MODULE IV

Data Collection Field Force

Field Procedures
Fieldwork involves the selection, training, supervision, and evaluation of individuals who collect data in the field. The twin objectives of the field work are To maximize the flow of pertinent , accurate data, and To minimize the errors committed by the interviewers.

Several means of gathering primary data areTelephone interviewing Personal interviewing Mail surveying Observation

Telephone interviewing- When telephone interviewing is computer-assisted, the paper questionnaire is replaced with a video screen. Interviewers read the questions and either type in the answers or use light pen to mark the answers on the video screen. Data are entered in the computer directly so that at any time the results can be summarized quickly.

Personal Interviewing
Recruitment - Most fieldwork organizations keep a file of fieldworkers by geographical location. The sampling sites are matched against these files and qualified workers are selected. Sometimes recruitment is done with the help of local sources such as newspapers and educational institutions.

Training- After field-workers are selected they have to be trained. Since most field-work must be done within a limited time period and interviewers are widely dispersed, training is usually done by mail. On some projects the training is given by supervisors in person at one or few central locations. Supervision- When the interviewers commence the field-work, they need to be supervised, at least to the extent of ensuring they are proceeding on schedule and their work is satisfactory.

Observation Some form of systematic procedures would be valuable in observation research situations. Observation plans can specify the details of who, what, when, where, and how to observe an object or individual. When the plans are carefully administered, the observers well trained, instructions adhered to, and observers supervised, observational research can be fruitful.

Mail Survey
In this medium of data collection there is no field worker and no personal interface. All the functions are shifted to persons in some central office location, whose tasks are of these typeCompile or purchase address lists of the desired kinds of respondents who are located within the sampled areas. Address envelops, stuff them with the questionnaire and other materials and mail them. To those not responding by a selected cut off date, mail follow-up entreaties and questionnaires. Edit the questionnaires returned and prepare them for data processing.

Common sources of error in fieldwork

Five common sources of error in fieldwork are1. Errors in selecting respondents 2. Nonresponse error 3. Errors created by the method of seeking data 4. Errors resulting from interviewers misinterpreting or misrecording answers 5. Interviewer cheating

Minimizing Fieldwork Errors

To improve the overall quality of fieldwork , most research organizations pay attention to five factors 1. Selection and training of field workers interviewers and observers. 2. Administrative procedures for handling projects in the field. 3. Supervision of field-workers and the datacollection process. 4. Quality and cost control procedures. 5. Validation of fieldwork.

Tabulation
Tabulation means sorting of the data into different categories and counting the number of cases that belong to each category. Tabulation is another way of summarizing and presenting the given data in a systematic form in rows and columns. The major objectives of tabulation areTo simplify the complex To economize space To depict trend To facilitate comparison To help as a reference

Parts of a table : Table number Title of the table Caption/Column head Stub/Row head Body of the table Foot Note Source

Example
Table number .Title. Caption column

Stub Row head Row head Row head

column

column

Body of the table

Foot note Source

Types of tabulation1. Univariate tabulation- The simplest way to tabulate is to count the number of responses to one questions. This is called univariate tabulation.

 ExampleNo. of movies Seen per week

No. of respondent 9 15 13 10 8 5
60

Percentage of respondent 15 25 22 17 13 8
100

0 1 2 3 4 5

2. Bivariate or multivariate tabulation- It may often be necessary to tabulate responses to two or more questions simultaneously. Such tabulations are known as Bivariate or multivariate tabulation , depending on whether two or more than two variables are involved. This is also known as cross- tabulation.

Example Preference for shopping center by income level of households Income level Shopping center (A) Shopping center (B) Total no.of households

Up to Rs.10,000
Rs. 10,000+ Total

100
120 220

200
80 280

300
200 500

Example of Multivariate tabulation Purchase of fashion clothing by Marital status and Gender: Purchase of Fashion clothing High Low

male marital status female Marital status married unmarried married unmarried 35% 65% 40% 60% 25% 75% 60% 40%

Three variables are- (1) high or low categories based on their purchase of fashion clothing. (2) Marital status (3) Gender

Problem in Cross-Tabulation One has to first determine which data should be given primary emphasis and which should be given secondary emphasis. Data with primary emphasis are normally given in columns while those with secondary emphasis are shown in rows. The second problem in a two- way tabulation is which base should be used for 100 percent, as the data may be percentaged in either dimension. Percentage should be based on totals of rows or column, Whichever is relatively more important. One simple rule is, percentage should be computed in the direction of the causal factor.

In a sample study about coffee drinking habits in two towns, the following information was received; Town A: Female were 40%. Total coffee drinkers were 45% and male non-coffee drinkers were 20%. Town B: Males were 55%. Male noncoffee drinkers were 30% and female coffee drinkers were 15%. Represent this data in a tabular form.

Q. Present the following information in a suitable form : In 2003, the number of workers in the union was 3450 of which 3200 were men. The number of non-union workers was 760 of which 330 were women. In 2004, out of a total of 4000 workers in a factory, 3300 were members of a trade union. The number of women workers employed was 500 out of which 400 did not belong to any union.

Case- Study Health Foods Ltd.

The Health Foods Ltd. is a small private limited company which manufactures nutritious snacks especially for children. It is interested in testing a newly developed protein snack. However, as the company is a small one, it is not in a position to hire the services of a marketing research firm.

The company management has asked Mrs. Desai, one of its senior employees, to invite a group of 10 to 15 women to test the new snack. She was advised to invite only married women with children belonging to three major categories, i.e. high, middle and low income groups. Mrs. Desai was also told that if she so liked she could invite her friends and neighbours, provided they fitted the above requirements.

Questions:1. What sample design is being used by Mrs. Desai? 2. Are there any factors that may distort the results? If so, specify them. 3. Is it possible to use a better sample design? If yes, specify it.