Different methods of data collection in research methodology

Related slideshares at r 9-methods of data mae nalzaro,bsm,bsn,mn, registered hed on jun 9, you sure you want message goes a health complex, kaliganj, you sure you want message goes hali but simple presentation. You sure you want message goes you sure you want message goes ive secretary at nurse at jimma t at universiti sains t at morogoro vocational teachers r 9-methods of data s of data is data collection? The process by which the researcher collects the information needed to answer the research problem. In collecting the data, the researcher must decide:  which data to collect  how to collect the data  who will collect the data  when to collect the data. The selection of data collection method should be based on the following:  the identified hypothesis or research problem  the research design  the information gathered about the methods of data collection vary according to:  degree of structure  degree of quantifiability  degree of obtrusiveness  degree of ch instruments instrument or a tool  described as a device used to collect the data. The type of instrument used by the researcher depends on the data collection method selected. Massey states that the “instrument development requires a high degree of research expertise, as the instrument must be reliable and valid. Of searching forresearch of searching for research instruments read professional journals to learn what kind of instruments are being used for similar studies, their format, style, and how they are used by the writers. Talk with other researchers who may know of certain tools they have developed for themselves, or may have used tools developed by others. The research tool will only be effective only as it relates to its particular purpose. The devised research tool should provide comparable data every time the subject uses the instrument. The research tool should be designed and constructed in such a way that cheating is ines for developing an instrument the instrument should be free of bias.

Interpretation of data in research methodology

The researcher may need to read extensively to identify which aspects of the theory are appropriate for ines for developing an instrument the researcher, through the instrument, must be able to gather data that are appropriate in order to test the hypothesis or to answer the question under investigation. The researcher should gather a group of items from such sources as persons knowledgeable in the field, accepted theories or hypotheses, personal experience, or material from studies reported in books and professional ines for developing an instrument the response given by each respondent in the research study should solely be his own. Therefore, the respondent who agrees to participate in a study is responsible for supplying information or for exhibiting behavior that is truly his of research of research instruments 1. Researcher may read literatures about the topic look through available questionnaires or obtain help from experts. Example: people have different views on “family planning”, which of the following best represent your views? Example: here are some characteristics of birth-control devices that are of varying importance to different people. Interview this involves either structure or unstructured verbal communication between the researcher and subject, during which information is obtained for a of interview1. Researcher designed the questions to be asked prior to interview including the order of the questions. Survey approach  non-experimental type in which the researcher investigates a community or a group of people. Verbal behavior is quite unreliable and that ement of ement of variables measurement is the process by which the researcher assigns specific number to the collected data (massey, 1991). Data are categorized and ranked, ordered from “most” to “least: according to frequency of occurrence as explained by dr. Interval level (the second highest level)  this occurs when the researcher can specify both the rank- ordering of objects attribute and the distance between those objects.

Methods of analysing data in research

Validity  refers to the extent to which an instrument measures what it is designed to g validity of data g validity of data collection there are three categories of testing the validity of a data collection instrument. Face validity (validity of the observer)  most basic level, when little or nothing is known about the variable being measured;  the researcher typically verifies face validity by asking experts to evaluate the instrument’s intent. The researcher typically verifies this by conducting a literature review to determine which content should be covered and by asking experts to evaluate the instrument’s representativeness of the content. Pragmatic measures  the procedure essentially tests the practical value of a particular research instrument or tool  thus attempting to answer the question, “does it work? Researcher typically validates concurrent validity by using the instrument in conjunction with a second instrument already known to be valid. The researcher commonly validates this by using the instrument, then comparing the results with some future outcomes. Is related to the theoretical ideas behind the personality trait under g the reliability of research g the reliability of research instrument1. This refers to the extent to which the same results are obtained with repeated use of an instrument  there are two categories for tests of stability:  test / retest  repeated g the reliability of research instrument2. Test of equivalence  this refers to the consistency of the results by different investigators or similar tests at the same oint for teachers: creating interactive course - linkedin media in the course - linkedin ng to run course - linkedin s of data collection-primary & s of data of data collection s of data of data in sent successfully.. Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your can see my collection can be divided into two categories – secondary and ary data ary data is a type of data that has already been published in books, newspapers, magazines, journals, online portals etc. There is an abundance of data available in these sources about your research area in business studies, regardless of the nature of the research area. Therefore, application of appropriate set of criteria to select secondary data to be used in the study plays an important role in terms of increasing the levels of research validity and criteria include, but not limited to date of publication, credential of the author, reliability of the source, quality of discussions, depth of analyses, extent of contribution of the text to the development of the research area etc.

