Data collection methods

Dr.I.Thahira
What is data
•  Facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze, or plan
something. : information that is produced or stored by a computer.
data
. noun plural. da·​ta | \ ˈdā-tə , ˈda-tə \
Good Data : Accurate – correct, precise and up to date. Complete – all
possible data that is required is present. Conformant – data is stored in
an appropriate and standardized format. Consistent – there are no
conflicts in information within or between systems
TYPES OF DATA
• QUANTITATIVE
• QUALITATIVE
DATA TYPES
NOMINAL DATA
• No quantitative value and has no order. So, if you change the order of the value then the
meaning will remain the same. 
• Thus, nominal data are observed but not measured, are unordered but non-equidistant, and
have no meaningful zero.

• The only numerical activities you can perform on nominal data is to state that perception is (or
isn't) equivalent to another (equity or inequity), and you can use this data to amass them. 

• You can't organize nominal data, so you can't sort them.

• Neither would you be able to do any numerical tasks as they are saved for numerical data. With
nominal data, you can calculate frequencies, proportions, percentages, and central points.
EXAMPLE OF NOMINAL DATA

• What languages do you speak?

• English
• German
• French
• Punjabi

• What’s your nationality?

• American
• Indian
• Japanese
• German
• 
 ORDINAL DATA
 
• Ordinal data is almost the same as nominal data but not in the case of order as their categories can be ordered
like 1st, 2nd, etc. However, there is no continuity in the relative distances between adjacent categories.

• Ordinal Data is observed but not measured, is ordered but non-equidistant, and has no meaningful zero. Ordinal
scales are always used for measuring happiness, satisfaction, etc.

• With ordinal data, likewise, with nominal data, you can amass the information by evaluating whether they are
equivalent or extraordinary. 
As ordinal data are ordered, they can be arranged by making basic comparisons between the categories, for
example, greater or less than, higher or lower, and so on. 
• You can't do any numerical activities with ordinal data, however, as they are numerical data.

• With ordinal data, you can calculate the same things as nominal data like frequencies, proportions, percentage,
central point but there is one more point added in ordinal data that is summary statistics and similarly bayesian
statistics.
EXAMPLES OF ORDINAL DATA
• Examples of Ordinal data:
• 
• Opinion
• Agree
• Disagree
• Mostly agree
• Neutral
• Mostly disagree
• 
• Time of day
• Morning
• Noon
• Night
INTERVAL DATA
 
• Interval Data are measured and ordered with the nearest items but have no meaningful zero. 
• The central point of an Interval scale is that the word 'Interval' signifies 'space in between',
which is the significant thing to recall,  interval scales not only educate us about the order but
additionally about the value between every item. 
• Interval data can be negative, though ratio data can't.
• Even though interval data can show up fundamentally the same as ratio data, the thing that
matters is in their characterized zero-points. If the zero-point of the scale has been picked
subjectively, at that point the data can't be ratio data and should be interval data.
• Hence, with interval data you can easily correlate the degrees of the data and also you can add
or subtract the values 
• There are some descriptive statistics that you can calculate for interval data are central point
(mean, median, mode), range (minimum, maximum), and spread (percentiles, interquartile
range, and standard deviation). 
• In addition to that, similar other statistical data analysis techniques can be used for more
analysis.
EXAMPLES OF INTERVAL DATA
• Temperature (°C or F, but not Kelvin)
• Dates (1066, 1492, 1776, etc.)
• Time interval on a 12-hour clock (6 am, 6 pm)
Ratio Data
• Ratio Data are measured and ordered with equidistant items and a meaningful zero and
never be negative like interval data.
•  An outstanding example of ratio data is the measurement of heights. It could be measured
in centimetres, inches, meters, or feet and it is not practicable to have a negative height. 

