Data Collection Tools Interview method An interview is a series of questions a researcher addresses personally to respondents.

An interview may be structured (where you ask clearly defined questions) or unstructured, where you allow some of your questioning to be led by the responses of the interviewee. Especially when using unstructured interviews, using a tape recorder can be a good idea, if it does not affect the relationship with the person being interviewed Kinds of Interviews:

Face -to -face interviews have a distinct advantage of enabling the researcher to establish rapport with potential partiocipants and therefor gain their cooperation.These interviews yield highest response rates in survey research.They also allow the researcher to clarify ambiguous answers and when appropriate, seek follow-up information. Disadvantages include impractical when large samples are involved time consuming and expensive.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) Telephone interviews are less time consuming and less expensive and the researcher has ready access to anyone on the planet who hasa telephone.Disadvantages are that the response rate is not as high as the face-to- face interview but cosiderably higher than the mailed questionnaire.The sample may be biased to the extent that people without phones are part of the population about whom the researcher wants to draw inferences. Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI): is a form of personal interviewing, but instead of completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held computer to enter the information directly into the database. This method saves time involved in processing the data, as well as saving the interviewer from carrying around hundreds of questionnaires. However, this type of data collection method can be expensive to set up and requires that interviewers have computer and typing skills.
Advantages of using an Interview If the respondent lacks reading skills to answer a questionnaire. Are useful for untangling complex and emotional topics. The Interviewer can probe deeper into a response given by an interviewee. Interviews produce a higher response rate.

Disadvantages of using an Interview The interviewer can affect the data if he/she is not consistent. It is very time consuming. It is not used for a large number of people.

 The Interviewer may be biased and ask closed questions.

Questionnaire Method A questionnaire is a series of written questions a researcher supplies to subjects, requesting their response. Usually the questionnaire is self-administered in that it is posted to the subjects, asking them to complete it and post it back. The way you will be analyzing the data may influence the layout of the questionnaire. For example, closed questions provide boxes for the respondent to tick (giving easily coded information), whereas an open question provides or a box for the respondent to write answers in (giving more freedom of information, but more difficulty coding)
Questionnaire is a job analysis method, it to be completed by job-holders and approved by job-holders superiors, are useful when a large number of jobs are to be covered. A questionnaire is a quick and efficient way to obtain information from a large number of employees.

Kinds of Questionnaire method:

Paper-pencil-questionnaires can be sent to a large number of people and saves the researcher time and money.People are more truthful while responding to the questionnaires regarding controversial issues in particular due to the fact that their responses are anonymous. But they also have drawbacks.Majority of the people who receive questionnaires don't return them and those who do might not be representative of the originally selected sample.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) Web based questionnaires : A new and inevitably growing methodology is the use of Internet based research. This would mean receiving an e-mail on which you would click on an address that would take you to a secure web-site to fill in a questionnaire. This type of research is often quicker and less detailed.Some disadvantages of this method include the exclusion of people who do not have a computer or are unable to access a computer.Also the validity of such surveys are in question as people might be in a hurry to complete it and so might not give accurate responses. (http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/power/ch2/methods/methods.htm) Questionnaires often make use of Checklist and rating scales.These devices help simplify and quantify people's behaviors and attitudes.A checklist is a list of behaviors,characteristics,or other entities that te researcher is looking for.Either the researcher or survey participant simply checks whether each item on the list is observed, present or true or vice versa.A rating scale is more useful when a behavior needs to be evaluated on a continuum.They are also known as Likert scales. (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001)

Advantages of questionnaire method

Quick and easy to administer. Can get a large amount of information in a short time. Allows for employee participation. Does not require trained interviewer. Relatively less expensive. Questionnaires are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews. This is especially true for

studies involving large sample sizes and large geographic areas. Written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research questions increases.

Questionnaires are easy to analyze. Data entry and tabulation for nearly all surveys can be easily done

with many computer software packages. Questionnaires are familiar to most people. Nearly everyone has had some experience completing

questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive. Questionnaires reduce bias. There is uniform question presentation and no middle-man bias. The

researcher's own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer questions in a certain manner. There are no verbal or visual clues to influence the respondent.

Questionnaires are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys. When a respondent receives a

questionnaire in the mail, he is free to complete the questionnaire on his own time-table. Unlike other research methods, the respondent is not interrupted by the research instrument. some people might be scared when answering questions

Disadvantages of questionnaire method

Quality of information related to the quality of the questionnaire. Must have high school reading and writing ability to complete one. Often needs follow-up interview or observation. May be difficult to construct. May have low response rate. Responses may be incomplete. Some people may leave blank spaces or write down silly answers. Responses may be difficult to interpret (open-ended)

Some people are not honest with their answers. Some people may not fully understand some of the questions. People can choose not to fill in your questionnaire