Presentation of data in research methodology

Secondary data collection is discussed in greater depth in literature review y data y data collection methods can be divided into two groups: quantitative and tative data collection methods are based in mathematical calculations in various formats. Methods of quantitative data collection and analysis include questionnaires with closed-ended questions, methods of correlation and regression, mean, mode and median and ative research methods, on the contrary, do not involve numbers or mathematical calculations. Qualitative research is closely associated with words, sounds, feeling, emotions, colors and other elements that are ative studies aim to ensure greater level of depth of understanding and qualitative data collection methods include interviews, questionnaires with open-ended questions, focus groups, observation, game or role-playing, case studies etc. Your choice between quantitative or qualitative methods of data collection depends on the area of your research and the nature of research aims and e-book, the ultimate guide to writing a dissertation in business studies: a step by step assistance offers practical assistance to complete a dissertation with minimum or no stress. The e-book covers all stages of writing a dissertation starting from the selection to the research area to submitting the completed version of the work within the y profiles & analysis (97). Help centerless log insign ta collection methods: research methodology13 pagesdata collection methods: research methodologyuploaded bynassima saci  connect to downloadget docxdata collection methods: research methodologydownloaddata collection methods: research methodologyuploaded bynassima saciloading previewsorry, preview is currently unavailable. Help new research papers in:physicschemistrybiologyhealth sciencesecologyearth sciencescognitive sciencemathematicscomputer rivacycopyrightacademia © use cookies to improve your experience with our d support for css. In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the t styles and h dental ctthis paper explores the most common methods of data collection used in qualitative research: interviews and focus groups. Examples of empirical studies that have used interviews or focus groups are also pointsinterviews and focus groups are the most common methods of data collection used in qualitative healthcare researchinterviews can be used to explore the views, experiences, beliefs and motivations of individual participantsfocus group use group dynamics to generate qualitative dataqualitative research in dentistryqualitative research in dentistrymethods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews and focus groupsconducting qualitative interviews with school children in dental researchanalysing and presenting qualitative dataintroductionhaving explored the nature and purpose of qualitative research in the previous paper, this paper explores methods of data collection used in qualitative research. There are a variety of methods of data collection in qualitative research, including observations, textual or visual analysis (eg from books or videos) and interviews (individual or group). However, the most common methods used, particularly in healthcare research, are interviews and focus groups. 3the purpose of this paper is to explore these two methods in more detail, in particular how they work in practice, the purpose of each, when their use is appropriate and what they can offer dental ative research interviewsthere are three fundamental types of research interviews: structured, semi-structured and unstructured.

Ethical considerations in the collection of qualitative research methodology

Their use is, therefore, generally only considered where significant 'depth' is required, or where virtually nothing is known about the subject area (or a different perspective of a known subject area is required). The flexibility of this approach, particularly compared to structured interviews, also allows for the discovery or elaboration of information that is important to participants but may not have previously been thought of as pertinent by the research example, in a recent dental public heath study,5 school children in cardiff, uk were interviewed about their food choices and preferences. A key finding that emerged from semi-structured interviews, which was not previously thought to be as highly influential as the data subsequently confirmed, was the significance of peer-pressure in influencing children's food choices and preferences. And, therefore, may not have emerged in the same way, if at all, if asked as a predetermined purpose of research interviewsthe purpose of the research interview is to explore the views, experiences, beliefs and/or motivations of individuals on specific matters (eg factors that influence their attendance at the dentist). Qualitative methods, such as interviews, are believed to provide a 'deeper' understanding of social phenomena than would be obtained from purely quantitative methods, such as questionnaires. They are also particularly appropriate for exploring sensitive topics, where participants may not want to talk about such issues in a group es of dental studies that have collected data using interviews are 'examining the psychosocial process involved in regular dental attendance'6 and 'exploring factors governing dentists' treatment philosophies'. The study found that dentists' clinical decisions about treatments were not necessarily related to pathology or treatment options, as was perhaps initially thought, but also involved discussions with patients, patients' values and dentists' feelings of self esteem and are many similarities between clinical encounters and research interviews, in that both employ similar interpersonal skills, such as questioning, conversing and listening. In contrast, the fundamental purpose of the research interview is to listen attentively to what respondents have to say, in order to acquire more knowledge about the study topic. Unlike the clinical encounter, it is not to intentionally offer any form of help or advice, which many researchers have neither the training nor the time for. Research interviewing therefore requires a different approach and a different range of interviewwhen designing an interview schedule it is imperative to ask questions that are likely to yield as much information about the study phenomenon as possible and also be able to address the aims and objectives of the research. This can help put respondents at ease, build up confidence and rapport and often generates rich data that subsequently develops the interview in any research, it is often wise to first pilot the interview schedule on several respondents prior to data collection proper. This allows the research team to establish if the schedule is clear, understandable and capable of answering the research questions, and if, therefore, any changes to the interview schedule are length of interviews varies depending on the topic, researcher and participant.

