Lecture 10

Data: Types and Method

of Collection
 Outline
 Introduction: Data Collection
 Classification of Research Data
 Secondary Data
◦ Definition
◦ Advantages & Disadvantages
◦ Major sources
◦ Types of Economic Data
◦ Evaluating Secondary Data
 Primary Data
◦ Definition
◦ Methods of Collection
◦ Advantages & Disadvantages
◦ Guidelines for Constructing Questionnaires
 Primary versus Secondary: Summary
 Factors Influencing Choice of Data Collection Methods
 Writing an Abstract
 Introduction
 Data collection is a term used to describe a
process of preparing and collecting data.
◦ Systematic gathering of data for a
particular purpose from various sources,
that has been systematically observed,
recorded, organized.
 Data are the basic inputs to any decision
making process in business.
 The purpose of data collection is to obtain
information to keep on record to make
decisions about important issues, to pass
information on to others.
 A Classification of Research Data
Research data

Secondary data Primary data

Qualitative data Quantitative data

Interview, ethnography/observation,
focus group, content analysis

Descriptive Causal

survey observational experimental

data & other data data
 Secondary Data
 Secondary data means data that are already
available i.e., they refer to the data which
have already been collected and analysed by
someone else.

 When the researcher utilises secondary

data, then he has to look into various
sources from where he can obtain them.

 Secondary data may either be published

data or unpublished data.
 Secondary Data…
 Data gathered and recorded by some one
else prior to and for the purposes other
than the current project is often:
◦ Historical
◦ Already assembled
◦ Needs no access to subjects
 By way of caution, the researcher, before
using secondary data, must see that the
data possess following characteristics:
reliability, suitability and adequacy.
 Advantages of Secondary Data
Access
• quick & easy to obtain
Affordable
• mostly free; or at minimal cost
Availability
• many sources – electronic availability
Retrospective
• allows researchers to go back in time;
enables prediction or forecasting of future
events

✓Saves money and time

 Disadvantages of secondary data
Relevance & accuracy
 as data has been collected for purposes other than the specific
research problem, usefulness may be limited. Data collected in
one location may not be suitable for the other one due variable
environmental factor.
Measurement units in secondary data may not match the
researcher’s needs
 different income level groupings or measured in different ways
– household or per capita income
Recency of the data
 With the passage of time the data becomes obsolete and very
old.
May be an incomplete data set
 Secondary data collected can distort the results of the research.
For using secondary data a special care is required to amend or
modify for use.
Not easy to locate
 Major sources of secondary data
i. Public documents, official records (government)
and trade associations
ii. Private documents
iii. Mass media
(periodicals/newspapers/books/internet)
iv. Social science data archives
v. Department of Statistics, Malaysia
vi. Bank Negara Malaysia
vii. World Organizations (IMF, World bank, ADB,
SEACEN)
 Free Data Set Online
 Central Bank of Malaysia
◦ http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=12
 A free source of US data
◦ http://www.economy.com/freelunch/
 Yahoo finance
◦ http://finance.yahoo.com/
 International Financial Statistics (free trial)
◦ http://ifs.apdi.net/imf/logon.aspx
 World Bank website
◦ http://www.worldbank.org/

And many more…

 Cross
sectional
Time
Panel
Series

Types of
Economic
Data
 Time Series Data
 The data are ordered by time
 Time series data is a set of observations
on the values that a variable takes at
different times.
 Such data may be collected at regular time
intervals (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly,
quarterly, annually)
 Example: Consumption and disposable
income for Malaysia from 1990-1992.
 Time Series Data…
Year C Yd

1990 60 130

1991 64 138

1992 68 148

Notation: Yt an observation on variable Y at time t

 Cross-Sectional Data
 Data that is characterized by individual
units.
 These units might refer to people,
companies, sectors, industries, firms
or countries.
 Cross Sectional data are data collected on
the same point in time.
 Example: Consumption and disposable
income of different Asia countries in 1990
 Cross Sectional Data…
Country C Yd

Malaysia 60 130

Indonesia 82 120

Thailand 75 100

Singapore 100 230

The ordering of the data typically does not

matter. Notation:Yi an observation on variable Y for
individual i. Data set run from individual i = 1 to N. N
indicates the number of cross-sectional units.
 Panel Data
 Panel data (Pooled data) sets have both
time series and cross-sectional component.
 Example: Consumption and disposable
income among Asian Countries (Malaysia,
Indonesia, Thailand & Singapore) for the
period of 1990-1992
◦ N = 4 (cross sectional) and T = 3 years (time
series)
◦ Notation:Yit an observation on variable
Y for unit i at time t
 Panel Data…
Year Country C Yd
1990 Malaysia 60 130
1991 Malaysia 64 138
1992 Malaysia 68 148
1990 Indonesia 82 120
1991 Indonesia 85 127
1992 Indonesia 92 132
1990 Thailand 75 100
1991 Thailand 85 130
1992 Thailand 94 135
1990 Singapore 100 230
1991 Singapore 103 237
1992 Singapore 116 250
 Evaluating Secondary Data
Does the data help to answer questions
set out in the problem definition?
Applicability
to project
objectives
Does the data apply to the time period
of interest?

