data collect

8/17/2019 Data Collect

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Data Collection

So what’s the best way to go

about collecting my data?


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What to observe? a policy statement is the intent of the

government to do something about some issue

a policy action is what an agency does toaccomplish the goals identied in thestatement

a policy result is what happens in theenvironment (or less importantly in thestructure! following the agency’s e"orts toachieve the goal identied in the statements#


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$ndicators of %olicy 1! &hetorical 'hearings agency reports administrators’

speeches etc#

)! %lanning actions 'number of formal plans announced byagency

*! +c,uisitive +ctions 'number of authori-ation statutes .amendments enacted/ 0 of eecutive orders amount ofappropriations new personnel granted

2! $mplementing actions 'disbursal of resources3ependitures grants loans personnel assigned/ directivesissued directives enforced


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4uman Sub5ects?C$6$ certication

$&7 approval

8laborate on 9ethodology

$nformed Consent


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6he :oal?3 Credible Data

;irtually all methodologies arereliant on the collection of credible

data

6he rst step in any form of datacollection is gaining access


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+ccess %hysical and legal access

+ccess to people

+ccess to datasets

+ccess to documents


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:aining +ccess


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:aining +ccess >se ocial channels and protocol

$dentify points of contact

>se gate=eepers and insiders

7uild rapport

:ive something bac=


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Survey 6ypes . %urposes Descriptive

Explanatory Census Cross-Sectional

Trend Panel


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7asic Survey 6ypes Surveys can be administered in a

number of ways3

Face to face Telephone Self-administered


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Conducting a Survey Conducting a survey capable of

generating credible data re,uires3 thorough planning meticulous instrument construction comprehensive piloting

re@eive redevelopment deliberate eecution and appropriate analysis


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6he Survey $nstrument Arom drafting the ,uestions

through to layout and design

students are ,uite surprised athow much thought and wor= goesinto the development of an

instrument capable of generatingcredible data


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Cannon Survey Center

$nstitute of +pplied &esearch . %olicy +nalysis

Do it yourself Survey 9on=ey

9ailed Survey of )B) city ocials

:rant money

http://surveys.unlv.edu/index.htmlhttp://iar.csusb.edu/http://iar.csusb.edu/http://www.surveymonkey.com/http://graduatecollege.unlv.edu/financing/scholarships.htmlhttp://graduatecollege.unlv.edu/financing/scholarships.htmlhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/http://iar.csusb.edu/http://iar.csusb.edu/http://surveys.unlv.edu/index.html


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&esponse Categories Survey ,uestions can either be open or

closed3

Open questions: 6hese ,uestions as=respondents to construct answers usingtheir own words# pen ,uestions cangenerate rich and candid data but it can bedata that is dicult to code and analyse

Closed questions: 6hese ,uestions forcerespondents to choose from a range ofpredetermined responses and are generallyeasy to code and statistically analyse


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+dditional Considerations

in Survey Construction %roviding clear bac=ground

information and lucid instructions

ogical organi-ation

Comprehensive coverage withoutundue length

>ser friendly and aestheticallypleasing layout and design


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$nterviewing Structured: %reEestablished

,uestions

nstructured: draw outinformation without the use of preEestablished ,uestions

Semi-Structured: + miture ofboth strategies


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$nterview 6ypesFormal: + formal interview is 5ust that formal#

%erhaps the best analogy is the classic 5obinterview that includes3 the oce setting/ the

formal handsha=e/ appropriate attire/ orderand structure/ and best professionalbehavior#

!nformal: +n informal interview attempts toignore the rules and roles associated withinterviewing in an attempt to establishrapport gain trust and create a more naturalenvironment conducive to open and honestcommunication#


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Conducting an $nterview Conducting an interview that can generate

relevant and credible data re,uires3

thorough planning considered preparation of an interview

schedule and recording system

sucient piloting

re@eive modication the actual interview

and appropriate analysis


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Conducting the $nterview 6wo important considerations in interviewing

are3

%resentation of self %reliminaries

7e on timeF Set up and chec= e,uipment 8stablish rapport $ntroduce the study 8plain ethics


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6he Guestioning %rocess Listen more than talk Listen more than talk

6he main game in interviewing is to

facilitate an interviewee’s ability toanswer# 6his involves3 easing respondents into the interview as=ing strategic ,uestions

prompting and probing appropriately =eeping it moving winding it down when the time is right


