Lecture 7: Business Research Methods/Research Methods in Project Management:

Prof P.K. Njenga, 29th February 2024:

Continuation of Qualitative Data Collection Methods:

5: Qualitative Surveys:
Qualitative survey research is a less structured research methodology used to gain in-depth
information about people’s underlying reasoning and motivations. The end goal is to develop a
deep understanding of a topic, issue, or problem from an individual perspective. This is an
approach that is most suited for gathering descriptive information. It could involve structured
surveys where the researcher uses formal lists of questions asked to all respondents in the same
way. It could also involve unstructured surveys. Survey research may be direct or indirect.
Direct approach: The researcher asks direct questions about behaviors and thoughts. eg. Why
don’t you eat at Chicken Inn?
Indirect approach: The researcher asks: What kind of people eat at Chicken Inn? From the
response, the researcher may be able to discover why consumers avoid Chicken Inn. It may suggest
factors which the consumers are not consciously aware.
Information for qualitative surveys may be collected through:
 Mail
 Telephone
 Web-based questionnaires
 Paper surveys or questionnaires
6: Documental Revision:
This method involves the use of previously existing and reliable documents and other sources of
information as a source of data to be used in a new research or investigation.
7: Longitudinal studies:
This is a data collection method that is performed repeatedly on the same data sources over an
extended period of time. It is an observational research method that could even cover a span of
years and in some cases, even decades. The goal is to find correlations through observational study
of subjects with a common trait or characteristic. An example of a longitudinal study is the Terman
study of the gifted conducted by Lewis Terman at Stanford. The study aimed to gather data on the

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characteristics of gifted children and how they grow and develop over their lifetime. Terman
started in 1921 and it extended over the lifespan of the subjects, more than 1500 boys and girls
aged 3 – 19 years old and with IQs higher than 135. To this day, this study is the worlds oldest and
longest running longitudinal study.

8. Ethnography:
Ethnography is a methodology for descriptive studies of culture and people and looks at the people,
cultures and commonalities of shared experiences. Payne and Payne Key Concepts in Social
Research, 2004, describe ethnography as '...the production of highly detailed accounts of how
people in a social setting lead their lives, based upon systematic and long-term observation of,
and conversation with, informants'
Ethnographic research entails extensive fieldwork by the researcher. Data collection includes:
1. formal and informal interviews
2. often interviewing an individual on several occasions
3. participative observations
NB: The risk of using ethnographic research is that the researcher may not fully understand or
be familiar with the social norms of those they are researching and therefore there is risk of
misinterpretation
9. Case Study:
A case study is a data collection method involving an up-close, in-depth, and detailed examination
of a particular case. For example, a case study in medicine may examine a specific patient a doctor
treated, and a case study in business might study a particular firm's strategy. Generally, a case can
be nearly any unit of analysis, including individuals, organizations, events, or actions.
A case study is an appropriate method when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth
knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key
characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.
Case studies keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources
to do large-scale research. You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single
subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of
your research problem.

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Quantitative Data Collection Methods:
These methods involve collection of data that can be readily quantified and generated into
numerical form which will then be converted and processed into useful information
mathematically. The results are often in the form of statistics that are meaningful and therefore
useful. Unlike qualitative methods, these quantitative techniques usually make use of larger sample
sizes because the measurable nature of this type of data makes it possible to analyze it with ease
using various statistical techniques.
1. Quantitative surveys: Unlike the open ended questions asked in qualitative questionnaires,
quantitative surveys pose closed questions with the answer options provided
2. Interviews: In collecting quantitative data, the interviews are more structured than when
gathering qualitative data. They are comprised of a prepared set of standard questions
3. Quantitative observations: Data is collected through systematic observations by counting
various attributes etc.
4. Experiments: These involve manipulation of an independent variable while maintaining
varying degrees of control over other variables, most likely the dependent ones. Usually
this is employed to obtain data that will be used later on for analysis of relationships and
correlations. There are three main types of experiments
 Laboratory experiments
 Field experiments
 Natural experiments

Review of the advantages and disadvantages of different data

collection methods and when to use each
Having discussed the various data collection methods, we will now briefly recount the advantages
and disadvantages of the three most commonly used methods – interviews, questionnaires, and
observation – and examine when each method can be most profitably used.

