TOOLS OF RESEARCH

 Unit Structure :
 Objectives Introduction
 Rating scale
 Attitude scale
 Opinionnaire
 Questionnaire
 Checklist
 Semantic Differentiate scale
 Psychological Test
 Inventory
 Observation
 Interview
 Let us sum up

OBJECTIVES :
After reading this unit you will be able to :
State different types of tools and techniques used for data collection Distinguish the
basic difference between tools and techniques.
Describe concept, purpose and uses of various tools and techniques in research. State
the tools coming under enquiry form, psychological test observation and Interview.

INTRODUCTION :
In the last chapter, you have studied about how to prepare a research tool. In this
chapter we will study what are those research tools, their concepts and uses in
collection of data.
In every research work, if is essential to collect factual material or data unknown or
untapped so far. They can be obtained from many sources, direct or indirect. It is
necessary to adopt a systematic procedure to collect essential data. Relevant data,
adequate in quantity and quality should be collected. They should be sufficient, reliable
and valid.
For checking new, unknown data required for the study of any problem you may use
various devices, instruments, apparatus and appliances. For each and every type of
research we need certain instruments to gather new facts or to explore new fields. The
instruments thus employed as means for collecting data are called tools.

The selection of suitable instruments or tools is of vital importance for successful

research. Different tools are suitable for collecting various kinds of information for
various purposes. The research worker may use one or more of the tools in
combination for his purpose. Research students should therefore familiarise themselves
with the varities of tools with their nature, merits and limitations. They should also
know how to construct and use them effectively. The systematic way and procedure by
which a complex or scientific task is accomplished is known as the technique.

Techniques is the practical method, skill or art applied to a particulate task. So, as a
researcher we should aware of both the tools and techniques of research.
The major tools of research in education can be classified broadly into the following
categories.

A. Inquiry forms
Questionnaire
Checklist
Score-card
Schedule
Rating Scale
Opinionnaire
Attitude Scale
B. Observation
C. Interview
D. Sociometry
E. Psychological Tests
Achievement Test
Aptitude Test
Intelligence Test
Interest inventory
Personality measures etc.
In this unit we will discuss some of the tools of each categories.

RATING SCALE :
Rating scale is one of the enquiry form. Form is a term applied to expression or
judgment regarding some situation, object or character. Opinions are usually expressed
on a scale of values. Rating techniques are devices by which such judgments may be
quantified. Rating scale is a very useful device in assessing quality, specially when
quality is difficult to measure objectively. For Example, ―How good was the
performance?‖ is a question which can hardly be answered objectively.
 Rating scales record judgment or opinions and indicates the degree or amount of
different degrees of quality which are arranged along a line is the scale.

This is the must commonly used instrument for making appraisals. It has a large variety
of forms and uses. Typically, they direct attention to a number of aspects or traits of the
thing to be rated and provide a scale for assigning values to each of the aspects
selected. They try to measure the nature or degree of certain aspects or characteristics
of a person or phenomenon through the use of a series of numbers, qualitative terms or
verbal descriptions.

Ratings can be obtained through one of three major approaches:

Paired comparison Ranking and Rating scales The first attempt at rating personality
characteristics was the man to man technique devised curing World-war-I. This
technique calls for a panel of raters to rate every individual in comparison to a standard
person. This is known as the paired comparison approach.
In the ranking approach every single individual in a group is compared with every other
individual and to arrange the judgment in the form of a scale.
In the rating scale approach which is the more common and practical method rating is
based on the rating scales, a procedure which consists of assigning to each trait being
rated a scale value giving a valid estimate of its status and then comparing the separate
ratings into an overall score.
Purpose of Rating Scale:
Rating scales have been successfully utilized for measuring the following:
Teacher Performance/Effectiveness Personality, anxiety, stress, emotional intelligence
etc. School appraisal including appraisal of courses, practices and programmes.
Useful hints on Construction of Rating Scale:
A rating scale includes three factors like:
i) The subjects or the phenomena to be rated.
ii) The continuum along which they will be rated and
iii) The judges who will do the rating.

All taken three factors should be carefully taken care by you when you construct the
rating scale.
1) The subjects or phenomena to be rated are usually a limited number of aspects of a
thing or of a traits of a person. Only the most significant aspects for the purpose of the
study should be chosen. The usual may to get judgement is on five to seven point scales
as we have already discussed.
2) The rating scale is always composed of two parts:
i) An instruction which names the subject and defines the continuum and
ii) A scale which defines the points to be used in rating.
3) Any one can serve as a rater where non-technical opinions, likes and dislikes and
matters of easy observation are to be rated. But only well informed and experienced
persons should be selected for rating where technical competence is required.
Therefore, you should select experts in the field as rater or a person who form a sample
of the population in which the scale will subsequently be applied. Pooled judgements
increase the reliability of any rating scale. So employ several judges, depending on the
rating situation to obtain desirable reliability.