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&ecording &esponsesNote taking E this can range from highly

structured to open and interpretive#

Audio recording E audio recording allows you topreserve raw data for review at a later date#

Video taping E video taping o"ers the addedbonus of being able to record visual cues

but is more intrusive/ is prone to moretechnical diculties/ and can generate datathat is hard to analyse#


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bservation O"servation: + systematic

method of data collection that

relies on a researcher’s ability togather data through their senses

O"serve: 6o notice using a fullrange of appropriate senses# 6osee hear feel taste and smell


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4ead Start %rogram Study Aacility visits

ocation

8terior

Si-e of space

%ictures on walls +mount of boo=s

8tc#


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What You See

Isn’t Always What You Get bservation provides the

opportunity for researchers to

document actual behavior ratherthan responses related to behavior

4owever the observed can act

di"erently when surveilled/ andresearchers’ observations are li=elyto be biased by their own worldviews


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Ailtering bservations


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6ypes of bservation#on-participant: $n this role the

researcher does not become nor aims

to become an integral part of thesystem or community they areobserving

Participant: $n this role the researcher

is or becomes a part of the teamcommunity or cultural group they areobserving


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6ypes of bservation Candid: 6he researcher o"ers full disclosure

of the nature of their study and the role theobservations will play in their research

Covert: Can be nonEparticipant i#e#!watching pedestrian behaviour at anintersection or watching interactions at a

school playground# 7ut they can also beparticipatory# 6his involves researchers goingIundercover’ in an attempt to get a realsense of a situation contet or phenomenon


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6ypes of bservation Structured: 4ighly systematic and often rely on

predetermined criteria related to the peopleevents practices issues behaviours actions

situations and phenomena being observed# Semi-structured: bservers generally use some

manner of observation schedule or chec=list toorgani-e observations but also attempt to

observe and record the unplanned andJor theunepected#

nstructured: bservers attempt to observe

and record data without predetermined criteria#


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6he bservation %rocess 6he collection of credible data

through observation re,uires3 thorough planning careful observation thoughtful recording

re@eive review considered renements appropriate analysis


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Document 6ypes Authoritative sources: documents that by their authorship or

authority attempt to be unbiased and ob5ective

The party line: documents have an Iagenda’ or identiable

bias Personal communication: letters eEmails memoirs s=etches

drawings photographs diaries memos 5ournals etc# that arepersonal and sub5ective

Multi-media: newspaper or maga-ine columnsJ articles current

a"airs shows news reports 6; sitcoms commercials etc#

Historical documents: records minutes and policydocuments or any other materials that have been authored orproduced within a particular historical period


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6he Document +nalysis

%rocess 6he process of document analysis

includes3

thorough planning broad resource gathering comprehensive review deliberate interrogation considered re@ection and renement and appropriate analysis


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Arom Documents to Data 6wo techni,ues for drawing data from a

document are3

The Interview E treating each document as aIrespondent’ # 7asically you Ias=’ yourdocument a ,uestion and highlight thepassages in the document that provides theanswer#

Noting occurrences E ,uantifying the use ofparticular words phrases and concepts withina given document#


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Receiving, Reflet!n"#

Reo$%!n"# Authent!at!n" We do not all ta=e in or perceive the

world in the same way# $n fact two

observers in the same situation will ta=ein ,uite di"erent sensory inputs


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Ree!&!n"# Reflecting,

Reo$%!n"# Authent!at!n" $t is eceptionally dicult for researchers to be

ob5ective# ur worldviews are a part of how weunderstand and ma=e sense of the world andhow we might go about observing it

+nother diculty in unbiased re@ecting is your

own epectations# %ut simply you are moreli=ely to see the things you epect to see andhear the things you want to hear


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Ree!&!n"# Reflet!n"#

Recording, Authent!at!n"


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Ree!&!n"# Reflet!n"#

Reo$%!n"# Authenticating

7ecause the observation process can be

tainted with issues of bias it is importantto include credibility chec=s in yourmethodological plan

8nsuring credibility should include boththoroughness and conrmation


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6hings to Consider +ll data collection methods are capable of gathering

,uantitative and ,ualitative data although some may bebetter suited towards one tas= or the other

6here is no single data collection method that canguarantee credible data

+ll data collection methods can be consciously manipulated

+ll data collection methods can be Icontaminated’ by

unrecogni-ed bias

+ll data collection methods re,uire conscious deliberationon the part of the researcher to ensure credibility