Does the data apply to the population

of interest?
 Evaluating Secondary Data….
Do the other terms and variable classifications
presented apply?
Applicability
to project
objectives Are the units of measurement comparable?

If possible, go to the original source of the

Accuracy
data?
of the data
 Evaluating Secondary Data….

Is the cost of data acquisition worth it?

Accuracy Is there a possibility of bias?

of the data

Can the accuracy of data collection be

verified?
 Challenges
 Overwhelming increase in amount of printed
secondary data
 Multimedia sources & transfer modes
◦ hardcopy, disks , internet has lead to an
explosion of available information.
 Researchers must:
◦ Learn to properly handle secondary data
◦ Know the classifications of secondary data
◦ Know the advantages & disadvantages of
secondary data
◦ Know how to evaluate the information
◦ Consistency of the sources that he/she
obtained the secondary data set.
 Primary Data
 Data that has been collected from first-
hand-experience is known as primary data.

 Primary data has not been published yet

and is more reliable, authentic and
objective.

 Primary data has not been changed or

altered by human beings, therefore its
validity is greater than secondary data.
 Interviews

Observation
Questionnaire
method

Method of
Collection
of Primary
Data
 Advantages of Primary Data
 The primary data are original and relevant to the
topic of the research study so the degree of
accuracy is very high.
 Primary data is that it can be collected from a
number of ways like interviews, telephone surveys,
focus groups etc. It can be also collected across the
national borders through emails and posts. It can
include a large population and wide geographical
coverage.
 Primary data is current and it can better give a
realistic view to the researcher about the topic
under consideration.
 Reliability of primary data is very high because these
are collected by the concerned and reliable party.
 Disadvantages of Primary Data
 For collection of primary data using interview - the
coverage will be limited and for wider coverage a
more number of researchers are required.
 A lot of time and efforts are required for data
collection. By the time the data collected, analysed
and report is ready the problem of the research
becomes very serious or outdated.
 It has design problems like how to design the
surveys. The questions must be simple to understand
and respond.
 Some respondents do not give timely responses.
Sometimes, the respondents may give false
information.
 Disadvantages of Primary Data
 With more people, time and efforts involvement
the cost of the data collection goes high. The
importance of the research may go down.
 In some primary data collection methods there is
no control over the data collection.
◦ Incomplete questionnaire always give a negative impact
on research.
 Trained persons are required for data collection.
In experienced person in data collection may give
inadequate data of the research.
 Guidelines for Constructing Questionnaire
1. The researcher must keep in view the problem he is to study for it
provides the starting point for developing the Questionnaire.
2. Appropriate form of questions depends on the nature of information
sought, the sampled respondents and the kind of analysis intended.
The researcher must decide whether to use closed or open-ended
question. Questions should be simple.
3. Rough draft of the Questionnaire be prepared, giving due thought to
the appropriate sequence of putting questions. Questionnaires
previously drafted (if available) may as well be looked into at this
stage.
4. Researcher must invariably re-examine, and in case of need may
revise the rough draft for a better one.
5. Pilot study should be undertaken for pre-testing the questionnaire.
The questionnaire may be edited in the light of the results of the pilot
study.
6. Questionnaire must contain simple but straight forward directions
for the respondents so that they may not feel any difficulty in
answering the questions.
 Primary versus Secondary of Data
Primary data is collected by Secondary data is collected
by
✓ collected for the purpose
 collected for some other
of completing the current research purpose.
research project.  Visiting the relevant
✓ Identifying population of research organization.
interest  Request for primary data
✓ choosing sample  Collect data from the
department of planning
✓ analyse sample
research and statistics
✓ information  Analyse primary data
draw inference from collected
sample information  Make conclusion or
inference
 Factors Influencing the Selection of Appropriate Data
Collection Method
1. Objective of study:The most important factor
affecting the choice of a particular method. The
method selected should suits the type of investigation
that is to be conducted by the researcher. This factor is
also important in deciding whether to use secondary
data or primary data.

2. Availability of funds: When funds at the disposal of

the researcher are very limited, he will have to select a
comparatively cheaper method which may not be as
efficient and effective as some other costly method.
 Factors Influencing the Selection of Appropriate Data
Collection Method
3.Time factor: Availability of time has also to be
taken into account in deciding a particular
method of data collection. Some methods take
relatively more time, whereas with others the
data can be collected in a comparatively shorter
duration.