Whilst researchers may have less control over the home environment, familiarity may help the respondent to relax and result in a more productive interview. However, to ensure that the interview is as productive as possible, researchers must possess a repertoire of skills and techniques to ensure that comprehensive and representative data are collected during the interview. It is often also helpful to make 'field notes' during and immediately after each interview about observations, thoughts and ideas about the interview, as this can help in data analysis process. 8focus groupsfocus groups share many common features with less structured interviews, but there is more to them than merely collecting similar data from many participants at once. A focus group is a group discussion on a particular topic organised for research purposes. This discussion is guided, monitored and recorded by a researcher (sometimes called a moderator or facilitator). 12focus groups were first used as a research method in market research, originating in the 1940s in the work of the bureau of applied social research at columbia university. Suggested criteria for using focus groups include:13as a standalone method, for research relating to group norms, meanings and processesin a multi-method design, to explore a topic or collect group language or narratives to be used in later stagesto clarify, extend, qualify or challenge data collected through other methodsto feedback results to research 12 suggests that focus groups should be avoided according to the following criteria:if listening to participants' views generates expectations for the outcome of the research that can not be fulfilledif participants are uneasy with each other, and will therefore not discuss their feelings and opinions openlyif the topic of interest to the researcher is not a topic the participants can or wish to discussif statistical data is required. There is no 'best' solution to group composition, and group mix will always impact on the data, according to things such as the mix of ages, sexes and social professional statuses of the participants. What is important is that the researcher gives due consideration to the impact of group mix (eg, how the group may interact with each other) before the focus group proceeds. Sometimes this means a pre-existing group interacts best for research purposes, and sometimes stranger groups. In other research projects it may be decided that stranger groups will be able to speak more freely without fear of repercussion, and challenges to other participants may be more challenging and probing, leading to richer data.

The optimum size for a focus group is six to eight participants (excluding researchers), but focus groups can work successfully with as few as three and as many as 14 participants. An interview schedulelike research interviews, the interview schedule for focus groups is often no more structured than a loose schedule of topics to be discussed. However, in preparing an interview schedule for focus groups, stewart and shamdasani14 suggest two general principles:questions should move from general to more specific questionsquestion order should be relative to importance of issues in the research can, however, be some conflict between these two principles, and trade offs are often needed, although often discussions will take on a life of their own, which will influence or determine the order in which issues are covered. Usually, less than a dozen predetermined questions are needed and, as with research interviews, the researcher will also probe and expand on issues according to the tingmoderating a focus group looks easy when done well, but requires a complex set of skills, which are related to the following principles:15participants have valuable views and the ability to respond actively, positively and respectfully. Expressing one's own views tends to give participants cues as to what to say (introducing bias), rather than the confidence to be open and honest about their own viewsbe prepared for views that may be unpalatably critical of a topic which may be important to youit is important to recognise that researchers' individual characteristics mean that no one person will always be suitable to moderate any kind of group. For example, in a school setting, pupils may behave like pupils, and in clinical settings, participants may be affected by any anxieties that affect them when they attend in a patient groups are usually recorded, often observed (by a researcher other than the moderator, whose role is to observe the interaction of the group to enhance analysis) and sometimes videotaped. Good quality multi-directional external microphone is recommended for the recording of focus groups, as internal microphones are rarely good enough to cope with the variation in volume of different speakers. Sometimes observational notes also need to be described in the transcripts in order for them to make analysis of qualitative data is explored in the final paper of this series. However, it is important to note that the analysis of focus group data is different from other qualitative data because of their interactive nature, and this needs to be taken into consideration during analysis. The analysis of focus group data must therefore take account of the group dynamics that have generated groups in dental researchfocus groups are used increasingly in dental research, on a diverse range of topics,16 illuminating a number of areas relating to patients, dental services and the dental profession. Demonstrating the use of the method with professional groups as subjects in dental research, gussy et al. This mixed method study was very important as the qualitative element was able to explain why the clinical trial failed, and this understanding may help researchers improve on the quantitative aspect of future studies, as well as making a valuable academic contribution in its own sioninterviews and focus groups remain the most common methods of data collection in qualitative research, and are now being used with increasing frequency in dental research, particularly to access areas not amendable to quantitative methods and/or where depth, insight and understanding of particular phenomena are required.

