DATA COLLECTION METHOD

data

•Data may be defined as the facts presented to the researcher from the study environment .

•Data are metaphorical than real(GNP growth reflected as effects)

•Data are processed by our senses •Collecting data is elusive, complicated by

the speed at which events occur and the time- bound nature of observation

Types of Data• Data needed in Ss research may be classified into the

following• Data on individual characteristics: demographic and

socio economic characteristics. Varibles like Age sex,education,marital status,income,occupationn etc

• Data on behavioral characteristics: relating to attitude ,opinions,knowledge etc.

• Organizational Data: its origin growth,performance,employees etc

Territorial Data: data relating to the geographical characters.

Relevance of data

•The primary and secondary data collected by the researcher serves as the bases or raw material for analysis .

•Without an analysis no inference can be made on the objectives.

•The relevance ,adequacy and reliability of data determine the quality of the findings &research

•It is the basis for the verification and testing of Hypothesis.

•It gives facts about the scales and measuring techniques, tables

•The scientific process are laid on the foundation of reliable data

Primary and secondary data• It is the data colllected by the reseraher by

himself from the original sources• It is the data collected through questionnaire

,schedules, observation,interview.•Secondary data are the information collected

by researcher from other source other than direct intervention.

•This data were collected by the worker from already collected &processed resources.

•Many agencies are collecting data for their use and provide it as source.

• like UNO ,UNDP,WHO,Gok,GoI ,State planning boards, NSSO, Census India,

•Secondary data contains published and unpublished works.

•Eg;Population data,income data,

sourecs

Advantages of Secondary data

•Save time and cost ,It aid the reseracher in formulation of problem, method selection, data sources selection, and serves as a source of comparative data by which the interpretation is done

•Economy and time•Easy availability•Coverage(wide)•Verification is possible

Disadvantages

•Data fit problem; may not fit to our needs,some times. unit of measurment may not mach

•Accuracy problem. errors may be there in sample like data,sample,collection,analysis,report

• to avoid this .select from original source

Validity and reliability

•Are the terms related with measurment of data.

•After identifying a study area in order to get the information connected the “issue” must be identified and transformed into a measurable form

•Validity means the effectiveness of an instrument in measuring the specific properties which it intends to measure.

•Height, weight, length are some easily measurable

•But the measurment of abstracts forms of properties like attitude morale ,motivation ,etc is indirect and pose the problem of validity.

•It is classified into content validity ,face validity, predictive validity, consturct validity

Data collection Methods

•Data may be collected from various population by using various method.

•Methods like observation,interview, survey, etc are available

Observation

•It is the method that employ vision as its main data collection means.

•It implies the use of eyes. It the accurate watching and noting of phenomena as they occur with regard to the cause and effect .

•Watching the issue of child labour from the environment gives a clear picture about the issue.

•Observation is the planned methodological watching that involves constraints to improve accuracy.

•Lindzey Gardener “ selection ,provocation, recording, and encoding of that set of behaviors and setting, concerning organisms ‘in-situ’ which are consistent with empirical aims”

•Six kinds of content can be observed according to Zikmund(1988)

•Physical actions•Verbal behavior•Expressive behavior•spatial relations•Temporal patterns•Verbal records

Characteristics

•It is always direct•It takes place in natural setting•Less structurd•It makes only the qualitative study

Purposes• Black & Champion(1976)• To capture human conduct as it actually

happens• To provide more graphic description of social

life than can be acquired in other ways.• To explore important events and situations.• It can be used as a tool of collecting

information in situations where methods other than observations cannot prove to be useful.

• Participant/non-participnt• Systematic/unsystematic• naive/ scientific• Structured/unstructured• natural /laboratory• Open/Hidden

• Direct/indirect• Covert/overt

Observation Types

• Direct vs indirect: ▫ Direct>> observing

behavior as it occurs▫ Indirect >> observing

the effects of behavior

• Disguised vs nondisguised▫ Nondisguised>>Direc

t ▫ Disguised >> Indirect

• Structured vs unstructured▫ Structured>>predeter

mine what to observe▫ Unstructured>>monit

or all behavior• Human vs Mechanical

▫ Human>>observation done by human beings

▫ Mechanical>>observation by machine

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Classification of Observation

Observation:Advantages and Limitations

• Advantages▫ Greater data accuracy than direct questioning,

in natural settings people behave naturally,▫ Problems of refusal, not at home, false

response, non-cooperation etc. are absent,▫ No recall error,▫ In some situations, only way

Number of customers visiting a store Studying children’s behavior

• Limitations▫ Time consuming, -- too many things to

observe, ▫ may not be representative, ▫ difficulty in determining root cause of the

behavior.