Use of Rating Scale :

Rating scales are used for testing the validity of many objective instruments like paper
pencil inventories of personality. They are also advantages in the following fields like :
Helpful in writing reports to parents Helpful in filling out admission blanks for colleges
Helpful in finding out student needs Making recommendations to employers.
Supplementing other sources of understanding about the child Stimulating effect upon
the individuals who are rated.
Limitations of Rating Scale :
The rating scales suffer from many errors and limitations like the following:
As you know that the raters would not like to run down their own people by giving
them low ratings. So in that case they give high ratings to almost all cases. Sometimes
also the raters are included to be unduly generous in rating aspects which they had to
opportunity to observe. It the raters rate in higher side due to those factors, then it is
called as the generosity error of rating.
The Errors of Central Tendency :
Some observes wants to keep them in safe position. Therefore, they rate near the
midpoint of the scale. They rate almost all as average.
Stringency Error :
Stringency error is just the opposite of generosity of error. These types of raters are
very strict, cautions and hesitant in rating in average and higher side. They have a
tendency to rate all individuals low.

The Hallo Error :

 When a rater rates one aspect influenced by other is called hallo effect. For if a person
will be rated in higher side on his achievement because of his punctually or sincerely
irrespective of his perfect answer it called as hallo effect. The biased-ness of the rater
affects from one quality to other.
The Logical Error :
It is difficult to convey to the rater just what quality one wishes him to evaluate. An
adjective or Adverb may have no universal meaning. It the terms are not properly
understood by the rater and he rates, then it is called as the logical error. Therefore,
brief behavioural statements having clear objectives should be used.

ATTITUDE SCALE :

Attitude scale is a form of appraisal procedure and it is also one of the enquiry term.
Attitude scales have been designed to measure attitude of a subject of group of subjects
towards issues, institutions and group of peoples.
The term attitude is defined in various ways, ―the behaviour which we define as
attitudinal or attitude is a certain observable set‖ organism or relative tendency
preparatory to and indicative of more complete adjustment.- L. L. Bernard
―An attitude may be defined as a learned emotional response set for or against
something.‖
- Barr David Johnson
An attitude is spoken of as a tendency of an individual to read in a certain way towards
a Phenomenon. It is what a person feels or believes in. It is the inner feeling of an
individual. It may be positive, negative or neutral.
Opinion and attitude are used sometimes in a synonymous manner but there is a
difference between two. You will be able to know when we will discuss about
opinionnaire. An opinion may not lead to any kind of activity in a particular direction.
But an attitude compels one to act either favourably or unfavourably according to what
they perceive to be correct. We can evaluate attitude through questionnaire. But it is ill
adapted for scaling accurately the intensity of an attitude. Therefore, Attitude scale is
essential as it attempts to minimise the difficulty of opinionnaire and questionnaire by
defining the attitude in terms of a sing
le attitude object. All items, therefore, may be constructed with graduations of favour
or disfavour.

Purpose of Attitude Scale :

 In educational research, these scales are used especially for finding the attitudes of
persons on different issues like:
Co-education Religious education Corporal punishment Democracy in schools
Linguistic prejudices International co-operation etc.
Characteristics of Attitude Scale :
Attitude scale should have the following characteristics.
It provides for quantitative measure on a unidimensional scale of continuum. It uses
statements from the extreme positive to extreme negative position. It generally uses a
five point scale as we have discussed in rating scale. It could be standardised and norms
are worked out. It disguises the attitude object rather than directly asking about the
attitude on the subject.

Examples of Some Attitude Scale :

Two popular and useful methods of measuring attitudes indirectly, commonly used for
research purposes are:
Thurstone Techniques of scaled values. Likert‘s method of summated ratings.

Thurstone Technique :
Thurstone Technique is used when attitude is accepted as a uni-dimensional linear
Continuum. The procedure is simple. A large number of statements of various shades
of favorable and unfavorable opinion on slips of paper, which a large number of judges
exercising complete detachment sort out into eleven plies ranging from the most hostile
statements to the most favorable ones. The opinions are carefully worded so as to be
clear and unequivocal. The judges are asked not express tier opinion but to sort them at
their face value. The items which bring out a marked disagreement between the judges
un assigning a position are discarded. Tabulations are made which indicate the number
of judges who placed each item in each category. The next step consists of calculating
cumulated proportions for each item and ogives are constructed. Scale values of each
item are read from the ogives, the values of each item being that point along the
baseline in terms of scale value units above and below which 50% of the judges placed
the item. It we‘ll be the median of the frequency distribution in which the score ranges
from 0 to 11.
The respondent is to give his reaction to each statement by endorsing or rejecting it.
The median values of the statements that he checks establishes his score, or quantifies
his opinion. He wins a score as an average of the sum of the values of the statements he
endores.
Thurstone technique is also known as the technique equal appearing intervals.
 Limitations Of Attitude Scale :

In the attitude scale the following limitations may occur:

 An individual may express socially acceptable opinion conceal his real attitude.

