Data collection methods

and Questionnaire design

Prepared by: Meseret

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 Data collection
• is a methodical process of gathering and analyzing specific
information to offer solutions to relevant questions and
evaluate the results

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 Statistical data
 Statistical data: it refers to numerical descriptions of
things.
 Data are observations of random variables made on the
elements of a population or sample.
 These descriptions may take the form of counts or
measurements.

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 Sources of data

 Depending upon the sources, statistical data may be

classified under two categories.
1. Primary data
2. Secondary data

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 Data Collection Methods

 Depending on the type of variable and the objective of

the study, different data collection methods can be
employed.
 Data collection techniques allow us to systematically
collect data about our objects of study.
 If data are collected haphazardly, it will be difficult to
answer our research questions in a conclusive way.
 Therefore, it should be systematic/scientific.
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 Data collection techniques

 Using available information (record review)

 Observation
 Interview
 Administering written questionnaires
 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

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 1. Using available data
 Morbidity reports
 Mortality reports
 Epidemic reports
 Epidemic investigations
 Laboratory data
 Demographic data (census)

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 1. Using available data …

• Advantage of available data – collection is inexpensive

• Disadvantage of available data:
– Difficult to gain access to records or reports
– Data may not always be complete and precise
enough, or too disorganized
 2. Observation
 Involves systematically selecting, watching, and record-
ing behavior and characteristics.
 Give additional, more accurate information on behavior
than interviews or questionnaires.
 Checklists or a list of question are usually used.
 It can be done via from simple visual observation to so-
phisticated machines.

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 Observation cont…
Observation of human behavior can be undertaken in
different ways:
A) participant observation – observer takes part in
the situation he or she observes
Eg. A doctor hospitalized with a broken hip, who now
observes hospital procedures ‘from within’
 Observation cont…
B) Non-participant observation – observer
watches the situation, openly or concealed, but
does not participate
 Observation cont…
• Observation can give additional, more accurate
information on behavior of people than interviews or
questionnaires

• They can also check on the information collected

through interviews especially on sensitive topics such
as khat chewing in areas where khat chewing is not
accepted by the community
 Observation cont…
• Observations of human behavior can form any type of
study, but as they are time consuming they are most
often used in small scale studies

• Observations can also be made on objects

• E.g the presence or absence of latrines and the state

of cleanliness may be observed
 Observation ...
 Advantages: Gives relatively more accurate data on
behavior and activities.
 Disadvantages: Investigators or observer’s own biases,
prejudice, desires, and etc.
 Needs more resources and skilled human power during
the use of high level machines.

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 3.Interviewing

• It involves oral questioning of respondents,

either individually or as a group

• Answers can be recorded by writing them down

or by tape-recording the responses, or by a
combination of them

• Interviews can be conducted with varying

degree of flexibility (high degree of flexibility Vs
low degree of flexibility)
 Interviewing cont.…

A) High degree of flexibility:

• Usually used when studying sensitive issues or
when the researcher has little understanding of
the problem
• Is frequently applied in exploratory studies
• When studying sensitive issues (e.g teenage
pregnancy) the investigator may use a list of
topics rather than fixed questions
 Interviewing cont…
• The sequence of topics should be determined by
the flow of discussion

• It is often possible to come back to a topic

discussed earlier in a later stage of the interview
 Interviewing cont…
B) Low degree of flexibility
• Useful when the researcher is relatively
knowledgeable about expected answers or when the
number of respondents being interviewed is relatively
large

• Questionnaires may be used with a fixed list of

questions in a standard sequence, which have mainly
fixed or pre-categorized answers
 4.Administering written questionnaires (self-
administered questionnaire)

Written questions are presented that are to

be answered by the respondents in written
form
 Administering written
questionnaires cont…
• A written questionnaire can be administered in different
ways, such as by:
– Sending questionnaires by mail
– Gathering all or part of the respondents in one place
at one time, giving oral or written instructions, and
letting them fill out the questionnaires
– Hand-delivering questionnaires to respondents and
collecting them later
 Differences between data collection
techniques and data collection tools
Data collection techniques Data collection tools
Using available information Checklist; data compilation
forms

Observation Eyes and other senses,

pen/paper, watch, scales,
microscope, etc..

Interviewing Interview guide, checklist,

questionnaire, tape recorder

Administering written Questionnaire

questionnaire
 Advantages and disadvantages cont..
Technique Advantages Disadvantages (constraints)
Using available Is inexpensive, permits observation Data is not always easily
information of trends over the past accessible; ethical issues
concerning confidentiality may
arise; information may be imprecise
or incomplete
observing Gives more detailed & context Ethical issues concerning
related information; permits confidentiality or privacy may arise;
collection of information on facts not observer bias may occur; the
mentioned in an interview; permits presence of data collector can
tests of reliability of responses to influence the situation observed;
questionnaires thorough training of research
assistances is required

Interviewing Is suitable for use with both literates Presence of interviewer can
& illiterates; permits clarification of influence responses; reports of
questions; has higher response rate events may be less complete than
than written questionnaires information gained through
observations
Advantages and disadvantages cont…
Technique Advantages Disadvantages (constraints)
Small scale Permits collection of in-depth Interviewer may inadvertently
flexible information & exploration of influence the respondents; analysis
interview spontaneous remarks by of open ended data is more difficult
respondents & time-consuming
Large scale Is easy to analyze Important information may be
fixed interview missed b/c spontaneous remarks
by respondents are usually not
recorded or explored
Administering Is less expensive; permits Cannot be used with illiterates;
written anonymity & may result in more there is often a low rate of
questionnaire honest responses; does not require response; questions may be
research assistants; eliminates bias misunderstood
due to phrasing questions differently
with different respondents