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Focus Group Discussion

• An interview conducted by a trained moderator in a non-structured and natural manner with a small group of respondents.

Group size 8-12Group composition Homogenous, respondents

prescreenedPhysical setting Relaxed, informal settingTime duration 1 - 3 hoursRecording Use of audio and video cassettesModerator Observational, interpersonal, good

communication skills needed.

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Focus Group Procedure

Determine the objectives of Research Project and define the problem

Specify the objective of qualitative research

State the objectives/questions to be answered by the focus group

Write a screening questionnaire

Develop a moderator’s outline

Conduct the focus group interview

Review tapes and analyze data

Summarize the findings and plan follow-up research

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The Focus Group Moderator

• The person who conducts the focus group session. ▫ Success of focus groups depend on him/her,▫ He/she must strive for generating a stimulating

natural discussion without losing sight of the focus,

▫ Must take initiative, but should not dominate the discussion unduly,

▫ Should have feeling of urgency, ▫ Should participate in the research from the

beginning,▫ Must add value beyond just conducting the

session.

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Focus Group: Advantages and Disadvantages

•Major Advantages:▫Synergism, Snowballing,

Stimulation, Security, Spontaneity, Speed and Cost savings.

•Major Disadvantages:▫Lack of representativeness, Misuse,

Misjudge, Moderation problem, and Difficulty of analysis

•A very promising technique.

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Five Disadvantages of Focus Group

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1. Lack of representativeness. Focus groups are not representative of thegeneral population. Hence, results of focus group discussions are notprojectable and should not be the only basis for decision making.

2. Misjudgement. Focus groups are generally susceptible to client andresearcher biases. As such, compared to the results of other datacollection techniques, focus group results could be easily misjudged.

3. Misuse. Focus groups can be misused and abused by considering theresults as conclusive rather than exploratory.

4. Moderation. Skills of the moderator is a major determinant of focusgroup success and the quality of their results. But moderators withdesirable skills are rare.

5. Difficult to analyze. The unstructured nature of the responses in focusgroup discussions makes coding, analysis, and interpretation difficult.

interview

•Another method of collecting information is by interviews. two types of interviews are there

•Direct(personal)& indirect(telephone)•skilled interviewer sensitive to body

language• schedule & guide????????(sample)

•It is verbal questioning.• it is different from the general interview

when it is used as method of data collection in research.

•It is different in preparation, construction, and execution.

•It is implemented in a systematic way and controlled by the reseracher and it is related to specific purpose.

•Bingham & Moore(1924) “ a conversation with a purpose”.

•Lyndey Gardener (1968) “as two person conversation , initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research –relevant information and focused by him on the content specified by the research objectives of descriptions and explanation”

Functions of interview

•Description it facilitate a kind of description to the

subject by the interviewer at the spot itself.

•Exploration •It provide chance for exploring the

unexplored area. It useful in conducting research on victims of any issues like natural calamity, riots etc.

characteristics•Black & Champion(1976)•Personal communication•Equal status. Interviewer & interviewee•Verbal reception of questions and answers.

Information is recorded by the interviewer.•Both of them are strangers to each other• Interview is not necessarily limited to two

persons.•Flexibility in the format of the interview

Types

•Classification is mainly done on the basis of structure ,number of persons involved, etc.

•Structured & unstructured•Here in first one is based on the

structured interview guide which is little different form the questionnaire.

•In reality it is set of definite questions prepared by the interviewer.

•The research has freedom to make any adjustment to any of its element like content, wording or order of questions.( sarantoks 1998)

•This type of interview is employed in quantitative research.

•In unstructured interview here are no specification in the wording of the question or order.

•They may ask question whenever Q is required.

•Have no guide ,prior indication of the issues on which the Q are to be asked or about the time limit.

Standardized /un-standardised

•In standardized interviews answer to each question is standardized as it is determined by a set of response category given for this propose.

• the respondents are expected to chose one of the given options as the answer.

• In un-standardised interviews the response are left open to the respondent.

Individual or group interview

Its type of interview in which the research interviews only one person at a time. But in other simultaneously an interview with more than one person will undertook.( it may be small group interviewing husband and wife, worker & coworker, class)

Self administered /other-administered interviews

•The respondent is supplied a list of questions along with instructions for writing answers in the appropriate place on the interview form.

•In other the interviewer himself writes answers to questions on the response sheet.

Unique /panel interview

It is one in which the interview collects entire information In one interview.

In panel interview the interviewer collects information from the same group of respondents two or more times at regular intervals.