 An individual may not be a good judge of himself and may not be clearly aware
of his real attitude.
 He may not have been controlled with a real situation to discover what his real
attitude towards a specific phenomenon was.
 There is no basis for believing that the five positions indicated in the Likert‘s
scale are equally spaced.
 It is unlikely that the statements are of equal value in ‗forness‘ or
―againstness‖.
 It is doubtful whether equal scores obtained by several individuals would
indicate equal favourableness towards again position.
 It is unlikely that a respondent can validity react to a short statement on a
printed form in the absence of real like qualifying Situation.
 In sprite of anonymity of response, Individuals tend to respond according to
what they should feel rather than what they really feel.

However, until more precise measures are developed, attitude scale remains the best
device for the purpose of measuring attitudes and beliefs in social research.

OPINIONNAIRE :

―Opinion polling or opinion gauging represents a single question approach. The

answers are usually in the form of ‗yes‘ or ‗no‘. An undecided category is often
included. Sometimes large number of response alternatives if provided.‖
- Anna Anastusi
The terms opinion and attitude are not synonymous, through sometimes we used it
synonymously. We have till now discussed that attitudes scale. We have also discussed
that attitudes are impressed opinions. You can now understand the difference between
opinionnaire and attitude scale, when we discuss of out opinionnaire, it is characteristics
and purposes.
 Opinion is what a person says on certain aspects of the issue under considerations. It is
an outward expression of an attitude held by an individual. Attitudes of an individual
can be inferred or estimated from his statements of opinions.
An opinionnaire is defined as a special form of inquiry. It is used by the researcher to
collect the opinions of a sample of population on certain facts or factors the problem
under investigation. These opinions on different facts of the problem under study are
further quantified, analysed and interpreted.

Purpose :
Opinionnaire are usually used in researches of the descriptive type which demands
survey of opinions of the concerned individuals. Public opinion research is an example
of opinion survey. Opinion polling enables the researcher to forecast the coming
happenings in successful manner.

Characteristics :
The opinionnaire makes use of statements or questions on different aspects of the
problem under investigation. Responses are expected either on three point or five point
scales. It uses favourable or unfavourable statements. It may be sub-divided into
sections. The gally poll ballots generally make use of questions instead of statements.
The public opinion polls generally rely on personal contacts rather than mail ballots.
QUESTIONNAIRE :
A questionnaire is a form prepared and distributed to secure responses to certain
questions. It is a device for securing answers to questions by using a form which the
respondent fills by himself. It is a systematic compilation of questions that are submitted
to a sampling of population from which information is desired.
Questionnaire rely on written information supplied directly by people in response to
questions. The information from questionnaires tends to fall into two broad categories
– ‗facts‘ and ‗opinions‘. It is worth stressing that, in practice, questionnaires are very
likely to include questions about both facts and opinions.
Purpose :
The purpose of the questionnaire is to gather information from widely scattered
sources. It is mostly used in uses in cases where one can not readily see personally all of
the people from whom he desires responses. It is also used where there is no particular
reason to see them personality.

Types :
Questionnaire can be of various type on the basis of it‘s preparation. They are like:
 Structured v/s Non Structured Closed v/s Open Fact v/s Opinion
Structured v/s Non-Structured Questionnaire :
The structured questionnaire contains definite, concrete and directed questions, where
as non-structured questionnaire is often used in interview and guide. It may consist of
partially completed questions.
Closed v/s Open Questionnaire :
The question that call for short check responses are known as restricted or closed form
type. For Example, they provide for marking a yes or no, a short response or checking
an item from a list of responses. Here the respondent is not free to wrote of his own, he
was to select from the selected from the supplied responses. On the other hand,
increase of open ended questionnaire, the respondent is free to response in his own
words. Many questionnaire also included both close and open type questions. The
researcher selects the type of questionnaire according to his need of the study.
Fact and Opinion :
Incase of fact questionnaire, the respondent is expected to give information of facts
without any reference to his opinion or attitude about them.
But incase of opinion questionnaire the respondent gives the information about the
facts with his own opinion and attitude.
Planning the Use of Questionnaire :
The successful use of questionnaire depends on devoting the right balance of effort to
the planning stage, rather than rushing too early into administering the questionnaire.
Therefore, the researcher should have a clear plan of action in mind and costs,
production, organization, time schedule and permission should be taken care in the
beginning. When designing a questionnaire, the characteristics of a good questionnaire
should be kept in mind.

Characteristics of A Good Questionnaire :

Questionnaire should deal with important or significant topic to create interest among
respondents. It should seek only that data which can not be obtained from other
sources. It should be as short as possible but should be comprehensive. It should be
attractive. Directions should be clear and complete. It should be represented in good
Psychological order proceeding from general to more specific responses. Double
negatives in questions should be avoided. Putting two questions in one question also
should be avoided. It should avoid annoying or embarrassing questions. It should be
designed to collect information which can be used subsequently as data for analysis. It
should consist of a written list of questions. The questionnaire should also be used
appropriately.
When is it appropriate to use a questionnaire for research?

