Sources and collection of data

When
y After a research problem has been defined and research

design/plan has been chalked out

y 2 types of data
y Primary : collected fresh and for the first time; original in

character y Secondary : already collected by someone else

Primary Data Collection Methods

y Observation Method y Questionnaire y Interview Method (Personal; Telephonic) y Survey Method (Mail Survey; Email/internet survey)

OBSERVATION METHOD

y Information is sought by way of investigators own direct

observation y When to use?

y Topic is sensitive : black and white student interactions y Subjects are incapable of giving verbal reports for some reason y Phenomena is observable : you can observe behavior not

attitudes y Have time : to increase reliability, observations need to be made multiple times y Not sure what you are not looking for Participant / not-participant / disguised

Advantages
y Subjective bias can be eliminated y Information obtained relates to what is currently happening

not complicated by past behaviour or future intentions/attitudes y Independent of respondents willingness to respond

Limitations
y Expensive y Information provided is limited

Things to keep in mind..

y What to observe y How should the observations be recorded y How to ensure accuracy of observations y Style of recording observations y Standardized conditions y Selection of pertinent data of observations

Structured observations ----- Descriptive Studies Unstructured observations ----- Exploratory Studies

INTERVIEW METHOD

y Involves presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in

terms of oral-verbal response y Pre-requisites of interviewing

y Interviewers selected, trained, briefed, honest, sincere,

hardworking, impartial possess the technical competence necessary practical experience y Occasional field checks

Personal Interview
Direct Personal Investigation Indirect Oral Investigation Structured Unstructured

Advantages
y More information and that too in greater depth can be obtained. y Interviewer by his own skill can overcome the resistance, if any, of

y y y

the respondents; the interview method can be made to yield an almost perfect sample of the general population. There is greater flexibility under this method as the opportunity to restructure questions is always there, specially in case of unstructured interviews. Observation method can as well be applied to recording verbal answers to various questions. Personal information can as well be obtained easily under this method. Samples can be controlled more effectively as there arises no difficulty of the missing returns; non-response generally remains very low. .

Advantages
y The interviewer can usually control which person(s) will answer

the questions. This is not possible in mailed questionnaire approach. If so desired, group discussions may also be held. y The interviewer may catch the informant off-guard and thus may secure the most spontaneous reactions than would be the case if mailed questionnaire is used. y The language of the interview can be adopted to the ability or educational level of the person interviewed and as such misinterpretations concerning questions can be avoided. y The interviewer can collect supplementary information about the respondents personal characteristics and environment which is often of great value in interpreting results.

Limitations
y It is a very expensive method, specially when large and widely spread geographical sample y y

y y

y y y

is taken. There remains the possibility of the bias of interviewer as well as that of the respondent; there also remains the headache of supervision and control of interviewers. Certain types of respondents such as important officials or executives or people in high income groups may not be easily approachable under this method and to that extent the data may prove inadequate. This method is relatively more-time-consuming, specially when the sample is large and recalls upon the respondents are necessary. The presence of the interviewer on the spot may over-stimulate the respondent, sometimes even to the extent that he may give imaginary information just to make the interview interesting. Under the interview method the organisation required for selecting, training and supervising the field-staff is more complex with formidable problems. Interviewing at times may also introduce systematic errors. Effective interview presupposes proper rapport with respondents that would facilitate free and frank responses.This is often a very difficult requirement.

Telephone Interviews
y This method of collecting information consists in contacting

respondents on telephone itself. It is not a very widely used method, but plays important part in industrial surveys, particularly in developed regions.

Advantages
y It is more flexible in comparison to mailing method. y It is faster than other methods i.e., a quick way of obtaining y y y y y y y y

information. It is cheaper than personal interviewing method; here the cost per response is relatively low. Recall is easy; callbacks are simple and economical. There is a higher rate of response than what we have in mailing method; the non-response is generally very low. Replies can be recorded without causing embarrassment to respondents. Interviewer can explain requirements more easily. At times, access can be gained to respondents who otherwise cannot be contacted for one reason or the other. No field staff is required. Representative and wider distribution of sample is possible.