The examples of dental studies that have employed these methods also help to demonstrate the range of research contexts to which interview and focus group research can make a useful contribution. The continued employment of these methods can further strengthen many areas of dentally related man d. In ritchie j, lewis j (eds) qualitative research practice: a guide for social science students and researchers. Br dent j 2006; 201: 165–medarticledownload referencesauthor informationaffiliationssenior research fellow, faculty of health, sport and science, university of glamorgan, pontypridd, cf37 1dlp. Ed e toolspdfmethods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews and focus groupsdownload as pdfview interactive pdf in readcubeshare on facebookshare on twittertoolstoolspdfrights & permissionsprintsharetwitterfacebookdigggoogle+p a research g the proposal - data collection of what you have done up until now has been theoretical. Now you need to define the “how” of your actual research process, and its outcome. You go through some decision-making stages to help you with this part of your research proposal. On one level, the research process can appear to be relatively simple - if you carry out the basic steps methodically and carefully, then you should arrive at useful conclusions. However, the nature of research can be very complex and when you are reading textbooks on research methodology you will come across many unfamiliar words and terms. We will look, once again, at types of research and explain some of the main different types of research can be classified by its process, its purpose, and its outcome. Additionally, your purpose can be described in a different way, based on the kinds of methods that it purpose of the research also can be classified as:2. As you review each, consider whether the description fits the way you envisioned your research investigation.

Also consider how the data collection and data methods are described, and what types of analyses of the data are recommended. This will help you to make very important decisions for your own atory research this is conducted when there are few or no earlier studies to which references can be made for information. In exploratory research the focus is on gaining insights and familiarity with the subject area for more rigorous investigation later. It is likely that you will be drawing on previous studies and so pure exploratory research is not generally appropriate for studies at this level – it is more appropriate for postgraduate research. However, it is possible that you may carry out an initial survey to establish areas of concern (exploratory research) and then research these issues in more depth, perhaps through interviews, to provide a deeper understanding (explanatory research). The data collected are often quantitative, and statistical techniques are usually used to summarize the information. Descriptive research goes further than exploratory research in examining a problem since it is undertaken to be certain of and to describe the characteristics of the issue. A research investigation may include descriptive research, but it is likely that it will also include one of the following two types (explanatory or predictive) as you are required in to go beyond description and to explain or ical or explanatory research this is a continuation of descriptive research. The researcher goes beyond merely describing the characteristics, to analyze and explain why or how something is happening. Thus, analytical research aims to understand phenomena by discovering and measuring causal relations among tive research predictive research goes further by forecasting the likelihood of a similar situation occurring elsewhere. Predictive research provides ‘how’, ‘why’, and ‘where’ answers to current events as well as to similar events in the future. Data is effectively another word for information that can be found through secondary or primary data collection.

It is important that you understand all the various ways of collecting data so that you can decide which to use for your own is also worth remembering at this stage that all methods of data collection can supply quantitative data (numbers and statistics) or qualitative data (usually words or text). You have, however, selected from the two main traditions of approaching a research topic – quantitative and qualitative. Here are some tips about which methods work best for each tative research your research will take an objective position, and your approach will be to treat phenomena as hard and real. You may favor methods such as surveys and experiments, and will attempt to test hypotheses or statements with a view to generalizing from the specific data that you collect. This approach typically concentrates on measuring or counting and involves collecting and analyzing numerical data and applying statistical ative research your view of the phenomena to be investigated should be more personal. You will use methods such as personal accounts, unstructured interviews and participant observation to gain an understanding of the underlying reasons and motivations for peoples’ attitudes, preferences or behaviors. With this approach, the emphasis is more on generating hypotheses from the data collection rather than testing a ative and quantitative research methods are not clear-cut nor mutually exclusive – most research draws on both methods. The difference between the two methods is in the overall form and in the emphasis and objectives of the study. The following chart might help you to decide what approach to use with certain methods and tools:Find out what to research ideas are is on on understanding from respondents’ point of what to research results are is on testing and on facts and/or le and not need to know in advance specific topics or questions – these should ‘emerge’. Participant atory and give easily explanatory and lack easily processed, for example, eses and of subjective retation more is important to remember that all methods of data collection can supply quantitative data (numbers, statistics or financial) or qualitative data (usually words or text). Selecting your tools and specific methods in the next step of this web site , keep in mind that most tools can be used qualitatively or ic tools and strategies for my you review each type of instrumentation, consider if you would use it to collect data for your own investigation, and whether you would use it to collect qualitative data or quantitative data. You should, however, just think of the question or hypothesis; that itself stipulates a kind of methodology to be used.