Different methods are better suited to different circumstances and questionnaire are
no exception to it. Questionnaire are used at their most productive:
When used with large numbers of respondents. When what is required tends to be
fairly straight forward information. When there is a need for standardize data from
indentical information. When time is allows for delays. When resources allow for the
cast of printing and postage. When respondents can be expected to be able to read and
understand the questions.

Designs of Questionnaire;

After construction of questions on the basis of it‘s characteristics it should be designed

with some essential routines like:
Background information about the questionnaire. Instructions to the respondent. The
allocation of serial numbers and Coding Boxes.

CHECKLIST :
A checklist, is a type of informational job aid used to reduce failure by compensating for
potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consisting and
completeness in carrying out a task. A basic example is ‗to do list‘. A more advanced
checklist which lays out tasks to be done according to time of a day or other factors.
The checklist consists of a list of items with a place to check, or to mark yes or no.
Purpose :
The main purpose of checklist is to call attention to various aspects of an object or
situation, to see that nothing of importance is overlooked. For Example, if you have to
go for outing for a week, you have to list what things you have to take with you. Before
leaving home, if you will check your baggage with the least there will be less chance of
forgetting to take any important things, like toothbrush etc. it ensures the
completeness of details of the data. Responses to the checklist items are largely a
matter of fact, not of judgment. It is an important tool in gathering facts for educational
surveys.

Uses :
Checklists are used for various purposes. As we have discussed that we can check our
requirements for journey, Birthday list, proforma for pass-port, submitting examination
form or admission form etc. in every case, it we will check before doing the work, then
there is less chance of overlooking any, important things. As it is useful in over daily life,
it is also useful in educational field in the following way.
To collect acts for educational surveys. To record behaviour in observational studies.
To use in educational appraisal, studies – of school buildings, property, plan, textbooks,
instructional procedures and outcomes etc. To rate the personality. To know the
interest of the subjects also. Kuder‘s interest inventory and Strong‘s Interest Blank are
also checklists.
Hints on Constructing Checklist :
Items in the checklist may be continuous or divided into groups of related items. Items
should be arranged in categories and the categories in a logical or psychological order.
Terms used in the items should be clearly defined. Checklist should be continuous and
comprehensive in nature. A pilot study should be taken to make it standardized.
Checklist can be constructed in four different ways by arranging items differently. (1) In
one of the arrangement all items found in a situation are to be checked. For Example, a
subject may be asked to check ( ) in the blank side of each activity undertaken in a
school.
(2) In the second form, the respondent is asked to check with a ‗yes‘ or ‗no‘ or asked to
encircle or underline the response to the given item.
For Example, (1) Does your school have a house system?
Yes/No
(3) In this form, all the items are positive statements with checks ( ) to be marked in a
column of a right. For Example, (1) The school functions as a community centre ( ).
(4) The periodical tests are held – fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, regularly.
The investigator has to select any one of the format appropriate to his problem and
queries or the combination of many as it requires.
Analysis and Interpretation of Checklist Data :
The tabulation and quantification of checklist data is done from the responses.
Frequencies are counted, percentages and averages calculated, central tendencies,
measures of variability and co-efficient of correlation completed as and when necessary.
In long checklists, where related items are grouped together category wise, the checks
are added up to give total scores for the category wise total scores can be compared
between themselves or with similar scores secured through other studies.
The conclusions from checklist data should be arrived at carefully ad judiciously keeping
in view the limitations of the tools and respondents.
Merits :
Students can measure their own behaviour with the help of checklist. Easy and simple
to use and frame the tools. Wanted and unwanted behaviours can be included.
Personal - Social development can be checked.
Limitations :
Only the presence or absence of the ability can be tested. Yes or no type judgement
can only be given. How much can not be tested through checklist.
For Example, you want to test the story telling still of a student. You can check only
whether the student developed or not developed the skill but you can not study how
much he has developed?
When we want to check ‗yes‘ or ‗no‘ of any ability, checklist is used.

SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE:

