Unit – II

Process of Quantitative
Research
• Causality and experimentation; Definition and nature of variables;
Operationally defining variables; Independent variables; Dependent
variables; Extraneous variables; Formulation of research
problems and hypothesis ; Different types of hypothesis: null and
directional; Experimental manipulation and control of variables; Steps
in quantitative research; Sampling techniques: probability and non-
probability sampling; Methods of data collection: observational
methods, surveys, questionnaires, and psychometric tests.
 Causality and Experimentation

• Causality is the science of cause and effect. Things influence other

things.
• Experimentation is a research method in which one or more variables
are consciously manipulated and the outcome or effect of that
manipulation on other variables is observed.
• Experimental designs often make use of controls that provide a
measure of variability within a system and a check for sources of
error.
 The principle of causality

• All real events necessarily have a cause.

• The principle indicates the existence of a logical relationship between
two events, the cause and the effect, and an order between them: the
cause always precedes the effect.
• Is chocolate good for you?
• What causes low blood pressure?
• All of these questions attempt to assign a cause to an effect.

• In a study of whether chocolate is good for the health, the individuals

would indeed be people, the treatment would be eating chocolate, and
the outcome might be a measure of heart disease.
 Observation

• Observation is a key to good science.

• An observational study is one in which scientists make conclusions
based on data that they have observed but had no hand in generating.
• Many such studies involve observations on a group of individuals, a
factor of interest called a treatment, and an outcome measured on each
individual.
• The fundamental question is, whether the treatment has an effect on the
outcome?
• Any relation between the treatment and the outcome is called an association.
• If the treatment causes the outcome to occur, then the association is causal.
• Causality is at the heart of all three questions posed at the start of this section.
• For example, one of the questions was whether chocolate directly causes
improvements in health, not just whether there is a relation between
chocolate and health.
• The establishment of causality often takes place in two stages.
1. First, an association is observed.
2. Next, a more careful analysis leads to a decision about causality.
 Variables
➢Anything that can vary can be considered a variable.

➢Variables in psychology are things that can be changed or altered, such as a

characteristic or value.
➢Variables are generally used in psychology experiments to determine if
changes to one thing result in changes to another.

➢For instance, age can be considered a variable because age can take different
values for different people or for the same person at different times.
 Types of Variables

• Dependent and Independent Variables.

• Intervening Variables.
• Extraneous Variables.
• Controlled Variables.
• Confounding Variables
• Mediating variables
• Moderating variable
• Demographic Variable
• The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the
experimenter.
• The dependent variable is the variable that is measured by the
experimenter.
 Extraneous Variables

• This type of variable is one that may have an impact on the

relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
• A control variable is any variable that's held constant in a research study. It's not a variable
of interest in the study, but it's controlled because it could influence the outcomes.
• Example:
• Duration of the experiment.
• Temperature.
• Humidity.
• Sample volume.
• Pressure.
 Mediating and Moderating variables

• The mediator shows the connection between two variables. For

instance, sleep quality (independent variable) affects the quality of your
work (dependent variable) through alertness. T
• he moderator may be acting upon two variables, changing the strength and
direction of that relationship.
 Identification and formulation of Research
Problem

• Identification and formulation of a research problem is the first

step of research process. It is the most challenging and difficult
phases of any research project.
• Good research studies need lots of time for selection of a
research problem.
• Often the section on “recommendations for future studies” provided
at the end of journal articles or doctoral dissertations suggests
potential research problems.
 A real research problem

• A gap in the field’s knowledge

• Something the field has not or should not have finished researching

• An unexplained observation, an observation that sticks out

• Something that does not seem right

• Contrasts that can still be discussed

• Something that is currently being debated in the field

• Something that can and should be argued for (or against, i.e. all
representatives of the field are not already familiar with or agree with
the argumentation)
• Something that is in conflict with the general view

• Something that must be (re)evaluated, changed, transformed,

constructed or needs new designs.
 Hypothesis

• Hypothesis is often considered a tentative and testable

statement of the possible relationship between two or more
events / variables under investigation.
• Hypothesis plays a key role in formulating and guiding any
study.
• The hypotheses are generally derived from earlier research
findings, existing theories and personal observations and
experience.
• Formulation of hypothesis links between theory and
investigation which lead to discovery of addition to knowledge.
• When a hypothesis is formulated, the investigator must
determine usefulness of the formulated hypothesis.
• Thereare several criteria or characteristics of a good research
hypothesis.
Some of these characteristics are:
• 1) Hypothesis should be conceptually clear;
• 2) Hypothesis must be testable;
• 3) Hypothesis should be related to the existing body or theory and
impact;
• 4) Hypothesis should have logical unity and comprehensiveness;
• 5) Hypothesis should be capable of verification
 Formulation of Hypothesis

