Sources and Methods of Data CollectionCh-5.pptx

Sources and Methods of Data Collection

1. Chapter five Sources and Methods of Data Collection

2. Points of Focus Types of Data Collection of Primary Data Questionnaire Interview Observation Focused Group Discussion Collection of Secondary Data Selection of Appropriate Method for Data Col lection Summary

3. Introduction Data refers to information or facts . Research data is any information that has been collected, observed, generated or created to validate original research findings One of the aspects of data analysis is consideration of the data that is going to be analyzed. How accurate is it? How complete is it? How representative is it?

4. Introduction Sources of Data

5. The primary data : The primary data are data collected for the first time and hence they are original and more reliable means first-hand information collected by an investigator Primar y data collection requires proper designing of data collecti on instruments Advanntages : gives data in greater detail, more accurate. Disadvantages; more expensive, consumes more time and effort, may not appropriate for urgent report. 5 Types of Data

6. Types of Data…Cont’d The secondary data : refers to second-hand information   Secondary data are those which have already been gathered by someone else and which have already been passed through the statistical process  These include historical studies based on the actual data, statistical research based on census data , newspaper reports of an event, company records , government publications and so on

7. Advantages: economicaly scale/ less costy Accesibility/ we can get easily minimize time Disadvantages; less reliable, the information/ data will be out of date less Accuracy

8. Types of Data…Cont’d Primary data collection instruments are:

9. A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions or other types of prompts that aims to collect information from a respondent a m ethod of data collection which is completed by the respondent in written format the most popular and common data gathering methodes. Questions can be asked to gather information on: Facts: help to get objective information from respondents. Examples are gender, age, marital status, education, income, etc. 9 A. Questionnaire

10. Opinions: asking people what they think about specific issue or event Attitudes: help to get information on the underlying belief of the respondent or the way people look at things. Motives: asking people why people behave in a particular manner or hold certain opinions or attitudes. Knowledge : It helps to obtain information about the extent of knowledge an individual has and to what extent the information is accurate. 10 Questionnaire…Cont’d

11. Types of Questionnaires : Closed ended questions allow only answers which fit into categories that have been established in advance by the researcher. have a short and limited response. restrict participants to one of a limited set of possible answers. Open-ended - unrestricted type of questionnaire, free response in the respondent's own words; leave the resp ondent to decide the wording and the length of the answer and the kind of matters to be raised in the answer. Questionnaire…Cont’d

12. Advantages of closed- ended questions: The answers are standards , and can be compared from person to person. it is easier and quicker for respondents to answer Improves consistency of responses Easier, quick, and less costly to analyze They are easier for a respondent to answer as he or she merely choose a category ,

13.   Guesses or Randomly answers if a respondent does not know the answer or has no opinion There is no opportunity for the respondent to clarify or qualify his or her answer Can put ideas i nto respondents’ minds Many options may confuse the respondent Respondents with no opinion may answer anyway Does not give informatio n about whether or not the respondent actually understood the question being asked  Variations in answers among the different respondents may be eliminated artificially by forced- choice responses 13 Questionnaire: Closed-ended questions Disadvantages of closed-ended questions :

14. Encourages deeper thinking: Allows for creativity: Provides richer data: Enhances communication: Requires more effort from respondents: 14 Questionnaire: Open-ended questions The advantages of open-ended questions:

15.   The possibility of collecting worthless and irrelevant information  Data are often not standardized from person to person, making comparison or statistical analysis difficult   Coding is often very difficult and subjective Require a lot of time for analysis May require more of the respondent's time and effort , and may stimulate a high refusal rate /reduce respondents’ willingness to take part in the research. possibly discouraging some respondents who do not wish to answer a lengthy questionnaire. 15 Questionnaire: open-ended questions Disadvantages of open-ended questions

16. Make each question brief and the wording clear and concise with minimal use of jargon Make all definitions, assumptions, and qualifiers clearly understood lower cost and time standardaization respondent privacy Make the questions simple to answer Keep it interesting – do have a logical sequence to the question Avoid biased , loaded , or sensitive questions. 16 Questionnaire: a list of some Dos and Don’ts

17. Start with simple questions such as gender, leaving more complicated questions to be answered late in the questionnaire. avoid asking personal questions avoid asking the same questions in a different fashion Abortion should be legalized - agree / disagree) at one point and Abortion should not be legalized (agree/disagree) Don’t ask two questions in one/ double barrelled questions- with two purposes or interpretations/ Example: Is your job interesting and well paid? Is unlikely to be answered with a simple yes or no 17 Questionnaire: a list of some Dos and Don’ts...