•Soft/hard interview •Is type of interview in which the

interviewer holds a secondary position and guides the respondents without putting any pressure on them. The hard interview resembles the police interrogation. The validity of the answer will be verified by the interviewer by asking questions

•Personal/non-personal interview it is face to face contact. But In the other

the information is collected via telephone, computer or ay other medium.

Conditions for successful interview•Accessibility•Understanding•Motivation•Skill•Efficiency

Content analysis

•In recent years the role of print and visual media as increased .it may be used to manipulate ,convinced or manipulated.

•Media communicate ideas.•Nowadays the analysis of communication

content written as well as pictorial have developed as trend in research especially in data analysis.

Other Qualitative Techniques

Depth Interview: An unstructured interview that seeks opinions of respondents on a one-to-one basis. Useful for sensitive issues, politics etc.

Protocol Analysis: Involves placing a person in a decision making situation and asking him/her to state everything he/she considers in making a decision. Useful in 1. Purchasing involving a long time frame (car, house) and 2. Where the decision process is too short (greeting card).

Projective technique: Involve situations in which participants are placed in simulated activities hoping that they will divulge information about themselves that are unlikely to be revealed under direct questing.

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Projective Techniques

• These are indirect interviewing methods which enable sampled respondents to project their views, beliefs and feelings onto a third-party or into some task situation.

• The researcher sets up a situation for the respondents asking them to express their own views, or to complete/ interpret some ambiguous stimulus presented to them.

• Various types. More common ones are:▫Free Word Association▫Sentence Completion▫Unfinished scenario/story completion▫Cartoon completion test

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Visual Projective Techniques- Rosarch,TAT,Rosenz Test,

Picture Frustration, Holtzman Ink BlotVerbal Projective Techniques Word Association,Sentence Completion, Story Completion

TestExpressive Techniques• Play,Role play,Drawing,Painting,

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Stimulus Word ResponsePostman __________Bank Teller* __________Networking __________Automatic teller machine*Persian Carpet __________Driver __________Bank by Phone* __________Transitlink _________

FREE WORD ASSOCIATION

In this technique, a list of carefully selected stimulus words or phrases related to the topic of research are read out, one at a time, to a respondent. The respondent is asked to respond with the first word or phrase that comes to his/her mind. The list of words should contain a mixture of test words and neutral words.In the example shown here, the researchers seems to be interested in studying high-tech banking (words with *).

However, analyzing and interpreting test results are rather difficult.

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Automatic teller machine users are______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Automatic teller machines may be convenient, but they______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My major concern about automatic teller machines is______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SENTENCE COMPLETIONThis technique is an extension of the free-word association test. In this technique, the respondent is presented with some sentences containing incomplete stimuli and is asked to complete them. Like the free-word association method, interpreting and analysing data obtained from this technique is also difficult.

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Since Mr. Albert Lee had received a large commission by check justbefore leaving home for a holiday trip, he wanted to deposit it in anautomatic teller machine, because ___________, but his friend Mr.Wong told him that he should _____________, because_____________.

UNFINISHED SCENARIO COMPLETION

This technique is similar to the sentence completion test. However,

in this technique, the respondent is presented with a specific

scenario containing incomplete stimuli [see example below] and

is asked to complete the scenario. Interpreting and analysing data

obtained from this technique is also difficult.

Projective techniques • In psychology, a projective test is a personality

test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts.

• This is different from an "objective test" in which responses are analyzed according to a universal standard (for example, a multiple choice exam). The responses to projective tests are content analyzed for meaning rather than being based on presuppositions about meaning, as is the case with objective tests.

• The general theoretical position behind projective tests is that whenever a specific question is asked, the response will be consciously-formulated and socially determined. These responses do not reflect the respondent's unconscious or implicit attitudes or motivations. The respondent's deep-seated motivations may not be consciously recognized by the respondent or the respondent may not be able to verbally express them in the form demanded by the questioner.

• Rorschach inkblot test• The best known and most frequently used projective

test is the Rorschach inkblot test,• in which a subject is shown a series of ten irregular but

symmetrical inkblots, and asked to explain what they see.[1] The subject's responses are then analyzed in various ways, noting not only what was said, but the time taken to respond, which aspect of the drawing was focused on, and how single responses compared to other responses for the same drawing.

• For example, if someone consistently sees the images as threatening and frightening, the tester might infer that the subject may suffer from paranoia.

• Thematic Apperception Test• Another popular projective test is the Thematic

Apperception Test (TAT) in which an individual views ambiguous scenes of people, and is asked to describe various aspects of the scene; for example, the subject may be asked to describe what led up to this scene, the emotions of the characters, and what might happen afterwards. The examiner then evaluates these descriptions, attempting to discover the conflicts, motivations and attitudes of the respondent. In the answers, the respondent "projects" their unconscious attitudes and motivations into the picture, which is why these are referred to as "projective tests."