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 Face-to-face interviews provide rich data, offer the opportunity to establish
rapport with the interviewees, and help to explore and understand complex issues.
Many ideas ordinarily difficult to articulate can also be brought to the surface and
discussed during such interviews. On the negative side, face-to-face interviews
have the potential for introducing interviewer bias and can be expensive if a large
number of subjects are involved. Where several interviewers become necessary,
adequate training becomes a necessary first step. Face-to-face interviews are best
suited to the exploratory stages of research when the researcher is trying to get a
handle on concepts or the situational factors.

 Telephone interviews help to contact subjects dispersed over various geographic

regions and obtain immediate responses from them. This is an efficient way of
collecting data when one has specific questions to ask, needs the responses quickly,
and has a sample spread over a wide geographic area. On the negative side, the
interviewer cannot observe the nonverbal responses of the respondents, and the
interviewee can block a call. Telephone interviews are best suited for asking
structured questions where responses need to be obtained quickly from a sample
that is geographically spread.

 Personally administering questionnaires to groups of individuals helps to (1)

establish rapport with the respondents while introducing the survey, (2) provide
clarification sought by the respondents on the spot, and (3) collect the
questionnaires immediately after they are completed. In that sense, there is a 100%
response rate. On the negative side, administering questionnaires personally is
expensive, especially if the sample is geographically dispersed. Personally
administered questionnaires are best suited when data are collected from
organizations that are located in close proximity to one another and groups of
respondents can be conveniently assembled in the company's conference (or other)
rooms.

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  Mail questionnaires are advantageous when responses to many questions have to
be obtained from a sample that is geographically dispersed, or it is difficult or not
possible to conduct telephone interviews without much expense. On the negative
side, mailed questionnaires usually have a low response rate and one cannot be sure
if the data obtained are biased since the nonrespondents may be different from those
who did respond. The mailed questionnaire survey is best suited (and perhaps the
only alternative open to the researcher) when information is to be obtained on a
substantial scale through structured questions, at a reasonable cost, from a sample
that is widely dispersed geographically.

 Observational studies help to comprehend complex issues through direct

observation (either as a participant or a nonparticipant-observer) and then, if
possible, asking questions to seek clarification on certain issues. The data obtained
are rich and uncontaminated by self-report bias. On the negative side, they are
expensive, since long periods of observation (usually encompassing several weeks
or even months) are required, and observer bias may well be present in the data.
Because of the costs involved, very few observational studies are done in business.

Bias in Information Collection:

BIAS in information collection is a distortion in the collected data so that it does not represent
reality.
Possible sources of bias during data collection:
1. Defective instruments, such as:
• Questionnaires with:
— fixed or closed questions on topics about which little is known (often asking the
‘wrong things’);
— open-ended questions without guidelines on how to ask (or to answer) them— vaguely phrased
questions;
— ‘leading questions’ that cause the respondent to believe one answer would be preferred over
another; or
— questions placed in an illogical order.

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• Weighing scales or other measuring equipment that are not standardised.
These sources of bias can be prevented by carefully planning the data
collection process and by pre-testing the data collection tools.

2. Observer bias:
Observer bias can easily occur when conducting observations or utilizing loosely structured group-
or individual interviews. There is a risk that the data collector will only see or hear things in which
(s)he is interested or will miss information that is critical to the research.
Observation protocols and guidelines for conducting loosely structured interviews should be
prepared, and training and practice should be provided to data collectors in using both these tools.
Moreover it is highly recommended that data collectors work in pairs when using flexible research
techniques and discuss and interpret the data immediately after collecting it. Another possibility -
commonly used by anthropologists - is using a tape recorder and transcribing the tape word by
word.

3. Effect of the interview on the informant:

This is a possible factor in all interview situations. The informant may mistrust the intention of the
interview and dodge certain questions or give misleading answers. For example: in a survey on
alcoholism you ask school children: ‘Does your father sometimes get drunk?’ Many will probably
deny that he does, even if it is true. Such bias can be reduced by adequately introducing the purpose
of the study to informants, by phrasing questions on sensitive issues in a positive way, by taking
sufficient time for the interview, and by assuring informants that the data collected will be
confidential. It is also important to be careful in the selection of interviewers. In a study soliciting
the reasons for the low utilisation of local health services, for example,
one should not ask health workers from the health centres concerned to interview the population.
Their use as interviewers would certainly influence the results of the study.