Semantic differential is a type of a rating scale designed to measure the connotative
meaning of objects, events and concepts. The connotations are used to drive the
attitude towards the given object, event of concept.
Semantic Differential:
The Kanji characters in background stand for ―God‖ and ―Wind‖ respectively, with the
compound reading ―Kamikaze‖. (Adapted from Dimensions of Meaning. Visual
Statistics Illustrated at VisualStatistics.net.)
Osgood‘s semantic differential was designed to measure the connotative meaning of
concepts. The respondent is asked to choose where his or her position lies, on a scale
between two bipolar adjectives (for example: ―Adequate-Inadequate‖, ―Good-Evil‖ or
―Valuable-Worthless‖). Semantic differentials can be used to describe not only
persons, but also the connotative meaning of abstract concepts - a capacity used
extensively in effect control theory.
Theoretical Background
Nominalists and Realists :
Theoretical underpinnings of Charles E. Osgood‘s semantic differential have roots in the
medieval controversy between then nominalists and realists. Nominalists asserted that
only real things are entities and that abstractions from these entities, called universals,
are mere words. The realists held that universals have an independent objective
existence either in a realm of their own or in the mind of God. Osgood‘s theoretical
work also bears affinity to linguistics and general semantics and relates to Korzybski‘s
structural differential.
Use of Adjectives :
The development of this instrument provides an interesting insight into the border area
between linguistics and psychology. People have been describing each other since they
developed the ability to speak. Most adjectives can also be used as personality
descriptors. The occurrence of thousands of adjectives in English is an attestation a of
the subtleties in descriptions of persons and their behaviour available to speakers of
English. Roget‘s Thesaurus is an early attempt to classify most adjectives into categories
and was used within this context to reduce the number of adjectives to manageable
subsets, suitable for factor analysis.
Evaluation, Potency and Activity :
Osgood and his colleagues performed a factor analysis of large collections of semantic
differential scales and found three recurring attitudes that people use to evaluate words
and phrases: valuation, potency, and activity. Evaluation loads highest on the adjective
pair ‗active-passive‘ defines the activity factor. These three dimensions off affective
meaning were found to be cross- cultural universals in a study of dozens of cultures.
This factorial structure makes intuitive sense. When our ancestors encountered a
person, the initial perception had to be whether that person represents a danger. Is the
person good or bad? Next, is the person strong or weak? Our reactions to a person
markedly differ it perceived as good and strong, good and weak, bad and weak, or bad
and strong. Subsequently, we might extend our initial classification to include cases of
persons who actively threaten us or represent only a potential, danger, and so on. The
evaluation, potency and activity factors thus encompass a detailed descriptive system of
personality. Osgood‘s semantic differential measures these three factors. It contains
sets of adjective pairs such as warm- cold, bright-dark, beautiful-ugly, sweet-bitter, fair-
unfair, brave- cowardly, meaningful-meaningless.
The studies of Osgood and his colleagues revealed that the evaluate factor accounted
for most of the variance in scalings, and related this to the idea of attitudes.
Usage :
The semantic differential is today one of the most widely used scales used in the
measurement of attitudes. One of the reasons is the versatility of the items. The
bipolar adjective pairs can be used for a wide variety of subjects, and as such the scale is
nicknamed ―the ever ready battery‖ of the attitude researcher.
A. Semantic Differential Scale :
This is a seven point scale and the end points of the scale are associated with bipolar
labels. Suppose we want to know personality of a particular person. We have options –
237
a. Unpleasant / Submissive
b. Pleasant / Dominant
Bi-polar means two opposite streams. Individual can score between 1 to 7 or 3 to 3.
On the basis of these responses profiles are made. We can analyse for two for three
products and by joining these profiles we get profile analysis. It could take any shape
depending on the number of variables.
Profile Analysis
----------------/-------------
-----------/------------------
-------/----------------------
Mean and median are used for comparison. This scale helps to determine overall
similarities and differences among objects.
When Semantic Differential Scale is used to develop an image profile, it provides a good
basis for comparing images of two or more items. The big advantage of this scale is its
simplicity, while producing results compared with those of the more complex scaling
methods. The method is easy and fast to administer, but it is also sensitive to small
differences in attitude, highly versatile, reliable and generally valid.
Statistical Properties :
Five items, or 5 bipolar pairs of adjectives, have been proven to yield reliable findings,
which highly correlate with alternative measures of the same attitude.
238
The biggest problem with his scale is that the properties of the level of measurement
are unknown. The most statistically should approach is to treat it as an ordinal scale,
but it can be argued that the neutral response (i. e. the middle alternative on the scale)
serves as an arbitrary zero point, and that the intervals between the scale values can be
treated as equal, making it an interval scale.
A detailed presentation on the development of the semantic differential is provided in
the monumental book, Cross-Cultural Universals of Affective Meaning. David R. Heise‘s
Surveying Cultures provides a contemporary update with special attention to
measurement issues when using computerized graphic rating scales.
9.8 PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS:
Among the most useful and most frequently employed tools of educational research
psychological tests occupy a very significant position. Psychological tests are described
to describe and measure a sample of certain aspects of human behaviour or inner
qualities. They yield objective descriptions of some psychological aspects of an
individual‘s personality and translate them in quantitative terms. As we have
mentioned earlier there are various kinds of psychological tests. In this unit we will
discuss ‗Aptitude tests‘ and ‗Inventories‘.
Aptitude Tests :
―Aptitude tests attempt to predict the capacities or the degree of achievement that
may be expected from individuals in a particular activity‖.
239
Aptitude is a means by which one can find the relative knowledge of a person in terms
of his intelligence and also his knowledge in general.
Purpose :
The purpose of aptitude test is to test a candidate‘s profile. Aptitude test helps to
check one‘s knowledge and filters the good candidates. The ability of creativity and
intelligence is proved by the aptitude test. It always checks the intelligence and fastness
of the person in performance.
Importance of Aptitude Test :
Research data show that individually administered aptitude tests have the following
qualities:
They are excellent predictors of future scholastic achievement. They provide ways for
comparison of a child‘s performance with other in a same situation. They provide a
profile of strength and weaknesses. They asses difference among individuals.
Uses Of Aptitude Test :
Aptitude tests are valuable in making programme and curricula decisions. In general
they have three major uses:
Instructional : Teacher can use aptitude test results to adopt their curricula to match
the level of students or to design assignments for students who differ widely.
Administrative : Result of Aptitude tests help in determining the programmes for
college on the basis of aptitude level of high-school.
It can also be identify students to be accelerated or given extra attention, for exampling
and in predicting job training performance.
Guidance : result of aptitude tests help counsellors to help parents and students.
Parents develop realistic expectations for their Child‘s performance and students
understand their own strength and weaknesses.
Intelligence tests are also a kind of aptitude test as they describe and measure the
general ability which enters into the performance of every activity and thus predict the
degree of achievement that may be expected from individuals in various activities.
Aptitude test, however have proved of great value for research in educational and
vocational guidance, for research in selection of candidates for particular course of
study or professional training and for research of the complex causal relationship type.

