Research Methodology Lecture Note Portion 2.ppt

Data Types and Collection
Methods
Dr. Goitom Abraha Portion Two

 Types of Data
 Data Collection Methods
Specific Contents to be Covered

 Identify common types of data
 Make a distinction among data collection methods
 Appreciate advantages and disadvantages of different data
collection methods
 Reasonably select appropriate data collection methods in
future carrier
At the end of this lesson, participants will be able to:

A datum is any piece of collected information. Two types of data:
1. Primary Data: are those which are collected afresh and for
the first time thus happen to be original in character.
 Usually collected through questionnaires, interviews,
observation, Group discussions, etc. and thus happen to be
original in character.
2. Secondary Data: are those which have already been collected
by
someone else and which have already been passed through the
statistical process.
Types of Data:

Primary Data Secondary Data
Data Real time data Past data
Process Very involved Quick and easy
Source Surveys, observations,
experiments,
questionnaire,
personal interview, etc.
Government publications,
websites, books, journal
articles, internal records etc.
Cost effectiveness Expensive Economical
Collection time Long Short
Specific Always specific to the
researcher's needs.
May or may not be specific to
the researcher's need.
Available in Crude form Refined form
Accuracy and
Reliability
More Relatively less
Difference Between Primary Data and Secondary Data:

I. Quantitative data
 Any data that measure or are associated with a measurement of the
quantity of something.
 They invariably assume numerical values.
 Quantitative data can be further subdivided into two categories.
A. Discrete data which take values in a finite or countably infinite
set of numbers,
 They are often represented by integers, say, 0, 1, 2, etc;
Eg: counts, number of arrivals, or number of successes.
Types of Data … Cont’d

B. Continuous data which takes values in an interval of numbers.
 These are also known as scale data, interval data, or
measurement data.
 Often characterized by fractions or decimals: 3.82, 7.0001, etc.
 Eg: Height, weight, length, time, etc.

II. Qualitative Data
 Any type of data that are not numerical, or do not represent
numerical quantities.
Eg: Subject’s name, gender, race/ethnicity, political party,
socioeconomic status.

Research Methodology Lecture Note Portion 2.ppt

 The most commonly used method especially in studies relating to
behavioral sciences.
 We all observe things around us, but this sort of observation is
not
scientific observation.
 The main advantage of this method
 Subjective bias is eliminated, if observation is done accurately.
 Information obtained under this method relates to what is
currently happening;
 It is not complicated by either the past behavior or future
1. Observation Method … (Cont’d)

 It is independent of respondents’ willingness to respond and
as such is relatively less demanding of active cooperation on the
part of respondents .
 Suitable in studies which deal with subjects (i.e., respondents)
who are not capable of giving verbal (word) reports of their
feelings for one reason or the other

Limitations
 It is an expensive method
 The information provided by this method is very limited
 Sometimes unforeseen factors may interfere with the
observational task

 Involves presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of
oral-verbal responses.
 Can be done through
I. Face-to-Face interviews,
II. Telephone interviews,
III. Messenger interviews,
IV. E-mail interviews.
2. Interview Method …. (Cont’d)

I. Face-to-face interviews/Personal interviews:
Requires a person known as the interviewer asking questions
generally in a face-to-face contact to the other person or persons.
 The interviewee may also ask certain questions and the interviewer
responds
 May be in the form of direct personal investigation or it may be
indirect oral investigation.

 In the case of direct personal investigation the interviewer has to
be
on the spot and has to collect the information personally from the
sources concerned.
 Suitable for intensive investigations
 In certain cases it may not be possible or worthwhile to contact
directly the persons concerned and the direct personal investigation
technique may not be used.
 In this case indirect oral investigation is applied

Advantages of Face-to-face interviews
 Social cues such as voice, intonation, body language etc. of the
interviewee
 No significant time delay between question and answer;
 The answer of the interviewee is more spontaneous, without an
extended reflection.
 Can be tape recorded, of course with the permission of the
interviewee.

II. Telephone Interviews:
Advantages
 Relatively easy access to any area (geographical access), hard to
reach populations, Closed sites such as hospitals, religious
communities, prisons, the military), to dangerous or
politically sensitive sites like in war zones, or sites where diseases
are more.
2. Interview Method … (Cont’d)

 Good for sensitive accounts that participants might be reluctant to
discuss them face-to-face with an interviewer.
 Saves money and time (regarding transportation and going many
times to get the respondent)
 The interviewees can communicate a lot about themselves over the
phone, however, even though they can’t be seen.
 Allow greater control over data collection if several interviewers
are engaged in the project .
 As in face-to-face interviews, the interview can be tape recorded.

