Data Collection Methods

Questionnaires
 A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the
purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires can be thought of
as a kind of written interview. They can be carried out face to face, by telephone,
computer, or post.
 Questionnaires provide a relatively cheap, quick, and efficient way of obtaining large
amounts of information from a large sample of people.
 Data can be collected relatively quickly because the researcher would not need to be
present when the questionnaires were completed. This is useful for large populations
when interviews would be impractical.
 However, a problem with questionnaires is that respondents may lie due to social
desirability. Most people want to present a positive image of themselves and so may
lie or bend the truth to look good, e.g., pupils would exaggerate revision duration.
 Questionnaires can be an effective means of measuring the behavior, attitudes,
preferences, opinions and, intentions of relatively large numbers of subjects more
cheaply and quickly than other methods.
 Often a questionnaire uses both open and closed questions to collect data. This is
beneficial as it means both quantitative and qualitative data can be obtained.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Online Questionnaires

Advantages
 Increased Response Rate - The low cost and overall convenience of online surveys
bring in a high response. Respondents get to answer questions on their own schedule
at a pace they choose.

 Low Cost - Collecting data doesn't have to break the bank anymore. There are plenty
of websites and platforms that make creating your survey fast and affordable.

 Real-time Access - Respondents' answers store automatically so you get results at

your fingertips in no time. This turns analyzing your results into effortless and
immediate action.

 Convenience - Respondents answer questions on their own schedule and can even
have flexibility with completion time.

 Rapid deployment and return times are possible with online surveys that don't use
traditional methods. And, if you have bad contact information for some respondents,
you’ll know it almost immediately.

 Design Flexibility - Surveys can be programmed even if they're very complex.

Intricate skip patterns and logic can be employed seamlessly. You can create the
layout, questions, and answer choices with no hassle.
  No Interviewer - Since respondents are not disclosing their answers directly to another
person, it is easier for them to open-up. Interviewers can also influence responses in
some cases.

Disadvantages
 Survey Fraud - This is the biggest challenge. If your survey is long and/or confusing
you might get fake answers. Since there is less accountability, the chances for people
just hitting buttons to finish are high. Check the questions you use carefully.

 People often take surveys because they're promised a reward at the end, resulting in
them not accurately contributing to your study.

 Limited Sampling and Respondent Availability - Certain populations are less likely to
have internet access and to respond to online questionnaires. Drawing samples is
harder based on email addresses or website visitations.

 Possible Cooperation Problems - Online surveys could be deleted and ignored. People
hate feeling poked and if they get annoyed, they just have to click delete.

 No Interviewer - The lack of a trained interviewer to clarify and probe can lead to less
reliable data.

Advantages & Disadvantages of written Questionnaires

Advantages
 Questionnaires are inexpensive
 They are practical because they offer a pragmatic way to gather data.
 Questionnaires offer a quick way to get result
 Scalability - Questionnaires allow you to gather information from a large audience.
 Comparability - When data has been quantified, it can be used to compare other
research and may be used to measure change. This makes monthly or yearly
questionnaire more and more valuable over time.
 Questionnaires don’t have time constraints
 Respondent anonymity
 Questionnaires offer actionable data

Disadvantages
 Dishonest answers - Respondents may not be 100% truthful with their answers.
  Unanswered questions - When using questionnaires, there is a chance that some
questions will be ignored or left unanswered. If questions are not required, there is
always that risk they won’t be answered.

 Differences in understanding and interpretation - The trouble with not presenting

questions to users face-to-face is that each may have different interpretations of your
questions. Without someone to explain the questionnaire fully and ensure everyone
has the same understanding, results can be subjective. Respondents may have trouble
grasping the meaning of some questions that may seem clear to the creator. This
miscommunication can lead to skewed results. The best way to combat this situation
is to create simple questions that are easy to answer.

 Hard to convey feelings and emotions – a questionnaire cannot fully capture

emotional responses or feelings of respondents. Without administering the
questionnaire face-to-face, there is no way to observe facial expression, reactions, or
body language. Without these subtleties, useful data can go unnoticed.

 Some questions are difficult to analyze - Questionnaires produce a lot of data.

Multiple choice questions can be tabulated and graphed, but open-ended questions are
different. Open-ended questions allow for individualized answers which cannot be
quantified and must be reviewed by a human.

 Respondents may have a hidden agenda - As with any sort of research, respondent
bias can be an issue.

 Unconscientious responses - Every administrator hopes for conscientious responses,

but there’s no way to know if the respondent has really understood the question or
read it thoroughly before answering. At times, answers will be chosen before fully
reading the question or the potential answers. Sometimes respondents will skip
through questions, or split-second choices may be made, affecting the validity of your
data. This drawback is tough to defeat, but if you make your survey short and your
questions simple, you’re likely to get the most accurate responses.

 Accessibility issues - No matter what form of delivery is used; lack of accessibility is

a threat. Surveys may be unsuitable for users with a visual or hearing impairment, or
other impediments such as illiteracy. This should be considered when choosing to do
research in this manner.