18. Don’ts............... non returns mis interpratation validity problem used only when respondents are educated

19. I. Introductory statement of a Questionnaire state the purpose of the study and its significance; explain who the data collector is, the basis of its authority/the sponsor-under whose support is the research being undertaken?, and why it is conducting the study; Tell how and why the respondents were selected; explain why their answers are important ; tell how to complete the format and list the person to call if help is needed to complete the form; provide assurance of confidentiality and anonymity when appropriate; explain how the data will be used ; explain who will have access to the information; and present the response efforts as a favor and thank the respondents for their cooperation. 19 Questionnaire: Important points to note

20. Cleanly format your questionnaire: margins, spacing, font, etc. Proofread your questionnaire carefully for grammar and spelling errors conduct a pilot survey on a small sample so that to test the reliability and validity of your measure. 20 Questionnaire: Important… Schedule Vs Questionnaire method   Schedule is a device consisting of a set of questions, which are asked and filled in by the enumerators who are specially trained for the purpose II. Format of the questionnaire

21. A questionnaire consists of a list of questions i n a paper that are simply responded to by the interviewee, while a schedule is one in which an interviewer asks questions and fills in responses. A schedule is a structured data collection tool where an interviewer asks a series of predetermined questions and records the responses d irectly. questionaries are quantitative but schedule are qualitative direct interaction with interviwers

22. Characterstics of good Questionaries kee p the language simple keep the questions short and readiable keep to the number of questions a minimum don’t ask loading questions all for all possible answers Avoid e motional and morraly question organize the pattern of questions appropriatly have your questions healthy produced Avoid double negatives or more than 1 negative word in question Unwanted assumptions should be avoided

23. Could be conducted: face-to-face/in -person interview; or telephone call, through internet/online Types of Interview a) Structured interview Set of predetermined questions and of highly standardized recording technique (audio or digital recorders) The same types of questions are presented in the same order to each interviewee You have limited time or resources The interviewer has no freedom to rephrase or change the order of questions to be presented quite often used in the case of descriptive studies 23 B. Interview

24. b) Unstructured interview The interviewer has a general plan of inquiry but not a specific set of questions that must be asked in particular words and in a particular order  characterized by flexibility The interviewer is largely free to arrange, rephrase, modify, and add some new questions Very important for exploratory research studies c) Semi-structured interview Shares the nature of both structured and unstructured interview 24 Types of Interview …

25. Prepare for interview, self-presentation : objective of the study, its background, how the respondent was selected, the confidential nature of the interview, the beneficial values of the research findings Conduct the interview – use your communication skills here (attentive, non-judgmental), ask the questions properly, probe meaningfully Recording of the interview ; record the responses accurately, record response as they occur; use some shorthand system (abbreviating words, key words) Active Listening 25 Interview: Techniques of Interviewing

26. More and in-depth information can be obtained There is greater flexibility Personal information can be obtained easily high response rate The language of the interview can be adapted to the ability the person interviewed 26 Interview… Advantages:

27. Interview… Expensive including Cost of selecting, training and supervising the field-staff Bias of interviewer and the respondent - presence of the interviewer on the spot may over-stimulate the respondent - may give imaginary information Important officials or executives may not be easily approachable More-time-consuming , when calling the respondents Disadvantages

28. Observing what is occurring in some real - life situation , without asking questions of respondents used to obtain both past and current data It is valuable instrument in a wide range of research studies Observation methods refer to techniques used to collect data by observing work processes and activities, 28 C. Observation Methods

29. Direct observation : the observer is physically present and personally monitors what takes place, done by the observer himself, Strength ; Very flexible - the observer can react to events accuracy of real-time data The observer is free to shift places , change the focus of observation, or concentrate on unexpected events Weakness it can be time-consuming The observers' perception may become overloaded as events move quickly; they must later try to reconstruct what they are not be able to record Observer fatigue, boredom, and distracting events can reduce the accuracy and completeness. 29 Classification of Observation Methods Direct Vs Indirect observation