• Ratio data enlightens us regarding the order for variables, the contrasts among them, and
they have absolutely zero. It permits a wide range of estimations and surmisings to be
performed and drawn. 
• Ratio data is fundamentally the same as interval data, aside from zero means none. 
• The descriptive statistics which you can calculate for ratio data are the same as interval data
which are central point (mean, median, mode), range (minimum, maximum), and spread
(percentiles, interquartile range, and standard deviation). 
Examples of ratio data
• Example of Ratio data: 
• Age (from 0 years to 100+)
• Temperature (in Kelvin, but not °C or F)
• Distance (measured with a ruler or any other assessing device)
• Time interval (measured with a stop-watch or similar)
• Therefore, for these examples of ratio data, there is an actual,
meaningful zero-point like the age of a person, absolute zero, distance
calculated from a specified point or time all have real zeros.
 Data and Data Collection
Fundamentally--2 types of data

Quantitative – Numbers, tests, counting,

measuring

Qualitative – Words, images,

observations, conversations, photographs
DATA
COLLECTIO
N
• Data Collection?
• Need for Data Collection
• Factors to be considered for data
collection
• Sources of Data
• Primary Data and Collection
Methods
• Popular methods of Data
Collection
• Questionnaire
• Secondary Sources & Collection
Methods
• Differences between Primary &
 Definition of Data Collection?
• Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information
on variables of interest, in an established systematic fashion that
enables one to answer stated research questions and evaluate
outcomes

• The data collection component of research is common to all fields of

study including medical , physical and social sciences, humanities,
business, etc.
Goal of data collection
• The goal for all data collection is to capture quality evidence so
as to translate into rich data analysis
Need of Data Collection

• To get information for analysis.

• To get idea about real time situation.

• For comparison between two situation.

Factors to be considered before
collection of Data
• Scope of the enquiry.

• Sources of information.

• Quantitative expression.

• Techniques of data collection.

• Unit of collection.
Sources of Data
Internal Source of Data
Internal Sources of Data

• Many institutions and departments have information about

their regular functions, for their own internal purpose.

• When those information is used in any survey, it’s called

Internal Source Of Collection of Data.

• E.g.., Railway Educational Institutes & Social Welfare

Societies etc.
 Internal and External Source
of Data
External Sources of Data

• When information is collected form outside agencies, it is

called external source of data.

• Such type of data are either Primary or Secondary.

• This type of information can be collected by Census or

Sampling method by conducting surveys.
Primary Data
• Primary data are those which are collected for the first
time.

• It is real time data which are collected by the

researcher
himself.

• This is the process of Collecting and making use of the

data.

• This Data originated by the researcher specifically to

address the research problem.
Primary Research Methods
• Focus Groups – bring together respondents with
common characteristics

• Observation - actually view respondents

• Non-personal survey – on site, telephone, mail, fax, computer,

panel

• Personal interview - one-on-one survey with respondents

• Official records – internal document survey research

Method of Collecting Primary Data
• 1. Direct personal Investigation ( i.e. Interview Method)

Under this method the investigator collects the data

personally. He approaches the objects, conducts the
enquiry on the spot, collects information. For the
successful collection of data under this method, it’s
necessary that the investigator should be polite, unbiased
and aware of the local conditions, environment and
languages.
Method of Collecting Primary Data
• 2. Indirect oral investigation ( i.e. through
enumerators)
Under this the investigator doesn’t collects the information
directly, instead he gets them indirectly through those
persons who know the information and who are ready to
part away with the information they posses. This method is
used in case where direct contact is not possible.

• 3. Investigation through Local reporters Questionnaire

In this method data are not collected through specially
appointed agents/
correspondents/investigators/enumerators but local agents
or correspondents are requested to collect the
information. They collect the information in their own
fashion and according to their liking’s and disliking.
Method of Collecting Primary Data
• 4. Investigation through mailed Questionnaire

Under this method the investigator may either appoint

local agents/ investigators/ enumerators and mail them the
questionnaire for collecting information or collecting by his
own using mail or telephone.
Method of Collecting Primary Data
• 5. Investigation through Observation

In this watching behaviour of object and most commonly

used method in behavioural science. One major problem in
this method is that Natural response is not obtained when
respondent know he is observed.

Type of Observation-
1)Participant Observation
2)Non-Participant Observation
3)Disguised Observation
4)Controlled Observation
5)Uncontrolled Observation
Popular data collection methods
Mailing paper questionnaires to respondents, who fill them
out and mail them back

Having interviewers call to respondents on the telephone

and ask them the question in a telephone interview

Sending the interviewers to the respondent’s home or

office to administer the questions in face-to-face (FTF)
interviews
Questionnaire
• a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised
for the purposes of a survey or statistical study
Important characteristics
of good questionnaires
Plan a user-friendly format

Gather demographic data – age, gender, etc., when necessary.

