BASIC TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

… The heart of any research design is the collection of data. There are two sources of data –the
primary and the secondary…. The primary data is collected mainly through questionnaire and
interview schedule…. K.D.Gangrade

INTRODUCTION

Analysis based on social science research methods has revolutionized the legal system. The effective and
efficient administration of justice will require a penetrating study of social phenomenon using research
tools and techniques. The heart of any research is collections of data. There are two sources of collecting
data- the primary and the secondary. In the first, the data is directly collected from the respondent,
whereas in the second the main source is published and unpublished material. This is often called library
research as well. Several devices are also employed to collect primary data.

INTERVIEW METHOD

Interviewing, as a research method, typically involves you, as researcher, asking questions, and
hopefully, receiving answers from the people you are interviewing. It is very widely used in social
research including the legal research. There are many types of interview.

Types and styles of interview (1) – The form of interviews may vary widely. A commonly made
distinction is based on the degree of structure or standardization of interview. Interviews may range all
the way from the rigidly standardized to a completely unstructured interview.

1. Fully structured interview- has predetermined questions with fixed wording, usually in a pre-set
order. The use of mainly open-response questions is the only essential difference from an
interview-based survey questionnaire
2. Semi-structured interview- It has predetermined questions, but the order can be modified
based upon the interviewer's perception of what seems most appropriate. Question wording
can be changed and explanations given; particular questions which seem inappropriate with a
particular interviewee can be omitted, or additional ones included.
3. Unstructured interviews- The interviewer has a general area of interest and concern, but lets
the conversation develop within this area. It can be completely informal. Here, both the
questions asked and responses given are left flexible and open. Semi structured and
unstructured interviews are widely used in flexible, qualitative designs and they are referred as
qualitative research interviews.

General advice for interviewers The interview is a kind of conversation, something that we all
have had experience in doing. Your job, as interviewer, is to try to get interviewees to talk freely
and openly. Your own behavior has a major influence on their willingness to do this. To this end,
you should:
1. listen more than you speak-Most interviewers talk too much. The interview is not a platform
for the interviewer's personal experiences and opinions.
2. put questions in a straight forward, clear and non-threatening way. If people are confused or
defensive, you will not get the information you seek.
3. eliminate cues which lead interviewees to respond in a particular way. Many interviewees will
seek to please the interviewer by giving 'correct' responses
4. enjoy it (or at least look as though you do). Do not give the message that you are bored or
scared. Vary your voice and facial expression. It is also essential that you take a full record of the
interview. This can be from notes made at the time and/ or from a recording of the interview.
Experienced interviewers tend to have strong preferences for one or other of these approaches.

Content of interview In interviews which are to a greater or lesser extent pre-structured by the
interviewer, the content, which can be prepared in advance, consists of:
a set of items (usually questions) often with alternative subsequent items
 depending on the responses obtained; suggestions for so -called probes and prompts;
 and a proposed sequence for the questions which, in a semi-structured
 interview, may be subject to change during the course of the interview.
The items or questions (4)-Three main types are used in research interviews: closed (or fixed-
alternative), open and scale items. Closed questions, as the fixedalternative label suggest, force
the interviewee to choose from two or more fixed alternatives. Open questions provide no
restrictions on the content or manner of the reply other than on the subject area. Scale items
ask for a response in the form of degree of agreement or disagreement.

The advantages of open-ended questions are that they:

 allow you to go into more depth or clear up any misunderstandings;

 enable testing of the limits of a respondent's knowledge;

 encourage co-operation and rapport;
 allow you to make a truer assessment of what the respondent really believes
 can produce unexpected or unanticipated answers.
 are flixible

The disadvantages lie in the possibilities for loss of control by the interviewer, and in particular
in responses being much more difficult to analyze than those from the closed ones;

Probes- A probe is a device to get interviewees to expand on a response when you intuit that
they have more to give. There are tactics, such as asking 'anything more?' or 'would you go over
that again?' or using a period of silence, or an enquiring glance, etc.
Prompts- They suggest to the interviewee the range or set of possible answers that the
interviewer expects. The list of possibilities may be read out by the interviewer, or a 'prompt
card' with them can be shown (e.g a list of names of alcoholic drinks for a question on drinking
habits).
Questions to avoid in interviews : in conducting interview the interviewer should avoid the
following forms of questions.
i) Long questions- The interviewee may remember only part of the question, and respond
to that part.
ii) Double barreled (multiple-barreled) questions.
iii) Questions involving Jargon- Generally you should avoid questions containing
iv) Words likely to be unfamiliar to the target audience.
v) Leading questions-Modify such questions if you realize that they are leading in a
particular direction.
vi) Biased questions- provided that you are alert to the possibility of bias, it is not difficult
to write unbiased questions.