INVENTORY :
Inventory is a list, record or catalog containing list of traits, preferences, attitudes,
interests or abilities used to evaluate personal characteristics or skills.
The purpose of inventory is to make a list about a specific trait, activity or programme
and to check to what extent the presence of that ability types of Inventories like
Internet Inventory and Personality Inventory.

Interest Inventory :
Persons differ in their interests, likes and dislikes. Internets are significant element in
the personality pattern of individuals and play an important role in their educational and
professional careers. The tools used for describing and measuring interests of
individuals are the internet inventories or interest blanks. They are self report
instruments in which the individuals note their own likes and dislikes. They are of the
nature of standardised interviews in which the subject gives an introspective report of
his feelings about certain situations and phenomena which is then interpreted in terms
of internets.
The use of interest inventories is most frequent in the areas of educational and
vocational guidance and case studies. Distinctive patterns of interest that go with
success have been discovered through research in a number of educational and
vocational fields. Mechanical, computational, scientific, artifice, literary, musical, social
service, clerical and many other areas of interest have been analysed informs of
activities. In terms of specific activities, a person‘s likes and dislikes are sorted into
various interest areas and percentile scores calculated for each area. The area where a
person‘s percentile scores are relatively higher is considered to be the area of his
greatest interests, the area in which he would be the happiest and the most successful.
As a part of educational surveys of many kinds, children‘s interest in reading, in games,
in dramatics, in other extracurricular activities and in curricular work etc. are studied.
One kind of instrument, most commonly used in interest measurement is known as
Strong‘s Vocational Interest Inventory. It compares the subject‘s pattern of interest to
the interest patterns of successful individuals in a number of vocational fields. This
inventory consists of the 400 different items. The subject has to tick mark one of the
alternatives i. e. L(for like), I(indifference) or D(Dislike) provided against each item.
When the inventory is standardised, the scoring keys and percentile norms are prepared
on the basis of the responses of a fairly large number of successful individuals of a
particular vocation. A separate scoring key is therefore prepared for each separate
vocation or subject area. The subject‘s responses are scored with the scoring key of a
particular vocation in order to know his interest or lack of interest or lack of interest in
the vocation concerned. Similarly his responses can be scored with scoring keys
standardised for other vocational areas. In this way you can determine one‘s areas of
vocational interest. Another well known interest inventories, there are also personality
inventories to measure the personality. You can prepare inventories of any ability to
measure it.

OBSERVATION :
Observation offers the researcher a distinct way of collecting data. It does not rely on
what people say they do, or what they say they think. It is more direct than that.
Instead, it draws on the direct evidence of the eye to witness events first hand. It is a
more natural way of gathering data. Whenever direct observation is possible it is the
preferable method to use.
 Observation method is a technique in which the behaviour of research subjects is
watched and recorded without any direct contact. It involve the systematic recording of
observable phenomena or behaviour in a natural setting.
Purpose :
The purpose of observation techniques are:
To collect data directly. To collect substantial amount of data in short time span. To
get eye witness first hand data in real like situation. To collect data in a natural setting.
Characteristics :
It is necessary to make a distinction between observation as a scientific tool and the
casual observation of the man in the street. An observation with the following
characteristics will be scientific observation.
Observation is systematic.