4. Information bias:
Sometimes the information itself has weaknesses. Medical records may have many blanks or be
unreadable. This tells something about the quality of the data and has to be recorded. For example,

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in a TB defaulter study the percentage of defaulters with an incomplete or missing address should
be calculated. Another common information bias is due to gaps in people’s memory; this is called
memory or recall bias.

Data Preparation:
The collected data is raw and it must be converted to a suitable form for analysis. Proper data
preparation is critical if one has to get reliable results.
Data preparation process:
(i). Questionnaire checking
(ii). Editing
(iii). Coding
(iv). Classification
(v). Tabulations
(vi). Graphical representation
(vii). Data cleaning
(viii). Data adjusting

(i): Questionnaire checking:

When data is collected through questionnaires, the first step of data preparation is to check if the
questionnaires are acceptable or not. This involves checking the questionnaires for their
completeness and quality. A questionnaire may not be acceptable if:
 Its incomplete
 Its answered by a person who has inadequate knowledge or does not qualify for the
participation
 Its answered in a such a way which gives the impression that the respondent could not
understand the questions
NB: If sufficient number of questionnaires are not accepted, the researcher may like to
collect more data.
(ii). Editing:
Editing of data is a process of examining the collected raw data to detect errors and omissions and
to correct when possible. It involves scrutiny of the completed questionnaires. Its done to assure

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that the data are accurate, consistent with other facts gathered, uniformly entered and well arranged
to facilitate coding and tabulation. Normally there are two levels of editing. Viz
a). Field editing: Involves translation and re-writing what could have been captured in abbreviated
or illegible formats at the time of recording respondents responses. This should be done
immediately after correcting information from the respondents. The investigator must be careful
not to correct errors of omission by simply guessing what the informant would have said.
b). Central editing: Should take place when all forms or schedules have been completed and
returned to the office. This type of editing implies that all forms should get a thorough editing by
a single editor in a small study and by a team of editors in case of a large study. In this, editors
correct obvious errors such as entry in the wrong place, entry recorded in months when it should
have been recorded in weeks etc. In some cases, respondents can be contacted for clarification
NB: editors should initial all answers which they change. Editors initials and the date of editing
should be placed on each completed form or schedule.

(iii). Coding:
If the data will be entered in a computer for subsequent processing and analysis, it is essential to
develop a CODING SYSTEM. For computer analysis, each category of a variable can be coded
with a letter, group of letters or word, or be given a number. For example, the answer ‘yes’ may
be coded as ‘Y’ or 1; ‘no’ as ‘N’ or 2 and ‘no response’ or ‘unknown’ as ‘U’ or 9. The codes
should be entered on the questionnaires (or checklists) themselves. When finalising your
questionnaire, for each question you should insert a box for the code in the right margin of the
page. These boxes should not be used by the interviewer. They are only filled in afterwards during
data processing. Take care that you have as many boxes as the number of digits in each code.

Coding conventions
Common responses should have the same code in each question, as this minimizes mistakes by
coders.
For example:
Yes (or positive response) code - Y or 1
No (or negative response) code - N or 2
Don’t know code - D or 8

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No response/unknown code - U or 9
Codes for open-ended questions (in questionnaires) can be done only after examining a sample of
(say 20) questionnaires. You may group similar types of responses into single categories, so as to
limit their number to at most 6 or 7. If there are too many categories it is
difficult to analyze the data.

(iv). Classification:
Most research studies result in a large volume of data which must be reduced into homogenous
groups if we are to get meaningful relationships. Classification involves arranging data in groups
or classes on the basis of common characteristics. Data having a common characteristic are placed
in one class and in this way, the entire data divided into a number of groups or classes. Two types
of classification:
a). Classification according to attributes eg data can be classified on basis of literacy levels, sex,
etc.
b). Classification according to class intervals: data relating to income, weight, age come under
this category

(v): Tabulation:
Tabulation is the process of summarizing raw data and displaying the same in compact form for
further analysis. Tabulation is basically orderly arrangement of data in columns and rows.
Tabulation is essential because of the following reasons.
 It conserves space and reduces explanatory and descriptive statements to a minimum
 It facilitates the process of comparison
 Facilitates summation of items and detection of errors and omissions
 Provides basis for various statistical computations
Generally accepted principles of tabulation/Practical hints when constructing tables:
1. All tables should have a clear title and clear headings for all rows and columns
2. Every table should be given a distinct number to facilitate easy reference
3. The column headings (captions) and the row headings (stubs) of the table should be clear and
brief
(4). The units of measurement under each heading or sub-heading must always be indicated

