METHODS OF

DATA
COLLECTION
OBSERVATIONAL METHOD
 Observational Method
• Behaviour is systematically observed and
recorded
• Goal: Obtain info about the specific
characteristics of an individual, group, etc,
and describe the variables of interest
• A non-experimental study → no variable is
manipulated or controlled → arriving at causal
conclusions is not possible
 Naturalistic observation
• Observing behaviour in the environment in which
it occurs
• Disguised naturalistic observation → participants
are unaware of being studied
→Considered ethically accepted in public settings
where participants would not normally have
expectation of privacy
• Undisguised naturalistic observation → Preferred
when it is not ethical to conduct it disguised
→ Participants are made aware of the presence of
researcher and that they are being monitored
 Strengths of naturalistic observation
• Greater ecological validity → can be
generalised to real life situations as they are
observed in real-life settings
• Study of total situation by researcher allows
for generation of new ideas
 Disadvantages
• Time consuming
• May not have External validity → may not be
generalised to wider society (other contexts)
as it is conducted on a micro scale
• Less reliability → other variables are
uncontrolled → difficulty in attaining
consistent results
• Hawthorne effect or reactivity in case of
undisguised naturalistic observation
 Controlled observation
• Observation of specific limited characteristics of
naturally occurring behaviour in particular
settings like laboratory
• It is a structured observation (by giving specific
tasks, social situations to participants)
• Strengths:
➢ Easy to replicate → reliability
➢ Easier to obtain and analyse
➢ Greater ecological validity as large representative
samples can be studied
❖A problem can be Hawthorne effect
 Participant Observation
• Researchers become active participants in the
group or activity they are studying
• Data can be collected through interviews,
notes, interactions, documents, photographs
• Rationale: Access to exclusive information or
information that can be interpreted only by
the participant
• Can be either disguised or undisguised
 Disadvantages
• Difficulty in recording observations like
making notes, etc.
• Possibility of reduction of validity of data due
to researcher getting too actively involved →
loss of objectivity or bias
INTERVIEW METHOD
 INTERVIEW
• A social, interpersonal encounter- not merely
a data collection exercise
• Exploration of issues in depth
• Constructed and specifically planned event-
not a naturally occurring situation
 Purposes of interview
• To understand, evaluate or assess a person, situation
or event(s) in some respect
• To select or promote an employee
• To effect therapeutic change (e.g. the psychiatric
interview)
• To test or develop hypotheses
• To develop a research instrument such as a survey (as
in cognitive interviews)
• To gather data, as in surveys, experimental situations
and case studies
 Types of interviews
1. Informal Conversational Interview
➢ Questions emerge from immediate context
➢ Asked in the natural course of things
➢ No pre-determination of question topics or
wording
➢ Strengths:
✓ Increases relevance of questions
✓ Interview is built on and emerge from
observations
✓ Can be matched to individuals and circumstances
• Weaknesses:
❖Variability in questions- leads to variability in
collected information
❖Less systematic and comprehensive if certain
questions don’t arise naturally
❖Data organization and analysis can become
quite difficult
 Types of interview
2. Interview guide approach
➢ Topic and issues to be covered are specified in
advance- in outline form
➢ Interviewer decides sequence and working of
questions in the course of interview
➢ Strengths:
✓ Outline- increases comprehensiveness of data
and makes data collection somewhat systematic
✓ Logical gaps can be anticipated and closed
✓Interviews- remain fairly conversational and
situational
➢Weaknesses:
❖Flexibility in sequencing and wording --->
different responses ---> Reduction in
comparability of responses
❖Omission of some important topics
 Types of Interviews
3. Standardized open ended interviews
• Exact wording and sequence of questions-
determined in advance
• Same basic questions to all- in same order
• Strengths:
✓Increase in comparability of responses
✓Comprehensive and complete data on each
topic
✓Reduces interviewer bias when several
interviewers are used
✓Facilitates organization and analysis of data
• Weaknesses:
❖Reduced flexibility in relating the interview to
individuals and circumstances
❖Standardized wording- constrain naturalness
and relevance of questions
 Types of interview
4. Closed quantitative interviews
• Questions and responses predetermined
• Fixed responses- respondents have to choose
• Strengths:
✓Easy aggregation of responses
✓Direct comparison of responses
✓Data analysis is simple
✓Many questions can be asked in short time
• Weaknesses:
❖Respondents- forced to fit their feelings and
experiences into researcher’s categories
❖May be perceived- impersonal, irrelevant and
mechanistic
❖Limiting response choices → can lead to
distortion of real meaning and experience of
response
 Planning and conducting an interview
• Stages
1. Thematising
2. Designing
3. Construction of schedules
4. Question formats
5. Response modes
6. Conducting the interview
7. Transcribing
8. Analysing
9. Verifying
10. Reporting