Limitations
y Little time is given to respondents for considered answers; y y y y y

interview period is not likely to exceed five minutes in most cases. Surveys are restricted to respondents who have telephone facilities. Extensive geographical coverage may get restricted by cost considerations. It is not suitable for intensive surveys where comprehensive answers are required to various questions. Possibility of the bias of the interviewer is relatively more. Questions have to be short and to the point; probes are difficult to handle.

SURVEY METHODS

Mail Survey - Advantages

y Mail surveys are among the least expensive. y This is the only kind of survey you can do if you have the

names and addresses of the target population, but not their telephone numbers. y The questionnaire can include pictures - something that is not possible over the phone. y Mail surveys allow the respondent to answer at their leisure, rather than at the often inconvenient moment they are contacted for a phone or personal interview. For this reason, they are not considered as intrusive as other kinds of interviews.

Mail Survey - Limitations

y Time! Mail surveys take longer than other kinds.You will need to

wait several weeks after mailing out questionnaires before you can be sure that you have gotten most of the responses. y In populations of lower educational and literacy levels, response rates to mail surveys are often too small to be useful. This, in effect, eliminates many immigrant populations that form substantial markets in many areas. Even in well-educated populations, response rates vary from as low as 3% up to 90%. As a rule of thumb, the best response levels are achieved from highlyeducated people and people with a particular interest in the subject (which, depending on your target population, could lead to a biased sample).

Email/Internet Surveys - Advantages

y Speed. An email questionnaire can gather several thousand

responses within a day or two. y There is practically no cost involved once the set up has been completed. y You can attach pictures and sound files. The novelty element of an email survey often stimulates higher response levels than ordinary snail mail surveys.

Email/Internet Surveys - Limitations

y You must possess (or purchase) a list of email addresses. y Some people will respond several times or pass questionnaires along to friends

to answer. Many programs have no check to eliminate people responding multiple times to bias the results. The Survey Systems Email Module will only accept one reply from each address sent the questionnaire. It eliminates duplicate and pass along questionnaires and checks to ensure that respondents have not ignored instructions (e.g., giving 2 answers to a question requesting only one). y Many people dislike unsolicited email even more than unsolicited regular mail. You may want to send email questionnaires only to people who expect to get email from you. y You cannot use email surveys to generalize findings to the whole populations. People who have email are different from those who do not, even when matched on demographic characteristics, such as age and gender. y Email surveys cannot automatically skip questions or randomize question or answer choice order or use other automatic techniques that can enhance surveys the way Web page surveys can.

QUESTIONNAIRES

y Quite popular y Uses private individuals, research workers, private and

public organizations y Considered the heart of a survey operation; if not properly set up, survey is bound to fail y Pilot study helps refine

Advantages
y There is low cost even when the universe is large and is y y y y

widely spread geographically. It is free from the bias of the interviewer; answers are in respondents own words. Respondents have adequate time to give well thought out answers. Respondents, who are not easily approachable, can also be reached conveniently. Large samples can be made use of and thus the results can be made more dependable and reliable.

Limitations
y Low rate of return of the duly filled in questionnaires; bias due to y y y y

y y

no-response is often indeterminate. It can be used only when respondents are educated and cooperating. The control over questionnaire may be lost once it is sent. There is inbuilt inflexibility because of the difficulty of amending the approach once questionnaires have been despatched. There is also the possibility of ambiguous replies or omission of replies altogether to certain questions; interpretation of omissions is difficult. It is difficult to know whether willing respondents are truly representative. This method is likely to be the slowest of all.

Main Aspects of a Questionnaire

y General Form y Question Sequence y Question formulating and wording

Summary

Secondary Data
y Data already available; already been collected and analyzed y Sources

Publications of central and state governments Publications of foreign governments International organizations and their subsidiary organizations Technical and trade journals Books, magazines and newspapers Reports and publications of various associations connected with business and industry, banks, stock exchanges y Reports prepared by research scholars, universities, economists y Public records and statistics, historical documents and other sources of published information
y y y y y y

Before using secondary data.

Reliability of data 2. Suitability of data 3. Adequacy of data
1.