30. The recording is done by mechanical/adjusted instruments Example: a special camera that takes one frame every second is mounted in a department of a large store to study customer and employee movement Less flexible but much less biasing , less unpredictable or unreliable in accuracy The permanent record can be analyzed to include any different aspects of an event 30 Observation Indirect observation

31. Participant observation : The observer becomes one of the groups under observation This type of observation allows the observer to get a closer look at the group and their behaviour. Non-participant observation : Observer takes position where his presence is not disturbing the group. when the observer remains outside the group and simply watches their behaviour . 31 Observation… Participant Vs non-participant observation

32. Observation… Structured observation is systematic and has a high level of predetermined steps Objective: To quantify behavior (your focus is to determine how often things happen rather than why they happen. Ex: Time and motion study Unstructured observation: The observer has no definite ideas of the particular aspects that need focus. Observing events that are happening may also be a part of the plan as in many qualitative studies. Structured Vs. Unstructured observation

33. A special type of interview that offers opportunity to interview a number of people at the same time. is a qualitative research method and data collection technique in which a selected group of people discusses a given topic or issue in-depth, facilitated by a professional, external moderator Made by a panel of 8 to 12 respondents led by a trained moderator The moderator uses group dynamics principles to focus or guide the group in an exchange of ideas, feelings, and experiences on a clearly understood topic 33 D. Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

34. Focus group discussion….. Cont’d Good for exploratory research Qualities of a moderator: Kindness with firmness, Tolerance, Involvement, understanding, Encouragement, Flexibility, Sensitivity / emotional response Benefits of FGD : Synergism , Snowballing, Stimulation, Security, Spontaneity/natural behavior, Serendipity/discovery of something fortunate, Specialization, Scientific Scrutiny/inspection, Structure, Speed

35. Secondary Data Collection

36. Secondary Data Collection Secondary data means data that are already available i.e., they refer to the data which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. When the researcher utilizes secondary data, then you have to look into various sources from where you can obtain them. Secondary data may either be published data or unpublished data

37. an offical document is a paper or set of papers that has been created or made publicly available by someone in a position of authority: A power of attorney is an official document that allows one person to act on another's behalf. A public document is one that is issued by a government official in the course of his or her duties, within the scope of his or her authority, and in conformity with legal requirements. With the exception of those records that are expressly reserved by law, any public document may be consulted by anybody.

38. Secondary Data Collection….Cont’d The researcher must see that the secondary data should possess following characteristics: 1. Reliability of data: The reliability can be tested by finding out such things about the said data: (a) Who collected the data? (b) What were the sources of data? (c) Were they collected by using proper methods (d) At what time were they collected? (e) Was there any bias of the compiler? (t) What level of accuracy was desired?

39. Secondary Data Collection….Cont’d 2. Suitability of data: The data that are suitable for one enquiry may not necessarily be found suitable in another enquiry. Hence, if the available data are found to be unsuitable, they should not be used by the researcher.

40. Secondary Data Collection….Cont’d 3. Adequacy of data: If the level of accuracy achieved in data is found inadequate for the purpose of the present enquiry, they will be considered as inadequate and should not be used by the researcher. The data will also be considered inadequate, if they are related to an area which may be either narrower

41. Selection of Method for Data Collection There are various methods of data collection. As such the researcher must wisely select the method/methods for his own study, keeping in view the following factors : 1. Nature, scope and object of enquiry: This constitutes the most important factor affecting the choice of a particular method. The method selected should be such that it suits the type of enquiry that is to be conducted by the researcher.

42. Selection of Method …..Cont’d 2. Availability of funds: Availability of funds for the research project determines to a large extent the method to be used for the collection of data. When funds at the disposal of the researcher are very limited, he will have to select a comparatively cheaper method which may not be as efficient and effective as some other costly method.

43. Selection of Method …..Cont’d 3. Time factor: Availability of time has also to be taken into account in deciding a particular method of data collection. Some methods take relatively more time, whereas with others the data can be collected in a comparatively shorter duration. 4. Precision required: Precision required is yet another important factor to be considered at the time of selecting the method of collection of data.

44. Thank you!