It is perfectly appropriate and possible to triangulate (do three different ways )the methodologies and use more than one basic approach. Although her study had certain flaws, snyder insists that researchers can simultaneously employ qualitative and quantitative methods if studies are planned carefully and carried out are four possible models of integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in the first approach, qualitative methods contribute to the development of quantitative instruments, such as the use of focus groups in questionnaire second model consists of a primarily quantitative study that uses qualitative results to help interpret or explain the quantitative second model consists of a primarily quantitative study that uses qualitative results to help interpret or explain the quantitative the third approach, quantitative results help interpret predominantly qualitative findings, as when focus group participants are asked to fill out survey questionnaires at the the fourth model, the two methodologies are used equally and in parallel to cross-validate and build upon each other's example of the formative research stage, in which the goal is to learn as much as possible about how the target audience thinks and behaves in relation to the issue being addressed, a host of research methods provides many different data "viewpoints" for seeing the big picture. Exploratory research conducted at the beginning of the project reviews previous research involving both quantitative and qualitative data and can include interviews with those who have previously attempted to address the issue. This research will help in the initial development of the project strategy to delineate the parameters of the project, steer the selection of the target audience, specify the potential behaviors to be promoted and identify lessons learned and potential pitfalls. Focus groups conducted for exploration also yield valuable qualitative data regarding the target audience, providing insights into their language, issues and obstacles they identify, and meanings attributed to beliefs and ation learned from the initial focus groups can then be used to inform questionnaire construction for a population survey to collect hard numbers for baseline data. In addition, commercial marketing databases, while quantitative in nature, provide highly detailed profiles of target audience segments for message development and channel messages and materials developed based upon the exploratory research should be pretested using both qualitative and quantitative methods so that the results provide depth of understanding as well as generalizability. This method, however, can only indicate trends and cannot yield hard quantitative data needed for definitive decision making. If enough focus groups are conducted and participants are considered representative of the target audience, a survey questionnaire may be administered either before or after the focus group to collect numerical data as well. The most common data collection activity in this phase involves counting--materials distributed, number of people attending activities, broadcasts of the television or radio ads, media coverage of events, phone calls to the organization--to ensure that the project proceeds as intended. In an ongoing multi-year project, this may be a repetition of the population survey conducted at the beginning; for a shorter-term project, a survey may target a very specific audience ative process evaluation methods can include periodic interviews or focus groups with target audience members to assess their progress toward behavior change. The quantitative and qualitative process research can be conducted simultaneously to collect and react to ating outcome evaluation both types of research are instructive in identifying the program outcomes. Related decreases in morbidity and mortality or other major indices will be more difficult to claim without also conducting a matched community intervention study, with the only difference between the communities being the presence of the social marketing the end, the quantitative data emerging from the survey are generally used as the final arbiters of success.

However, qualitative research can point out successes that may have occurred on a more human scale through anecdotes about how the social marketing program made a difference in someone's life. Focus groups, interviews and other methods of collecting individual people's stories and responses to the campaign are valuable in learning which components of the program were successful and how the next project can be improved. Both types of research are necessary to assess the full extent of the program's impact upon the target sion integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods lends depth and clarity to social marketing programs. This combination of approaches is necessary because of the wide range of data needed to develop effective communications. However, the potential for problems exists when attempting to combine such divergent research paradigms; one may end up not doing either type of research well. This integrative approach therefore requires a research team with expertise in both types of methods. Another obstacle, which will likely change as social marketing gains in usage, is that combining multiple methods is still not widely accepted as a viable research strategy--at least in mainstream public health circles. As social marketers demonstrate that such research is necessary to fully understand and address many health-related issues, the research norms and scientific dogma regarding appropriate methods may shift to a new, more integrative igate each tool below and complete your planning guide if you choose to use that specific instrumentation in your study. You may also want to consult with the basic information about research tools that you studied in elements of the to data collection.