Participatory Provide rich data & may have Require some extra training of
& projective positive spin offs for knowledge researchers
methods & skills by researchers and
informants
 Choice of methods depend:
• The Literacy level of the respondents

• The resources available

• Topic and population of interest

• The probability of good coverage

• Acceptability of methods

• Practicability of the methods

• A method providing more satisfactory information will often be a

more expensive or inconvenient one.
• Therefore, accuracy must be balanced against practical considera-
tions (resources and other practical limitations)
 Possible sources of bias
1. Defective instruments
 Poorly designed questionnaires
 Can be avoided by careful planning of the data
collection process and by pre-testing the data
collection tools
2. Selection bias
 High non-response (refusal) rate
 Self-selection (volunteerism)
 Loss to follow-up
 Convenience sampling

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3. Information bias
 Arises from errors how study information is
collected
 Poor recording, data extraction
 Incomplete data
 Recall (or memory) bias
 Reporting bias
 Interviewer (observer) bias
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4. Effect of the interviewer on the
informant
 Informant may mistrust the interviewer

 Misleading answers

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 How to increase the quality of data
 Combination of different data collection techniques:
Can improve the quality of data
Minimize the chance of bias
Example: the use of health facility records and
household survey or FGDs

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 Data can be made more reliable by:
 Training of data collectors
 Use of different techniques
 Use multiple sources of information
Questionnaires
Direct measurements
Observation
 Pre-testing
 Ensuring high participation rates
 Supervision
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 Questionnaire
Development

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• Inappropriate questionnaires lead
to
– Poor quality data
– Misleading conclusions
– Inaccurate/incorrect program
recommendations & resource
allocation.

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• Questioner design
• It is the process by which a
questionnaire is developed
• Good questionnaire design involves
many steps
• The basic process of questionnaire
design can be outlined as follows.

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 Questioner design

• Questionnaires are a very convenient way of collecting

useful comparable data from a large number of
individuals.
• However, they can only produce valid and meaningful
results if the questions are clear and precise and if they
are asked consistently across all respondents.
 Considerations in questionnaire design

• Whether the questionnaire will be self completion

• Questionnaires can be administered face-to-face by an
interviewer, by telephone or completed independently by the
subjects.
• A questionnaire which is to be completed by the respondent
needs to be very clearly laid out with no complex filtering and
simple instructions.
• Whereas, a questionnaire to be administered by an interviewer
can be much more complex;
 Questioner design

• The type and content of a questionnaire depends very

much on your research question and your objectives
(be clear about the dependent and independent
variables)
• All questionnaires require a title (short description).
• It needs to be appealing and inviting.
• The need of a confidential unique identifier
• The need of a topic guide (manual for data collection)
 Questionnaire design need to consider ....
• Use familiar and appropriate language
• Avoid abréviations, double négatives, etc.
• Avoid two or more elements to be collected through
one question
– What was the name of the drug prescribed its
dosage and how many times a day?
• Pre-code the responses to facilitate data processing
 Questionnaire design….
• Avoid embarrassing and painful questions
• Watch out for ambiguous wording
• Avoid language that suggests a response
• Start with simpler questions (sensitive questions may be
best left until nearer the end – it may be possible to use
indirect questioning by referring to a third person before
asking the respondent directly
 Questionnaire design……..

• Ask the same question to all respondents

• Provide other, or don’t know options where appropriate

• Provide the unit of measurement for continuous

variables (years, months, kgs, etc)
• For open ended questions, provide sufficient space for
the response
• Arrange questions in logical sequence

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Questionnaire design
• Group questions by topic, and place a few sentences of transition
between topics
• Provide complete training for interviewers
• Pretest/Pilot study
• Check all filled questionnaire at field level
• Include “thank you” after the last question
 Questions may take two general forms:-
• Open ended questions:???
• Closed questions :???
 Open questions
• Open-ended questions are essential where replies are
unknown, too complex or too numerous to pre-code

• They are also recommended for developing qes and

measurement scales
 Closed questions
• Are preferable for topics about which
much is known

• Are quicker and cheaper to analyze

 Open ended questions
Examples of open questions
• What are the five most important areas of your life
that have been affected by your illness?

• What are the qualities, the things about the health

officer in the health center, that you appreciate?
• Any thing else?
 Closed questions cont…
Examples of open questions following closed questions

• Are there some occasions when you would prefer to see a doctor of a
particular sex?
Yes…..1
No……2
If Yes: What sort of occasions?

• Has there been any (other) occasion in the past 12 months when you think it
would have been better if the health officer had sent you to hospital?
Yes…3
No…..4
• If Yes(3): could you tell me about that?
 Closed questions cont…
Examples of closed questions following open
questions
• How do (or would ) you feel about students or
trainees being in the surgery with the doctor?

• So do (would) you:
Not mind in the least……………4
Feel a little uneasy…………..…5
Prefer it if trainee/student left…6
(Other) SPECIFY:
 Closed questions cont…
Examples of questions with differing response formats

Dichotomous:
In the past six months, have you stayed overnight in a hospital?
Yes__
No___
Multiple choice:
Is your pain
Flickering_
Throbbing_
Tingling_
Intense_
Scaled:
During the past 4 weeks, how much of the time has your physical health interfered with your
social activities?
All of the time_
Most of the time_
Some of the time_
A little of the time_
None of the time_
 Attitude measurement scales cont..
Strongly agree undecided disagree strongly
agree disagree
5 4 3 2 1

• It is conventional for high numbers to signify

favorable evaluation, so scoring is reversed
where necessary
• The total attitude score is the sum of the
responses
• Likert scales provide ordinal level data
Thank you.

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