It is specific. It is objective. It is quantitative. The record of observation should be

made immediately. Expert observer should observe the situation. It‘s result can be
checked and verified.
Types of Observation :
On the basis of the purpose of observation may be of varied type like:
Structured and Unstructured Participant and Non-participant
Structured and Unstructured Observation :
In the early large stage of an investigation, it is necessary to allow maximum flexibility in
observation to obtain a true picture of the phenomenon as a whole. In the early stage,
it we attempt to restrict the observation to certain areas, then there we‘,, be the risk of
overlooking some of the more crucial aspects. As the investigator studies the significant
aspects and observes some restricted aspects of the situation to derive more and
rigorous generalizations. So in the first stage of observation, the observation is wide
and unstructured and as the investigation proceeds observation gets restricted and
structured.
Participant and Non-Participant Observation:
In participant observation, the observer becomes more or less one of the groups under
observation and shares the situation as a visiting stranger, an attentive listener, an eager
learner or as a complete participant observer, registering, recording and interpreting
behaviour of the group.
In non-participant observation, the observer observes through one way screens and
hidden microphones. The observer remains a look from group. He keeps his
observation as inconspicuous as possible. The purpose of non-participant observation is
to observe the behaviour in a natural setting. The subject will not shift his behaviour or
the will not be conscious hat someone is observing his behaviour.
 The advantages and disadvantages of participant and non- participant observation
depend largely on the situation. Participant observation is helpful to study about
criminals at least participating with person sometime. It gives a better in sight into the
life. Therefore it has a built in validity test. It‘s disadvantages are that it is time
consuming As he develops relationship with the members, there is a chance of lousing
his neutrality, objectivity and accuracy to rate things as they are:
Non-participant observation is used with groups like infants, children or abnormal
persons. It permits the use of recording instruments and the gathering of large
quantities of data.
Therefore, some researchers feel that it is best for the observer to remain only a partial
participant and to maintain his status of scientific observer apart from the group.

Steps of Effective Observation:

As a research tool effective observation needs effective

Planning Execution Recording and Interpretation Planning:
While planning to employ observation as a research technique the following factors
should be taken into consideration.
Sample to be observed should be adequate. Units of behaviour to be observed should
be clearly defined. Methods of recording should be simplified. Detail instruction should
be given to observes if more than one observe is employed to maintain consistency.
Too many variables should not be observed simultaneously. Excessively long period of
observation without rest period should be avoided. Observes should be fully trained
and well equipped. Records of observation must be comprehensive.
Execution :
A good observation plan lends to success only when followed with skill and expert
execution. Expert execution needs:
Proper arrangement of special conditions for the subject. Assuming the proper physical
position for observing. Focusing attention on the specific activities or units of behaviour
under observation. Observing discreetly the length and number of periods and internals
decided upon. Handling well the recording instruments to be used. Utilising the
training received in terms of expertness.

Recording:
The two common procedures for recording observations are:
 Simultaneous Soon after the observation
Which methods should be used depend on the nature of the group? The type of
behaviour to be observed. Both the method has their merits and limitations. The
simultaneous form of recording may distract the subjects while after observation the
observer may distract the subjects while after observation the observer may fail to
record the complete and exact information. Therefore for a systematic collection of
data the various devices of recording should be used. They are like – checklist, rating
scale and score card etc.
Interpretation:
Interpretation can be done directly by the observer at the time of his observation.
Where several observers are involved, the problem of university is there. Therefore, in
such instances, the observer merely records his observations and leaves the matter of
interpretation to an export that is more likely to provide a unified frame of reference. It
must of course, be recognized that the interpreter‘s frame of reference is fundamental
to any interpretation and it might be advisable to insist on agreement between
interpreters of different background.

Limitations of Observation :
The limitations of observation are: Establishing validity is difficult. Subjectivity is also
there. It is a slow and labourious process.
It is costly both in terms of time of time and money. The data may be unmanageable.
There is possibility of biasness These limitations can be minimized by systematic
observation as it provides a framework for observation which all observes will use. It
has the following advantages.

Advantages of Observation :

Data collected directly Systematic and rigorous Substantial amount of data can be
collected in a relatively short time span. Provides pre-coded data and ready for analysis.
Inter observer reliability is high.
However, observation is a scientific technique to the extent that it serves a formulated
research purpose, planned systematically rather than occurring haphazardly,
systematically recorded and related to more general propositions and subjected to
checks and controls with respect to validity, reliability and precision.

