request was first received (G.oC., 1985) However… • The invesDgaDon process is extremely backlogged and can take up a year to be resolved (Puguliese, 2006) • Not all research experiences will be the same. A CBC arDcle demonstrates how some public servants are going out of their way to provide the public informaDon hfp://www.cbc.ca/news/poliDcs/how-‐one-‐defence-‐staffer-‐ stood-‐up-‐for-‐access-‐to-‐informaDon-‐1.2555659
- 9. Conclusion • To be successful at gathering data from public servants you must: – Be prepared to use informal contacts to gain access – Use the Snowball technique to gain access to addiDonal interviewees – Use Access to InformaDon requests to assist in triangulaDng the data and develop your quesDon guides – Be familiar with the Act in order to miDgate the roadblocks that will be placed in your way – Use mulDple ATI requests to keep costs down – Be prepared to conduct only structured interviews if formal approval is granted. • If you decide to gather data from public servants it will be a Dme consuming process whether you have informal connecDons or not. Learn the dialogue associated with the parDcular department you are interested in and gather as much open source informaDon available to befer direct your ATI requests.
- 10. References Cudmore, J. (March 2, 2014) How one defence staffer stood up for Access to InformaDon. CBC News. Retrieved from hfp://www.cbc.ca/news/poliDcs/how-‐one-‐defence-‐staffer-‐stood-‐up-‐for-‐access-‐to-‐ informaDon-‐1.2555659 DiCicco-‐Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006). The qualitaDve research interview. Medical Educa1on, 40(4), 314-‐321. Government of Canada. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (2006). CommunicaDons Policy of the Government of Canada. Accessed 9 March 2014 from hfp://www.tbs-‐sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-‐eng.aspx?secDon=text&id=12316 Government of Canada. Minister of JusDce. (1985). Access to InformaDon Act. Accessed 9 March 2014 from hfp://laws-‐lois.jusDce.gc.ca/PDF/A-‐1.pdf Jiwani, F. N., & Krawchenko, T. (2014). Public policy, access to government, and qualitaDve research pracDces: ConducDng research within a culture of informaDon control. Canadian Public Policy, 40(1), 57. Pugliese, D. (Spring 2006). A handy guide to using Canada's access to informaDon law. Media, 12, 10-‐11.