The sequence of questions A commonly used sequence is as follows:

1. Introduction- Interviewer introduces herself, explains purpose of the interview,
assures of confidentiality, and asks permission to tape and / or make notes.
2. 'Warm-up' - Easy, non -threatening questions at the beginning to settle down both of
you
3. Main body of interview- covering the main purpose of the interview in what the
interviewer considers to be a logical progression.
4. 'Cool-off'-Usually a few straight forward questions at the end to defuse any tension
that might have built up.
5. Closure- Thank you and goodbye. a.Interview may be conducted with face-to face
interviewing, telephone interviewing and in this computerization age even through
electronic (e-mail) communication

. Advantages and Disadvantages of Interviews The interview is a flexible and adaptable

way of finding things out
 Face to face interviews offer the possibility of modifying one's line of enquiry,
following up responses and investigating underlying motives in a way that postal
and self-administered questionnaires cannot.
 Non-verbal cues may give messages which help in understanding the verbal
response, possibly changing or even, in extreme cases, reversing, its meaning.
Although interviewing is in no sense soft option as a data-gathering technique,
 it has the potential of providing rich and highly illuminating material.
Interviewing is time-consuming, and it could have the effect of reducing the
 number of persons willing to participate. All interviews require careful
preparation-making arrangements to visit,
 securing necessary permissions which take time; confirming arrangements,
rescheduling appointments to cover absences and crises takes more time.
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
Interviewing itself is an art, but the planning and writing of an interview schedule is all
the more so. The purpose of a schedule is to provide a standardized tool for observation
or for interview in order to attain objectivity. By schedule every informant has to reply
the same question put in the same language and the researcher has no choice to get the
desired reply by putting a different question or changing the language of the same
question. The order of the questions is also the same and thus the whole interview takes
place under standardized conditions and the data received is easily comparable. The
other purpose of schedule is to facilitate the work of tabulation and analysis. In fact, the
questions are formed while keeping the tabulation plan in mind.
Procedure for framing a schedule: While framing a schedule, the first question to be
asked is, what are the different aspects of the problem? The problem under study
should first of all be split up into various aspects. The determination of these aspects
will depend upon clear understanding of the problem under study. The next question to
be decided is what information is necessary? For this purpose each aspect has again to
be broken up into a number of subparts. These subparts should be exhaustive enough
to give a full and complete picture of the aspect under study. The third step is the
framing of actual questions. This part deals with the form and wordings of the
questions. More than one question may be asked to get complete information about the
particular aspect. When information can not be secured through direct questions,
indirect questions may be resorted to. This part is the most vital part of the schedule
and any error in it may invalidate the whole enquiry through biased, incorrect,
incomplete or irrelevant information. The fourth step is general layout of the schedule
and arrangement of questions. Once the questions have been given definite form, the
next problem is to bring them in proper form. The last step is testing the reliability and
validity of schedule. After the schedule has been prepared, it has to be tested on a
sample population to find out if any discrepancies have crept in. Ultimately it may be
amended in the light of the experience thus gained.

Contents of Schedule: The whole schedule may be divided into three parts according to
the nature of contents :(1) Introductory part, (2) main schedule, and (3) instructions to
the interviewer or observers.
1. Introductory part-This part contains introductory information about the schedules
and respondent. It is more or less common to all the general information about the
interviewee, e.g., his name, address, age, sex, post held, education, etc.
2. Main schedule- After the preliminary part come the main portion of the schedule. It is
the most vital part and to be prepared with great care. The schedule consists of
question as well as blank table where information to be supplied by the interviewee has
to be filled in.
3. Instructions to interviewers-The schedule generally contain exhaustive instructions
for the interviewers. Although they are personally explained and even practically trained
in the work, still instruction in writing are necessary.