INTERVIEW :
Interviews are an attractive proposition for the project researcher. Interviews are
something more than conversation. They involve a set of assumptions and
understandings about the situation which are not normally associated with a casual
conversion. Interviews are also refered as an oral questionnaire by some people, but it
is indeed mush more than that. Questionnaire involves indirect data collection, whereas
Interview data is collected directly from others in face to face contact. As you know,
people are hesitant to wrote something than to talk. With friendly relationship and
rapport, the interviewer can obtain certain types of confidential information which
might be reluctant to put in writing.
Therefore research interview should be systematically arranged. It does not happen by
chance. The interviews not done by secret recording of discussions as research data.
The consent of the subject is taken for the purpose of interview. The words of the
interviews can be treated as ‗on the record‘ and ‗for the record‘. It should not be used
for other purposes besides the research purpose. The discussion therefore is not
arbitrary or at the whim of one of the parties. The agenda for the discussion is set by
the researcher. It is dedicated to investigating a given topic.
Importance of Interview :
Whether it is large scale research or small scale research, the nature of the data
collection depends on the amount of resources available. Interview is particularly
appropriate when the researcher wishes to collect data based on:
Emotions, experiences and feelings. o Sensitive issues. o Privileged information. It is
appropriate when dealing with young children, illiterates, language difficulty and
limited, intelligence. It supplies the detail and depth needed to ensure that the
questionnaire asks valid questions while preparing questionnaire. It is a follow up to a
questionnaire and complement the questionnaire. It can be combined with other tools
in order to corroborate facts using a different approach. It is one of the normative
survey methods, but it is also applied in historical, experimental, case studies . Types of
Interview :
Interviews vary in purpose, nature and scope. They may be conducted for guidance,
therapentic or research purposes. They may be confined to one individual or extended
to several people. The following discussions describe several types of interview.
Structured Interview :
Structured interview involves fight control over the format of questions and answers. It
is like a questionnaire which is administered face to face with a respondent. The
researcher has a predetermined list of questions. Each respondent is faced with
identical questions. The choice of alternative answers is restricted to a predetermined
list. This type of interview is rigidly standardised and formal.
Structured interviews are often associated with social surveys where researchers are
trying to collect large volumes of data from a wide range of respondents.
Semi-Structured Interview :
 In semi-structures interview, the interviewer also has a clear list of issues to be
addressed and questions to be answered. There is some flexibility in the order of the
topics. In this type of interviewee is given chance to develop his ideas and speak more
widely on the issues raised by the researcher. The answers are open-ended and more
emphasis is on the interviewee elaborating points of interest.
Unstructured Interview :
In case of unstructured interview, emphasis is placed on the interviewee‘s thoughts.
The role of the researcher is to be as unintruisve as possible. The researcher introduces
a theme or topic and then letting the interviewee develop his or her ideas and pursue
his or her train of thought. Allowing interviewees to speak their minds is a better way of
discovering things about complex issues. It gives opportunity for in depth investigations.
Single Interview :
This is a common form of semi structured or un-structured interview. It involves a
meeting between one researcher and one informant. It is easy to arrange this type of
interview. It helps the researcher to locate specific ideas wit specific people. It is also
easy to control the situation in the part of the interviewer.
Group Interview :
In case of group interview, more than one informant is involved. The numbers involved
normally about four to six people. Here you may think that it is difficult to get people
together to discuss matters on one occasion and how many voices can contribute to the
discussion during any one interview. But the crucial thing to bear in mind. Here is that a
group interview is not an opportunity for the researcher to questions to a sequence of
individuals, taking turns around a table. ‗group‘ is crucial here, because it tells us that
those present in the interview will interact with one another and that the discussion will
operate at the level of the group. They can present a wide range of information and
varied view points.

LET US SUM UP :
You would recall that we have touched upon the following learning items in this unit.
For the purpose of collecting new relevant data foe a research study, the investigator
needs to select proper instruments termed as tools and techniques.
The major tools of research can be classified into broad categories of inquiry form,
observation, interview, social measures and Psychological tests.
 Among the inquiry forms, we have discussed in this unit are Rating scale, attitude scale,
opinionnaire, questionnaire checklist and semantic differential scale. Observation and
Interview are explained as the techniques of data collection. In psychological tests,
Aptitude tests and inventories are discussed.

Rating scale is a technique which is designed or constructed to asses the personality of

an individual. It is very popular in testing applied psychology, vocational guidance and
counseling as well as in basic research. They measure the degree or amount of the
indicated judgments.

Attitude scale is the device by which the feelings or beliefs of persons are described and
measured indirectly through securing their responses to a set of favourable statements.
Thurstone and Likert scale are commonly adopted for attitude scaling.
Opinionnaire is a special form of inquiry. It is used by the researcher to collect the
opinions of a sample of population. It is usually used in descriptive type research.
Questionnaire is a tool which used frequently. The purpose is to gathered information
from widely scattered sources. Data collected in written form through this tool.
Checklist is a selected list of words, Phrases, Sentences and paragraphs following which
an observer records a check mark to denote a presence or absence of whatever is being
observed. It calls for a simple yes / no judgments. The main purpose is to call attention
to various aspects of an object or situation, to see that nothing of importance is
overlooked. Semantic Differential Scale is a seven point scale and the end points of the
scale are associated with bipolar labels. This scale helps o determine overall similarities
and differences among objects.
Aptitude tests are psychological tests attempt to product the capacities or the degree of
achievement expected from individuals in a particular activity. The purpose is to test a
candidate‘s profile.
Inventory is a list, or record containing traits, preferences, attitudes interests or abilities
used to evaluate personal characteristics or skills. Strong‘s vocational interest inventory
is an example of interest inventory.
Observation method is a technical in which the behaviour research subjects is watched
and recorded without any direct contact. It deals with the overt behaviour of persons in
controlled or uncontrolled situations.
Interview is an oral type of questionnaire where the subject supplies the needed
information in a face to face situation. It is specially appropriate for dealing with young
children, illiterates, dull and the abnormal.