Disadvantages
 Limited to people who have telephones
May be time consuming

III. messenger interviews:
 It is also possible to interview someone via an instant messaging
/chatting/ service such as Messenger.
 These interviews allow you to talk to people at great distances and
give you the benefit of adapting your questioning based on the
responses you receive.

Advantages of messenger interviews
 Saves costs and time, because the interviewer does not have to
travel to the interviewee.
 Disturbing background noises (e.g. when people are working with
machinery outside the building) are not recorded
 The outcome can directly be downloaded on the computer
Disadvantages of MSN messenger interviews
 The interviewer has no view on the situation in which the
interviewee is situated.

IV. E-mail interviews:
 If people are as busy as ever and are increasingly hard to catch, E-
mail is the other option for interviews.
 Email interview allows interview subjects time to respond at their
first opportunity, and the method doesn't require the journalist to
spend all of his free time trying to make contact with the subject.

Advantages of E-mail interviews
 The extended access to participants, compared to FTF interviews
 Disturbing background noises are not recorded.
 E-mail interview can be much cheaper than e.g. a face to face
interview, because there are no travelling costs.

 Busy interviewees do not have to identify a mutually convenient
time to talk to each other.
 It is possible to interview in a foreign language even if the
interviewer is insufficiently fluent for a face-to-face interview
 The outcome of an e-mail interview can directly be downloaded
on the computer, so there is no transcription time

Disadvantages of E-mail interviews
 The complete lack of social cues.
 May also cost a lot of time. Interviewee might have to wait
sometimes for days or weeks before he/she answers the questions.
(Lack of interest or may forget to reply)

 Questionnaires are set of questions or statements usually used in
surveys and experiments
 There are three basic types
A. Close-ended questionnaires
 Most popular
 Are used to generate statistics in quantitative research.
 As these questionnaires follow a set format, ease of analysis.
 Researcher structured responses
 Greater uniformity of response
 Pre-coded, hence can be directly entered to statistical software
3. Questionnaires

B. Open-ended questionnaires
 Are used in qualitative research although some researchers will
quantify the answers during the analysis stage.
 Does not contain boxes to tick, but a blank section to write
 Data analysis is more complex.
 Fewer questionnaires need to be distributed.
 Self-expressed, (Less uniformity in responses)
 Cannot be directly entered to statistical software, etc; must be post-
coded
 Less popular with researchers
3. Questionnaires … Cont’d

C. Combination of both
 Many researchers tend to use
 Many questionnaires begin with a series of closed questions, with
boxes to tick or scales to rank, and then finish with a section of
open questions for more detailed response.
3. Questionnaires … Cont’d

 May be called discussion groups or group interviews
 Is a method in which a number of people are brought together and
discuss on certain issue
 Involving 6 to 12 people plus a moderator and sometimes an
assistant to take note;
 More than 12 people will be difficult to manage
 Less than 6 people will be dominated by loudmouths
 8 is an ideal size
4. Focus Groups Discussion … Cont’d

To gain insight into the dynamic relationships of attitudes, opinions,
motivations, concerns, and problems related to human activity
 Qualitative research
 Helpful in answering questions of how and why
 Need to be made up of homogenous people (age, gender, place of
residence, etc.); to
 Share similar knowledge
 Control the validity of information

 Each participant may comment, ask questions of other participants,
or respond to comments by others, including the moderator
Efficient to collect in-depth information from more people

Advantages and Disadvantages of FGD
Advantages
 Can receive a wide range of responses during one meeting
 Participants can ask questions of each other, lessening impact of
researcher bias.
The group effect is a useful resource in data analysis.
 Participant interaction is useful to analyze

Disadvantages
 Some people may be uncomfortable in a group setting & nervous
about speaking in front of others.
 Not everyone may contribute.
 Other people may contaminate an individual’s views.
Venues and equipment can be expensive.

01/13/25
E.H Research Methods & Techniques
in Urban Development
37
5. Secondary Documents

 The systematic use of published and unpublished materials for
investigation
 It is most widely used method
There are three types of documentary research:
A. Generation of information from previous writers in the field in
question. E.g. term-papers
B. Use of Archival Sources- organizational records (archives)
E.g. letters. Minutes, etc.
C. Reanalysis of data sets- E.g. reanalyzing the census data set, etc.
5. Secondary Documents … Cont’d

Advantages of Documentary research
 Easy to do
 To triangulate the findings and put data into a larger context.
Disadvantages of Documentary research
Accuracy of the information is always questionable particularly
in using newspapers & magazines as a source
 Official statistics are not always exhaustive (considerable).

 A researcher can face several problems when seeking previously
recorded data. The main of these are :
 Some may be costly to acquire and may be difficult to access.
 Authenticating the sources
 Assessing credibility
 Gauging how representative they are
 Selecting methods to interpret them

Research Methodology Lecture Note Portion 2.ppt

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