Interviews
A formal meeting in which one or more persons question, consult, or evaluate another person.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Interviews
Advantages
 Accurate screening - Face-to-face interviews help with more accurate screening. The
individual being interviewed is unable to provide false information during screening
questions such as gender, age, or race. It is possible to get around screening questions
in online and mobile surveys. Online and mobile surveys that offer incentives may
actually encourage answer falsification. Individuals may enter incorrect demographic
information so they are able to complete the survey and gain the incentive. The
answers the individual provides may all be truthful, but for the purpose of data
analysis, the data will be inaccurate and misleading.

 Capture verbal and non-verbal cues - A face-to-face interview is no doubt going to

capture verbal and non-verbal ques, but this method also affords the capture of non-
verbal ques including body language, which can indicate a level of discomfort with
the questions. Adversely, it can also indicate a level of enthusiasm for the topics being
discussed in the interview. Let’s discuss an employee job interview, for example.
Capturing non-verbal ques may make the difference between selecting an employee
that is less skilled, but displays a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the position.
Capturing non-verbal ques is not possible in online or mobile surveys.

 Keep focus - The interviewer is the one that has control over the interview and can
keep the interviewee focused and on track to completion. Online and mobile surveys
are often completed during time convenient for the respondent, but are often during
other distractions such as texting, reading, and answering emails, video streaming,
web surfing, social sharing, and more. Face-to-face interviews are in-the-moment,
free from technological distractions.

 Capture emotions and behaviors - Face-to-face interviews can no doubt capture an

interviewee’s emotions and behaviors. Similar to not being able to capture verbal and
non-verbal ques, online and mobile surveys can also not capture raw emotions and
behavior.

Disadvantages
 Cost - Cost is a major disadvantage for face-to-face interviews. They require a staff of
people to conduct the interviews, which means there will be personnel costs.
Personnel are the highest cost a business can incur. It’s difficult to keep costs low
when personnel are needed.

 Quality of data by interviewer - The quality of data you receive will often depend on
the ability of the interviewer. Some people have the natural ability to conduct an
interview and gather data well. The likelihood of the entire interviewing staff having
those skills is low. Some interviewers may also have their own biases that could
 impact the way they input responses. This is likely to happen in hot-topic opinion
polls.

 Manual data entry - If the interview is administered on paper, the data collected will
need to be entered manually, or scanned, if a scannable interview questionnaire is
created. Data entry and scanning of paper questionnaires can significantly increase the
cost of the project. A staff of data entry personnel will need to be hired. Additionally,
data entry can prolong the analysis process. Mobile surveys on iPads, tablets, or other
mobile devices can cut-down on manual data entry costs and information is ready for
analysis.

 Limited sample size - The size of the sample is limited to the size of your
interviewing staff, the area in which the interviews are conducted, and the number of
qualified respondents within that area. It may be necessary to conduct several
interviews over multiple areas, which again can increase costs.

Observation
The Observation data collection method, can be described the action of collecting and
analyzing information by observing subjects under their natural or contrived environment.

It is defined as the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings,
observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and
recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. Observations can be qualitative, that is,
only the absence or presence of a property is noted, or quantitative if a numerical value is
attached to the observed phenomenon by counting or measuring.

Methods of Observation:

1. Disguised & Non-disguised observation: In the former, subject does not know that
he/she is being observed. Advantage is that one can observe the natural behavior of the
subject. It is to be conducted in public so as to record the public behavior. The latter is
done when the subject knows about the process of observation. This is ethical but the
results can be skewed. Follow up of the subjects can be done later in case the
observation study is to be analyzed for further details in the case of non-disguised
observation.

2. Human & Mechanical observation: Human is employed to record the observation in

the former case whereas a mechanical device like camera is used in the latter case.
Mechanical method is more accurate and the recordings can be viewed later for further
detailed studies.

3. Direct & Indirect observation: The former includes direct observation of the event.
Indirect observation is done by recording the after effects/ left overs/impact of the
event. Example: If one were to observe the tea consumption from the bank cafeteria,
then the direct observation is counting the number of cups of tea being purchased for
 consumption. Indirect method of observation would be counting the number of tea cups
in the dust bin.

4. Structured & Unstructured observation: The structured observations are done for
distinct categories or specific reasons. Whereas the unstructured form of observation is
conducted for unspecified categories or collecting every event that occurs.

5. Natural & Contrived setting observation: In case of the naturally set environment,
observation is done under the natural or real-life environment. The results are best. But
in case of the contrived setting observation, the subjects are observed under the
contrived settings. The results might be faster but the answers may again be skewed.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Observation

Advantages
 Due to disguised form of observation, behavior is naturally studied and data is not
distorted.
 The subjects behave in the desired natural manner and do not get influenced by what
the observer wants to listen.
 Observation techniques are cost effective and produce valid results.
 People are observed and their willingness to participate is not taken into account as in
case of focus group discussions or personal interviews.
Alternative points
(1) Simplest Method:
Observation is probably the most common and the simplest method of data collection. It
does not require much technical knowledge. Although scientific controlled observation
requires some technical skill of the researcher, still it is easier than other methods.
Everybody in this world observes many things in their daily life. A little training can
make a person perfect, to observe his surroundings.

