Data Collection Methods

Learning objectives
• Importance of data collection in a research
study
• Methods of data collection
• Advantages and disadvantages of types data
collection
• Choosing appropriate data collection method
for your study
 Introduction
• Data collection is very important in any research
study. The outcome of your research study largely
depend on the quality of your data.
• The choice of a method depends upon the
purpose of the study, the resources available and
the skill of the researcher.
• The following are two categories of methods of
data collection:
1. Primary sources
2. Secondary sources
 Data collection using primary sources
• The following are methods of data collection
using primary sources.
1. Observation (participant/non-participant)
2. Interviewing (structured/unstructured)
3. Questionnaire (mailed/collective)
• Observation is a systematic and selective way of
watching and listening to an interaction or
phenomenon as it takes place.
• For example, study the dietary patterns of a
population or study behaviour or personality
traits of an individual.
 Observation Cont’d
• There are two types of observation as follows:
1. Participant observation and
2. Non-participant observation
• Participant observation – is when you, as a
researcher participate in the activities of the
group being observed in the same manner as
its member, with or without their knowing
that they are being observed.
 Observation Cont’d
• Non-participants – is when you, as a researcher,
do not get involved in the activities of the group
but remain a passive observer, watching and
listening to its activities and drawing conclusions
from this.
• For example, you want to study the functions
carried out by a nurse in a hospital. As an
observer, you could watch, follow, and record
activities as they are performed. After making a
number of observations, conclusion could be
drawn about the functions of nurses in hospital.
 Observation Cont’d
Problems using observation as method of data
collection:
1. When individual or groups become aware that
they are being observed, they may change their
behaviour, this is called Hawthorne effect. What is
being observed, may not represent their normal
behaviour.
2. There is always the possibility of observer bias.
3. The interpretation drawn from observation may
vary from observer to observer.
4. There is the possibility of incomplete observation
and /or recording which varies with the method of
recording. An observer may watch keenly at the
expense of detailed recording and vice-versa.
 Observation Cont’d
Methods of recording observation is as follows:
1. Narrative – use of descriptive words.
2. Scale – developing of scale to rate various aspect
of the interaction or phenomenon. A scale may
be 1,2,3 depending on the purpose of study.
3. Categorical recording – for example:
passive/active (two categories), agree, neural,
disagree (three categories)
4. Recording on mechanical devices – observation
could be recorded on videotape and then
analyzed.
 Interview
• Interviewing is a commonly used method of
collecting information from people.
• Any person-to-person interaction between two or
more individuals with a specific purpose in mind
is called an interview.
• Interviewing could be flexible when the
interviewer has freedom to formulate questions
as they come to mind around the issue being
investigated. It is inflexible, when the
investigators has to keep strictly to the questions
decided beforehand.
• Interviews are classified to the degree of
flexibility as follows: unstructured and
structured.
 Interview Cont’d
• Unstructured interviews – the strength of
unstructured interviews is the complete freedom
they provide in terms of content and structure.
• The following are types of unstructured
interviews:
1. In-depth interviews
2. Focus group interviews
3. Narratives
4. Oral histories
 Interview Cont’d
• Structured interviews – the researcher asks a
predetermined set of questions, using the same
wording and order of questions as specified in
the interview schedule.
• An interview schedule is a written list of
questions, open-ended or close-ended, prepared
for use by an interviewer in a person-to-person
interaction or by electronic media.
• The interview schedule is a research
tool/instrument for collecting data, whereas
interviewing is the method of collecting data.
 Questionnaire
• A questionnaire is a written list of questions,
the answers to which are recorded by the
respondents.
• It is important that question are clear and
easy to understand.
• The layout of a questionnaire should easy to
read and pleasant to the eyes and sequence of
questions should be easy to follow.
 Questionnaire Cont’d
Choosing between an interview schedule and a
questionnaire
• The choice should based on the following criteria:
1. The nature of the investigation – if the study is about
issue that respondents may feel reluctant to discuss
with an investigator, a questionnaire may better choice
as it ensure anonymity.
2. The geographical distribution of the study population
– if potential respondents are scattered over a wide
geographical area, questionnaire is a better choice,
interviewing could extremely expensive.
3. The type of study population – if the study population
is illiterate, very young or very old, or handicapped,
there may be no option but to interview respondents.
 Questionnaire Cont’d
Different ways of administering a questionnaire
1. The mailed questionnaire
2. Collective administration – e.g students in a
classroom.
3. Administration in public place – e.g health
centre, shopping centre, school etc.
 Questionnaire Cont’d
The contents of the covering letter
• It is essential that you write a covering letter with
your mailed questionnaire. It should briefly :
1. introduce you and the institution you are
representing
2. describe in two or three sentences the main
objectives of the study
3. explain the relevance of the study
4. convey any general instructions
5. indicate that participation in the study is voluntary
6. assure respondents of the anonymity of the
information provided by them
7. thank them for their participation in the study
 Questionnaire Cont’d
Advantages of a questionnaire
• It is less expensive
• It offers greater anonymity
Disadvantages of a questionnaire
• Application is limited – only who read and write
• Response rate is low
• There is self-selecting bias
• Opportunity to clarify issues is lacking
• Spontaneous responses are not allowed for
• The response to a question may be influenced by
the response to other questions
• It is possible to consult others
 Interview
Advantages of the interview
• The interview is more appropriate for complex
situations
• It is useful for collecting in-depth information
• Questions can be explained
• Interviewing has a wider application – an
interview can be used with almost any type of
population: children, handicapped, illiterate or
the very old.
 Interview Cont’d
Disadvantages of the interview
• Interviewing is time-consuming and expensive
• The quality of data depends upon the quality of
the interaction
• The quality of data depends upon the quality of
the interviewer
• The quality of data may vary when many
interviewers are used
• The researcher may introduce his/her bias
• The interviewer may be biased
 Forms of question
• The form and wording of questions is extremely
important in a research instrument as they have
an effect on the type and quality of information
obtained.
• The questions should therefore be appropriate,
relevant and free from any problem.
• In an interview schedule or a questionnaire,
questions may be formulated as:
1. Open-ended or
2. Closed-ended
 Forms of question Cont’d
Consideration in formulating questions
• Always use simple and everyday language
• Do not use ambiguous questions
• Do not ask double-barrel questions
• Do not ask leading questions
• Do not ask questions that are based on
presumptions
Collecting data using secondary sources
• So far we have discussed the primary sources
of data collection where the required data was
collected by you or someone else for the
specific purpose you have in mind.
• The situations when data has already been
collected by someone else and you need only
to extract the required information for the
purpose of your study is known as secondary
sources of data collection.
 Collecting data using secondary
sources Cont’d
• The following categories are secondary sources of data
collection:
• Government or semi-government publications – there
are government agencies who collect data on regular
basis e.g census, health report, economic forecast.
• Earlier research – enormous information from previous
researches.
• Personal records – some people write historical and
personal records that may provide the information you
need.
• Mass media – reports published in newspapers,
magazines and so on may be a good source of data.
 Collecting data using secondary
sources Cont’d
Problems with using data from secondary sources
• Validity and reliability – validity of information
may vary from source to source
• Personal bias – writers in newspapers can exhibit
less rigour and objectivity than one expect in
research report
• Availability of data – no assumption that data is
available before embarking on your study
• Format – ascertain the data are in right format.