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(5). Explanatory footnotes, concerning the table should be placed directly beneath the table
(6). Source or sources of data from where the data in the table have been obtained must be
indicated just below the table.
(7). If dependent and independent variables are cross-tabulated, the headings of the dependent
variable are usually placed horizontally and the headings of the independent variable placed
vertically
(8). All tables should have a separate row and a separate column for totals to enable you to check
if your totals are the same for all the variables and to make further analysis easier.
(9). Columns whose data are to be compared should be kept side by side
10. Table should be made as logical, clear, accurate and simple as possible. If the data happen to
be very large, they should not be crowded in a single table.
11. All tables related to a certain objective should be numbered and kept together so the work
can be easily organized and the writing of the final report will be simplified.

(vi). Graphical Representation:

Graphs help to understand the data easily. All statistical packages, MS Excel, openOffice.org offer
a wide range of graphs. In case of qualitative data, most common graphs are bar charts/graphs and
pie charts. We also have line charts

(vii). Data cleaning:

This includes checking the data for consistency and treatment for missing value. Consistency
checks look for the data which are not consistent or are outliers. Such data may either be discarded
or replaced by the mean value. However the researcher should be careful while doing this. Extreme
values or outliers are not always erroneous.
Missing values on the other hand are values which are unknown or not answered by the
respondents. In place of such missing values, some neutral value may be used. This neutral value
may be the mean of available values. The other option could be to use the pattern of responses to
other questions to calculate a suitable substitute to the missing values.

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(viii). Data adjusting:
Data adjusting is not always necessary but it may improve the quality of analysis sometimes. It
consists of the following methods:
a). Weight-assigning: Each respondent or case is assigned a weight to reflect its importance
relative to other respondents or cases eg, cases of educated people could be assigned higher weights
and of uneducated people could be assigned lower weights in some surveys.

b). Variable respespecification: This involves creating new variables or modifying existing
variables. Eg, if the usefulness of a certain product is measured on a 10 point scale, it may be
reduced to a four point scale: Very useful, Usefu, Neutral, Not useful.
Method of dummy variables for respecifying categorical variables is also very popular. Dummy
variable is a variable which ususllly takes numerical values based on the corresponding category
in the original variable. For example, a group of people is divided into smokers and non smokers.
We can define a dummy variable taking the value 1 for smokers and 0 for non smokers.

c). Scale transformation: Scale transformation is done to ensure the comparability with other
scales or to make the data suitable for analysis. Different types of characteristics are measured on
different scales. Eg attitude variables are measured on continuous scale, life style variables are
usually measured on a 5 point likert scale. So the variables which are measured on different scales
cannot be compared. A common transformation is substracting all the values of a characteristic by
corresponding mean and dividing by the corresponding standard deviation.

Some problems in data preparation process:

a). Problem of don’t know (DK) responses: While processing the data, the researcher often
comes across some responses that are difficult to handly. One category may be the DK responses.
When they are few, they are of little significance in a research study. When the DK response group
is big, it becomes a matter of major concern.
The best way to deal with DK responses is to design better type of questions. Good interviewing
methods and creating a good rapport with respondents can result in minimizing DK responses.
What about DK responses that have already taken place? One way is to estimate the allocation of
DK answers from other data in the questionnaire. The other way is to keep DK responses as a

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separate category in tabulation where we can consider it as a separate reply category. Another way
is to exclude all the DK replies.
b). Use of percentages: While using percentages, the following rules should be kept in view by
researchers
 Two or more percentages must not be averaged.
 Use of too large percentages should be avoided since a large percentage is difficult to
understand and tends to confuse, defeating the very purpose for which percentages are used
 Percentages hide the base from which they have been computed. If this is not kept in view,
the real differences may not be correctly read.

Missing Values and Outliers:

Missing values are the observations which the researcher plan to collect but could not collect or
lost due to some reason. Most statistical tools cannot be employed when the data set has one or
more missing values. Most common method to deal with the problem of missing values is either
to leave the observation or to replace the missing value by the arithmetic mean of other collected
observation.
Outliers on the other hand are observations which are quite different from other observations in
the data set. Although statistical techniques can be employed when data has outliers, their
interpretation may be misleading. The most common reason of outliers being present in the data
set is the recording error. This error should be corrected while editing and cleaning data
Commonly, an observation with a value that is more than 3 standard deviations from the mean is
considered an outlier.

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