Avoid ambiguity

Ensure ease of tabulation

Develop for completeness – get all the data

Secondary Data

Secondary data are those that have already been collected

by others.

These are usually in journals, periodicals, research

publications, official records / literature review etc.

Secondary data may be available in the published or

unpublished form. When it is not possible to collect the
data by primary method, the investigator go for Secondary
method.
Method of Collecting
Secondary Data
1. Published Sources
a) International Publication
UNO publishes a number of journals and periodicals which are best
sources of secondary data for national as well as international facts.
b) Government Publications
The Govt. of India as well as other state Govt. publish data for their use
as well as for the use of researcher and others. These data are very
much accurate and reliable for various types of investigations.
c) Publication
Municipal corporations, boards, etc. publish data pertaining to birth rate,
death rate, literacy, etc. These can be effectively put to use by
investigators.
d)Commercials Research, Educational Institute, Unions, Organizations
These institutions also conduct enquiry and publish their reports through
which data can be had for use of investigators enquiring on the related
subjects.
Method of Collecting
Secondary Data
2. Unpublished Sources

In some of the cases, enquiry are conducted, data are

classified and analysed but due to some reasons or other
findings are not published though they are preserved either
by the individual or a society. They can also be used by
the investigators as Secondary Data.
Sources for collection of data
 Census: The First regular census in India was taken in
1881, taken every 10 years. Defined as “The total
process of collecting, compiling and publishing
demographic, economic and social data pertaining at a
specific time or times, to all persons in a country or
delimited territory.”.
 Registration of vital events: Civil registration
System. In 1873,GOI passed the Births, Deaths and
Marriages
Registration Act, but the Act provided only for voluntary
registration.
However the registration system in India tended to be
very unreliable, the data being grossly deficient in regard
to accuracy, timeliness, completeness and coverage.
 Continu
ed..
The Central Births and Deaths Registration Act, was
passed by Govt Of India in 1969, but it came into force
on 1st April 1970.The acts provides the compulsory
registration of births and deaths throughout the country,
and compilation of vital statistics in the states to so as to
ensure uniformity and comparability of data.
Time limit: For events of births-21 days, and for events
of deaths-21 days. In case of default fine up to Rs 50
can be imposed.
 Sample Registration System(SRS): Dual record system,
consisting of continuous enumeration of births and
deaths by an enumerator and independent survey every
6 months by an investigator-supervisor.
 Notification of diseases: Valuable source of morbidity data such as
incidence, prevalence and distribution of certain specified diseases
which are notifiable.
Internationally notifiable diseases: Cholera, Plague and Yellow fever. A
few others-Louse-borne typhus, Relapsing fever, Polio, Influenza,
Malaria,Rabies and Salmonellosis are subject to international
surveillance.
 Hospital Records: Primary and basic source of information about
disease prevalent in the community . Serious limitation of this data is
that it represents only those individuals who seek medical care and we
do not know denominator due to lack of precise boundaries of
catchment area of hospital.
 Epidemiological Surveillance: Special surveillance
activities are conducted for diseases like Malaria,
Leprosy, TB, Filariasis, AIDS etc.
 Surveys: Population surveys supplement routinely
collected statistics . Methods used in data collection
in surveys include health interview, health
examination, study of health records, mailed
questionnaire survey.
 Research Findings: Findings of various research or
investigations are helpful for planning and
implementation of health activities in general.
Sources of Primary &
Secondary data •Secondary
Primary Data Sources Data Sources
Data and Original • Encyclopaedias
Research
Chronologies
Diaries and
Biographies
Journals
•Monographs (a
Speeches and
specialized book or
Interviews
article)
Autobiographies and
• Abstracts of
Memoirs
articles
Government
Documents
Difference between Primary and Secondary
Data
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY
DATA
Real time data. Past data.
Sure about sources of Not sure about sources of
data. data.
Costly and Time Cheap and No time
consuming process. consuming
Avoid biasness of process
response data. Can not know if
More flexible. data
biasness or not.
Less Flexible.
Data Storage
Methods
Database programs (e.g, Microsoft Access, Oracle, SQL
Server)

Advantages: Information is stored as a complete

record. You can easily query the data and create new
variables or data subsets. In many applications, you can
create a user interface for entering the data.