4. Precision required: Precision required is yet

another important factor to be considered at
the time of selecting the method of collection
of data.
 Writing An Abstract
 Abstracts are important because they give a first
impression of the document that follows, letting
readers decide whether they want to continue
reading and showing them what to look for if
they do.
 The most useful abstracts tell the reader more.
An abstract should represent as much as
possible of the quantitative and qualitative
information in the document, and also reflect its
reasoning.
 An informative abstract should consists of about
100-250 words.
 Writing An Abstract…
 The abstract should accurately reflects the paper or study.
Specifically, it should contain:
1. Brief statement of the problem/ objectives
2. Concise description of the research method &
design
3. Summary of major findings
4. Brief conclusions

 In another words, write based on the following

questions in mind when writing an abstract;
1. Why did you do this study or project?
2. What did you do, and how?
3. What did you find?
4. What do your findings mean?
 Writing An Abstract: Some Points to Keep in
Mind
 An abstract will nearly always be read along with the
title, so do not repeat or rephrase the title.
 Readers expect you to summarize the conclusions,
purpose, methods, and main findings.
 Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in
the document.
 Avoid using I or we, but choose active verbs instead of
passive when possible (e.g. the study tested response rates
rather than response rates were tested by the study).
 Avoid using trade names, acronyms, abbreviations, or
symbols. Use the most important terms and concepts
from the document.
 Example of Abstract
Does good governance matter for FDI inflows? Evidence from Asian
Economies
This paper examines the effects of the six components of good governance
on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 15 Asian economies for the
period 1996–2007 using a fixed effect model for panel data with
heteroskedasticity corrected standard errors. The study also employs the
feasible general least square (FGLS) and Prais-Winstein panel estimation
methods in order to check the consistency of the results with the fixed effect
model. The empirical results reveal that of the six components of good
governance, political stability and absence of violence, government
effectiveness, rule of law, and control of corruption are the key determinants
of FDI inflows, as they exhibit consistent results under different models.
However, the study finds no significant evidence with voice and
accountability and regulatory quality in FDI inflows. The study reveals that
human capital, infrastructure, lending rate, and GDP growth rate also have a
significant influence on FDI inflows. We conclude that a country which can
enhance its governance environment in general is likely to attract more
foreign direct investment despite offsetting deficiencies in other dimensions
of good governance such as voice and accountability and regulatory quality.
(187 words)
 Evaluating the Research Report
Chapter 1: Introduction
 Is background information on the problem
presented?
 Is there a statement of the problem?
 Does the problem statement indicate the
variables of interest and the specific
relationship between those variables,
which were investigated?
 Is the research questions and research
objectives stated clearly?
 Does the contribution of the study is
highlighted?
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
 Is the review recent & comprehensive?
 Are all references cited relevant to the
problem under investigation?
 Have references been critically analyzed or
reviewed and the results of various studies
compared and contrasted?
 Is the review well organized?
 Does the review conclude with a brief
summary of the literature and its gaps or
implications?
 Chapter 3: Research Methodology
Research Design and Procedure
 Is the design appropriate for testing the
hypotheses?
 Are procedures described in sufficient detail to
permit them to be replicated by another
researcher?
Theoretical Framework
Hypotheses
 Are specific hypotheses to be tested stated?
 Does each hypothesis state an expected
relationship or difference between two
variables?
 Is each hypothesis testable?
 Chapter 3: Research Methodology (cont.)
Subjects
 Was the method of selecting a sample clearly described?
 Does the sample size meet suggested guidelines for
minimum sample size appropriate for the method of
research used?
Instruments
 Is a rationale given for selection of the instruments used?
 Are the instruments appropriate for measuring the
intended variables?
 Is evidence presented that indicates that each
instrument is appropriate for the sample under study?
 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions
Data analysis and Results
 Was every hypothesis tested?
 Are results clearly presented?
 Is each results discussed in terms of the
original hypothesis to which it relates?
 Is each results discussed in terms of its
agreement or disagreement with theoretical
prediction?
 Is each results discussed in terms of its
agreement or disagreement with previous
results obtained by other researchers in other
studies?
 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Policy
Implications
 Summary of findings and Policy Implications
 Was summary of the findings provided?
 Are theoretical and practical implications of
the findings discussed?
 Limitations of the study and future
research directions
 Was the limitations of the study
discussed?
 Are recommendations for future research
made?
 Primary Data
Factors
Affecting the
Secondary
choice of data
Data
collection
method

Classification
of Research Summary Abstract
Data