(2) Useful for Framing Hypothesis:

Observation is one of the main bases of formulating hypothesis. By observing a
phenomenon continuously, the researcher may get well acquainted with the observed. He
came to know about their habits, likes, dislikes, problems, perception, different activities
and so many other things. All these help him a lot to form a hypothesis on them. Any
researcher, therefore, has to be a good observer.

(3) Greater Accuracy:

In other methods like interview, questionnaire etc., the researcher has to depend on
information provided by the respondents. So these are indirect methods and here the
investigator does not have any means to examine the accuracy of the data supplied by
them. But in observation the observer can directly check the accuracy from the observed.
 He can apply various devices to test the reliability of their behaviour. So very often the
data collected through observation is more reliable than these collected through interview
or questionnaire.

(5) Observation is the Only Appropriate Tool for Certain Cases:

Observation can deal with phenomena which are not capable of giving verbal information
about their behaviour, feeling and activities simply for the reason that they cannot speak
e.g. infants or animals. Observation is indispensable for studies on infants who can
neither understand the quarries of the researcher nor express themselves clearly. In the
case of animals observation is the only way out. For deaf and dumb persons, for serious
cases of abnormality or mad persons, for non-cooperative persons, for too shy persons
and for persons who do not understand the language of researcher, observation will be the
only appropriate tool.

(6) Independent of People’s Willingness to Report:

Observation does not require the willingness of the people to provide various information
about them. Often some respondents do not like to speak about themselves to an outsider.
Some people do not have time or required skill to provide important information to the
researcher. Although observation cannot always overcome such problems, still relatively
speaking it requires less active co-operation and willingness of respondents. Observation
is ever possible without the knowledge of the respondents.
Disadvantages
 Time consuming and may involve large amount of inactivity.
 Observations may lack depth and qualitative richness.
 If the ethics are not handled well, legal action can be taken.
Alternative points
(1) Some of the Occurrences may not be Open to Observation:
There are many personal behaviours or secret activities which are not open for observation.

(2) Not all Occurrences Open to Observation can be Observed when Observer is at Hand:
Such problems arise because of the uncertainty of the event. Many social events are very
much uncertain in nature. It is a difficult task on the part of the researcher to determine their
time and place. The event may take place in the absence of the observer. On the other hand, it
may not occur in the constant presence of the observer. For example, the quarrel and fight
between two individuals or groups is never certain. Nobody knows when such an event will
take place.

(3) Not all Occurrences Lend Themselves to Observational Study:

Most of the social phenomenon is abstract in nature. For example, love, affection, feeling and
emotion of parents towards their children are not open to our senses and also cannot be
quantified by observational techniques. The researcher may employ other methods like case
study; interview etc. to study such phenomena.

(4) Lack of Reliability:

Because social phenomena cannot be controlled or used for laboratory experiments,
generalizations made by observation method are not very reliable. The relative-ness of the
social phenomena and the personal bias of the observer again create difficulty for making
valid generalization in observation. P.V. Young remarks that in observation, no attempt is
made to use instruments of precision to check the accuracy of the phenomenon.

(5) Faulty Perception:

Observation is a highly technical job. One is never sure that what he is observing is the same
as it appears to his eyes. Two persons may judge the same phenomena differently. One
person may find something meaningful and useful from a situation but the other may find
nothing from it. Only those observers who are having the technical knowledge about the
observation can make scientific observation.

(6) Personal Bias of the Observer:

The personal bias, personal view or looking at things in a particular way often creates
obstacle for making valid generalization. The observer may have his own ideas of right and
wrong or he may have different pre-conceptions regarding an event which kills the
objectivity in social research.

(7) Slow Investigation:

Observation is a time taking process. P.V. Young rightly remarks that the valid observation
cannot be hurried; we cannot complete our investigation in a short period through
observation. It sometimes reduces the interest of both observer and observed to continue their
observation process.

(8) Expensive:
Observation is a costly affair. It requires high cost, plenty of time and hard effort.
Observation involves travelling, staying at the place of phenomena and purchasing of
sophisticated equipment’s. Because of this it is called as one of the most expensive methods
of data collection.
(9) Inadequate Method:
According to P.V. Young, “the full answers cannot be collected by observation alone”.
Therefore many suggested that observation must be supplemented by other methods also.

(10) Difficulty in Checking Validity:

Checking the validity of observation is always difficult. Many of the phenomena of
observation cannot be defined with sufficient precision and does not help in drawing a valid
generalization. The lack of competence of the observer may hamper validity and reliability of
observation.