• Draw-A-Person Test• The Draw-A-Person test requires the subject to

draw a person. The results are based on a psychodynamic interpretation of the details of the drawing, such as the size, shape and complexity of the facial features, clothing and background of the figure. As with other projective tests, the approach has very little demonstrated validity and there is evidence that therapists may attribute pathology to individuals who are merely poor artists

Sociometry

•Sociometry, by definition, measures the “socius”—the interpersonal connection between two people (Moreno 1951).

•The founder of sociometry, Jacob L. Moreno

•(1889–1974)

•sociometry theory is focused on measuring relationships, the purview of both social atom theory (long-term relationships and their development and maintenance over time) and sociometry (fluctuation of interpersonal connections over short periods). The sociogram is the representation of sociometry

•However, a complete understanding of sociometry provides tremendously powerful structures and tools for use not only in small group interactions but also wherever and whenever interpersonal dynamics come into play.

Questionnaire

•It is the structured set f questions usually sent by mail.

•“ a document contains a set of Q, the answer to which are to be provided personally by the respondent”

•a covering letter•Types of questionnaire

•Qustionnaire is used as tool of data collection when;

• a large samples are desired•Costs have to be kept low•Ease of administration is necessary• moderate response rate is considered

satisfactory

critera

•Topic-one topic or several topic•Size-printed in small card, 4-5 pages or 9-

10 pages•Target-specific people or too general•Type of response required- closed/open-

ended or combination of this two•Method of administration

Interview schedule

•The set of structured questions in which answers are recorded by the interviewer is called interview schedule or schedule.

•It can be used with educated and illiterate•It is used with a small amount of

population•In constructing a questionnaire or

schedule• we seek three types of information

•Demographic information : identify the interviewee

• substantive information. focused on subject under study

• additional information.

Construction of questionnaire /schedule•Discussing about the sequence, placing of

Q and type of questions should be considered

•The following aspects are considered in the construction of Q or S

•Length.•It should be reasonably long. It is noted

that the time for filling up Q or S is generally limited to 30-40 mts.

•A face to face interview can continue for 45-60 mts.

•Respondents availability•Clearly typed• should not hard to read. Should printed

clearly

•Adequate space for answer.•Avoid abbreviation•Proper instructions•Explicit information should be given to

respondents.•Eg: Branching questions.

•Determining number and response category•Ordinal Q the number of response categories

are often subjective and the researcher fails to decide the number of categories b/w highest and the lowest. It may be 3,4 or 5

•Eg. Regularly/occasionally/hardly ever/never/•Excellent/good/poor/undecided•Strongly agree/agree/neutral/strongly

disagree/disagree

•Very important/important/somewhat important/not important

•always./ sometimes/rarely/never

Q

•Q questions should b clear•Relevant•Short•Negative Q should be avoided•Biased terms should be avoided•Competency of the respondents• willingness of the respondents

Data Analysis& Presentation

Data Analysis& Presentation

•Discussed about the data collection and procedures related with data collection

•We collect data through applying any of the method like interview, questionnaire, content analysis, projective techniques .

•After collecting the data reseracher become concerned about six major things.

•Checking the questionnaires and schedules•Sorting out and reducing information

collected to manageable form.•Summarizing the data into tabular form.•Analyzing facts with purview to bring out

its salient features.• Interpreting the results. Converting into

statements.•Presenting the report

•It is a crucial stage in any reseracher activity

•It includes many activities like editing, coding ,tabulation,

•And includes the interpretation and inferential analysis

•It is also known as processing of data

•Data processing ,data analysis, interpretation and presentation and are some of the important activities involved in the process of data analysis.

Data processing

•Data reduction or processing involves various activities manipulation which is necessary for preparing the data for analysis.

• it could be done manual or electronic.•It involves editing , categorizing the

open ended questions, coding, preparation of tables and diagrams.

checking and Editing data

•The process of examining the data collected in a survey to detect errors and omissions and to see that thy are correct and the schedules prepared for tabulations known as editing.

•It include the routine work of checking the filled questionnaire

•Identifying incomplete answers

•Editing is required for proper coding and entry into computer.

•Editing means that the date are complete error free, readable and worthy of being assigned a code.(it can be done soon after completing the interview)

•Editing includes categorizing of information given by the respondent.(as middle age-young aged etc)

Coding• Coding is translating answers into numerical

values or assigning numbers to the various categories of a variable to be used in data analysis.

