*4.3. Interview Analysis Process*

All interviews were conducted in person and lasted an average of 48 min (min = 36; max = 75 min). With the participants' agreement, interviews were recorded using a digital recorder supplemented with hand-written notes. Later, the transcriptions, using the Trint© software tool, were uploaded onto NVivo© and were then compared and coded using the qualitative data analysis software.

The data were analysed at two levels, firstly analysed using textual analysis and then "made sense of" by using themes and pattern interpretation. Based on the nodal structure described earlier and using the parent-child branching technique (Figure 4), this provided an efficient and effective mechanism to capture and link themes but did not in itself provide any analysis. The nodal coding was aligned to the three research sub-questions, based on the realist evaluation C–M–O thematics [56,57], and each transcript was coded at three levels: first, second and third level coding (Figure 7). The frequency of participants' statements that were selected for coding, and also the relative frequency of nodal use. These groupings of statements under each node were then analysed for similarities and aligned with emerging themes. *Sustainability* **2019**, *11*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 30

**Figure 7***.* The nodal framework used for identification of key words aligned to context–mechanism– outcome (C–M–O) [55,56]. **Figure 7.** The nodal framework used for identification of key words aligned to context–mechanism–outcome (C–M–O) [55,56].

*4.4. Verification*  The verification was completed after the interpretation of the data analysis. This involved presenting the findings in workshops to leading practitioners within the confines of the standards In addition to the primary analysis approach discussed above, the researchers complemented this with text mining analysis. This is a commonly used methodology for social scientists [58] because it enables the researchers to manage and quantify huge amounts of data in a very short time.

body knowledge team at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

local level? The subsections are therefore as follows.

**5. Results** 

construction sector rate and use global UN SDG goals for infrastructure investment decisions at the