Disadvantages: Requires time and technical skill to

initially design the database and to set up variables
correctly
 Data Storage
Methods
•Spreadsheet programs (e.g., Microsoft Excel)

• Advantages: Easy to structure spreadsheets for input. Simple view

of the data.

• Disadvantages: Data types are not explicitly defined. Data are not
stored as a record. Manipulation of data (for analyses, etc.) can be
error-prone and time consuming with no record of changes
 Data Storage Methods
Statistical programs with database options (e.g., SPSS,
SAS,EPI INFO)

Advantages: Data entry and analysis are completed in the same software. Similar to
database programs, you can easily query the data and create new variables or data
subsets.

Disadvantages: Spreadsheet/database options for statistical applications vary widely.

The most powerful tools can be very time consuming to learn and require advanced
knowledge.
Good quality data
• Accurate – correct, precise and up to date
• Complete – all possible data that is required is present
• Conformant – data is stored in an appropriate and standardized format
• Consistent – there are no conflicts in information within or between systems
• Timely – data is created, maintained and available quickly and as required
• Unique – where appropriate, there are no duplicates or redundant data
elements
• Valid – data is authentic, and proven to be valid, and derived from authentic
and known sources
Skills of good data collector
• Data collection is the process of gathering quantitative and qualitative
information on specific variables with the aim of evaluating outcomes
or gleaning actionable insights. Good data collection requires a clear
process to ensure the data you collect is clean, consistent, and
reliable.
Presentation of data
 Principles of presentation of data:
2. Data should be arranged in such a way that it will
arouse interest in reader.
3. The data should be made sufficiently concise without
losing important details.
4. The data should presented in simple form to enable
the reader to form quick impressions and to draw
some conclusion, directly or indirectly.
5. Should facilitate further statistical analysis .
6. It should define the problem and suggest its
solution.
 Methods of presentation
of data
The first step in statistical analysis is to
present data in an easy way to be
understood.
The two basic ways for data
presentation are
 Tabulation
 Charts and diagram
Rules and guidelines for tabular
presentation
1. Table must be numbered
2. Brief and self explanatory title must be given to each
table.
3. The heading of columns and rows must be clear,
sufficient, concise and fully defined.
4. The data must be presented according to size of
importance, chronologically, alphabetically or
geographically
5. If data includes rate or proportion, mention the
denominator.
6. Table should not be too large.
7. Figures needing comparison should be placed as close
as possible.
 Continued..
1. The classes should be fully defined, should not lead to
any ambiguity.
2. The classes should be exhaustive i.e. should include all
the given values.
3. The classes should be mutually exclusive and non
overlapping.
4. The classes should be of equal width or class interval
should be same
5. Open ended classes should be avoided as far as
possible.
6. The number of classes should be neither too large nor
too small.Can be 10-20 classes.
7. Formula for number of classes(K):
K=1+3.322 log10 N, where N is total frequency
Tabulation
 Can be Simple or Complex depending upon
the number of measurements of single set or
multiple sets of items.
 Simple table :
Title: Numbers of cases of various diseases in Nair hospital in 2009

Disease Cases

Malaria 1100

Acute GE 248

Leptospirosis 60

Dengue 100

Total 1308
Frequency distribution table with qualitative data:

 Title: Cases of malaria in adults and children in the

months of June and July 2010 in Nair Hospital.

Jun-10 Jul-10
Type of
Adult Child Adult Child Total
malaria

P.Vivax 54 9 136 23 222

P.Falciparu
m 11 0 80 13 104
Mixed
malaria 11 4 36 12 63

Total 76 13 225 43 389

Frequency distribution table with quantitative data:

Fasting
blood glucose level in diabetics at the time of
diagnosis
Fasting No of diabetics
glucose level Male Female Total

120-129 8 4 12
130-139 4 4 8
140-149 6 4 10
150-159 5 5 10
160-169 9 6 15
170-179 9 9 18
180-189 3 2 5
44 34 78
 Key
Points
Remember: Each method of data collection has its use and
none is superior in all situations

Desirable: Selection of method depends on the nature of a

particular problem in consideration of time and
resources.

Required: Experience and ability of the researcher.