• Coding is generally done while prepaing the questions before finalising the questionnaire nd interview schedule.

• coding is done by using code book,code sheet nad computer card.

• Larton; “coding consists in assigning a number of symbol to each answers which falls in a determined class.”

Data distribution

•Distribution of data is important in the presentation of data.

•It is form of classification of sources obtained from various categories of particular variable.

•Frequency distribution, percentage distribution, cumulative distribution are common.

Tabulation • Is the procedure which involves arranging of

assembled data in a logical ,concise ,and systematic manner on the basis of the criteria like geographical ,chronological ,qualitative, qualitative ,attributive,quanittative matters.

• It can be prepared manually or y computers.• It present an overall view of the findings in a

simple way.• Identify trends• They display relationships in a comparable way

between parts of findings.

Types of tables

•Single(univariate ) table•A two variable(biviariate) table•A table with more than two

variable( multi variate)

Data analysis and interpretation•Analysis is the ordering of the data into

constituent parts in order to obtain answers to research questions.

• analysis never gives answers to research question . Interpretation is also necessary .

•Interpretation is done on the basis of the analysis and inferences and conclusion will be made on the basis of the interpretation.

•Interpretation is done in two way•1-relatios with in the study and its data

are interpreted.•2-the results of the study and the

inferences drawn with in the data are compared to theory and other research results.

Method of data analysis

• Descriptive analysis:

• It limits generalization to the particular group of individuals observed. No conclusions are extended beyond this group and any similarity to those outside the group cannot be assumed. The data describes one group and that group only. It provides valuable information about the nature of particular group of individuals.

• Inferential analysis:

• It is also called logical or statistical analysis. It is probably based. It always involves the process of sampling and the selection of a small group that is assumed to be related to the population from which it is drawn. The small group is called the sample and the

• large group is the population.

Report

•No matter what quality is of the research undertaken, much of the acceptance of the results depends on the way a they are communicated to the relevant audiences.

•This act of communicating is called report writing. It is the final step in the research process.

•It is culmination of the research findings to a specific audience to accomplish given purpose.

•This presentation can be written or given orally or both.

• It is concise and clear communication of findings of the research work.

•According to Kinner and Taylor- “A research report can be defined as the presentation of the research findings directed to a specific audience to accomplish specific purposes”.

Guidelines for report writing•The research report is design to

communicate information for use by decision makers, so obviously it must be tailored to this need.

• Report should be concise yet complete. It should cover the important points of the project and should exclude the unimportant.

• The research report must be an objective presentation or the research findings.

components

•Title page•The title page appears first. It should

indicate the subject, for whom the report is prepared and by whom it is prepared. If the research report is confidential the name of those individuals to receive report should be specified on the title page.

Table of contents

• If the report is lengthy or it is divided into numerous parts, it is usually describe to have table of content.

• Table of contents list the sequence of topic covered in the report long with page reference. Its purpose is to aid the readers in findings the particular section in report.

• If the report includes numerous chart, graphs, and figures they should be listed immediately following the table of content by page number

Management/executive summary

• Most decision maker requires that the research report ,contains one or two page management summary.

• Most executives choose to read only this summary.

• It provides the executives with the key research findings which bear on the decision problem.

• It contains objective of the research project, conclusion and specific recommendation for action.

forward

•This serves to introduce the readers to the research project.

• It should give background of the problems like

how and when it comes to existence, importance of the problem, various dimensional of the problem and whether any previous research was done which is pertinent to the specific project being reported.

• Methodology• It describes the research procedure.• This includes the following• Research design• It can be exploratory or conclusive the researcher should

describe the particular design used.• Data collection method• The researcher must explain the data collection method

used. Data can be collected from primary or secondary source with various methods.

• Sampling• It should specify universe, sampling units, sampling size,

sampling procedure employed

Analysis and interpretation

•It should include logically unfolding of information.

•It requires the organization of the data into a logical flow of information for decision making purposes.

Findings

•Findings are the results of the study. It is an organized narrative of the results. This section makes up the bulk of the report. Summary table and graphics methods of presentation should be used liberally.

Conclusions and recommendations

•It must flow logically form the presentations of the findings.

•Conclusions should clearly link the research

findings with the information needs and based on these linkage recommendations for action can be formulated.

Appendix

• The purpose of the appendix is to provide a place for material which is not absolutely essential to the

body of the report. • This material is typically more specialized and

complex or too detailed than presented in the main report and it is design to serve the needs of the technically oriented readers.

• The appendix typically contains the following materials: copies of data collection forms: details of sampling plan; tables not included in findings; bibliography.