Designing and Implementing a Data
Collection Plan
Prof. Nidal F. Eshah
RN, CNS, PhD
• The phenomena in which researchers are
interested must ultimately be translated into data
that can be analyzed.
• In quantitative studies, the tasks of defining
research variables and selecting or developing
appropriate methods for collecting data are
among the most challenging in the research
process.
• Without high-quality data collection methods,
the accuracy and robustness of the conclusions
are subject to challenge.
Data Collection Plan
Basic decision is use of:
• Existing data
• Records (e.g., patient charts)
• Historical data
• Existing data set (secondary analysis)
• New data, collected specifically for
research purposes
Examples of Records, Documents, and
Available Data
• Hospital records (e.g., nurses’ shift reports)
• School records (e.g., student absenteeism)
• Corporate records (e.g., health insurance
choices)
• Letters, diaries, minutes of meetings, etc.
• Photographs
Major Types of Data Collection
Methods
• Self-reports
• Observation
• Biophysiologic measures
Dimensions of Data Collection
Approaches
• Structure
• Quantifiability
• Researcher obtrusiveness
• Objectivity
Structured Self Reports
Data are collected with a formal instrument
• Interview schedule
– Questions are pre-specified but asked orally
– Either face-to-face or by telephone
• Questionnaire
– Questions pre-specified in written form, to be self-
administered by respondents
Types of Questions in a Structured
Instrument
• Open-ended questions
– e.g., Why did you decide to stop taking
hormone replacement drugs?
• Closed-ended questions
(fixed alternative)
– e.g., Have you ever taken hormone
replacement drugs? (yes/no)
Specific Types of Closed-Ended
Questions
• Dichotomous questions
• Multiple-choice questions
• Cafeteria questions
• Rank-order questions
• Forced-choice questions
• Rating questions
Advantages of Questionnaires
(Compared With Interviews)
• Lower costs
• Possibility of anonymity
• Lack of interviewer bias
Advantages of Interviews (Compared
with Questionnaires)
• Higher response rates
• Appropriate for more diverse audiences
• Opportunities to clarify questions or to
determine comprehension
• Opportunity to collect supplementary data
through observation
Composite Psychosocial Scales
Scales—used to make fine quantitative
discriminations among people with
different attitudes, perceptions, needs
• Likert scales (summated rating scales)
• Semantic differential scales
Likert (Summated Rating) Scales
• Consist of several declarative statements (items)
expressing viewpoints
• Responses are on an agree/disagree continuum
(usually 5 or 7 response options)
• Responses to items are summed to compute a
total scale score
Semantic Differential Scales
• Require ratings of various concepts
• Rating scales involve bipolar adjective
pairs, with 7-point ratings
• Ratings for each dimension are summed to
compute a total score for each concept
Figure 13.1
Example of a Semantic Differential
Visual Analog Scales
• Used to measure subjective
experiences (e.g., pain, nausea)
• Measurements are on a straight line
measuring 100 mm
• End points labeled as extreme limits of
sensation
Example of a Visual Analog Scale
Response Biases and Response Sets
• Social desirability response set bias
• Extreme response set
• Acquiescence response set (yea- sayers)
• Nay-sayers response set
Observation in Quantitative Studies
• Quantitative studies:
Structured observation of pre-specified
behaviors
Phenomena Amenable to Research
Observation
• Activities and behavior
• Characteristics and conditions of
individuals
• Skill attainment and performance
• Verbal and nonverbal communication
• Environmental characteristics
Structured Observations
Category systems Checklists
• Exhaustive system:
All behaviors of a specific type recorded; each behavior
assigned to one mutually exclusive category
• Non exhaustive system:
Specific behaviors, but not all behaviors, recorded
• ** Observer Biases!!
Observational Rating Scales
• Ratings are on a descriptive continuum,
typically bipolar
• Ratings can occur:
– at specific intervals
– upon the occurrence of certain events
– after an observational session (global ratings)
Biophysiologic Measures
In vivo measurements
Performed directly within or on living
organisms (e.g., blood pressure
measures)
In vitro measurements
Performed outside the organism’s body
(e.g., urinalysis)