• Science proceeds with observation, hypothesis formulation and

hypothesis testing.
• After testing the hypothesis, through various statistical tests,
researcher can accept or reject the hypothesis.
• If the hypothesis is accepted then researcher can replicate the
results,
• if hypothesis is rejected then researcher can refined or modify the
results.
• By stating a specific hypothesis, the researcher narrows the
focus of the data collection effort and is able to design a
data collection procedure which is aimed at testing the
credibility of the hypothesis as a possible statement of the
relationship between the terms of the research problem.
• It is, therefore, always useful to have a clear idea and vision
about the hypothesis.
• It is essential for the research question as the researcher
intents to verify, as it will direct and greatly help to
interpretation of the results.
POSSIBLE DIFFICULTIES IN FORMULATION OF
A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

• First, the absence of knowledge of a theoretical framework is a major

difficulty in formulating a good research hypothesis.
• Second, if detailed theoretical evidences are not available or if the
investigator is not aware of the availability of those theoretical
evidences, a research hypothesis cannot be formulated.
• Third, when the investigator is not aware of the scientific research
techniques, she/he will not be able to frame a good research
hypothesis
• A researcher should consider certain points while formulating a
hypothesis:

• i) Expected relationship or differences between the variables.

• ii) Operational definition of variable.
• iii) Hypotheses are formulated following the review of literature
• The literature leads a researcher to expect a certain relationship
 Different types of hypothesis:

• Hypotheses can be classified into several types, like; universal

hypotheses, existential hypotheses, conceptual hypotheses etc.
Broadly, there are two categories of the hypothesis:
• i) Null hypothesis
• ii) Alternative hypothesis
Null Hypothesis

• Null hypothesis is symbolised as Ho. Null hypothesis is useful tool in testing the
significance of difference. In its simplest form, this hypothesis asserts that there
is no true difference between two population means, and the difference found
between sample means is, accidental and unimportant, that is arising out of
fluctuation of sampling and by chance.
• Traditionally null hypothesis stated that there is zero relationship between
terms of the hypothesis.
For example,
• (a) schizophrenics and normal do not differ with respect to digit span memory
• (b) There is no relationship between intelligence and height
• The null hypothesis is an important component of the decision
making methods of inferential statistics.
• If the difference between the samples of means is found significant
the researcher can reject the null hypothesis.
• It indicates that the differences have statistically significant and
acceptance of null hypothesis indicates that the differences are due
to chance.
• Null hypothesis should always be specific hypothesis i.e. it should
not state about or approximately a certain value.
• The null hypothesis is often stated in the following way:
Ho : μHV <μLV

μ (‘Mew’)- Mean of a Population

HV- High Vocabulary
LV- Lack of vocabulary
Thus, the null hypothesis is that mean of the population of those children who have the high
vocabulary (group1) is less than or equal to mean of those who lack the vocabulary (Group 2 ).
• Alternative hypothesis is symbolised as H1 or Ha, is the hypothesis
that specifies those values that are researcher believes to hold true,
and the researcher hopes that sample data will lead to acceptance of
this hypothesis as true.
• Alternative hypothesis represents all other possibilities and it
indicates the nature of relationship.
• The alternative hypothesis is stated as follows:
H1 : μHV >μLV
Possible Alternative Hypothesis
• The alternative hypothesis is that the mean of population of those
who have the vocabulary is grater than the mean of those to lack the
vocabulary. In this example the alternative hypothesis is that the
experimental population had higher mean than the controls.

• This is called directional hypothesis because researcher predicted

that the high vocabulary children would differ in one particular
direction from the low vocabulary children.
• Sometimes researcher predicts only that the two groups will
differ from each other but the researcher doesn’t know which
group will be higher. This is non directional hypothesis.
 ERRORS IN TESTING A HYPOTHESIS

• Sampling procedure adopted faulty

• Data collection method inaccurate
• Study design selected is faulty
• Inappropriate statistical methods used
• Conclusions drawn are incorrect

Type I error – Rejection of a null hypothesis when it is true.

• Type I error (false positive): the test result says you have coronavirus, but you actually don’t

Type II error - Acceptance of a null hypothesis when it is false.

• Type I error (false positive): the test result says you have coronavirus, but you actually don’t
 Testing of Hypothesis

• Making a formal statement-Null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis

• The level of significance: It is always some percentage (usually 5%) which
should be chosen wit great care, thought and reason.
• Decision rule or test of hypothesis: Given a hypothesis H0 and an
alternative hypothesis Ha, we make a rule which is known as decision rule
according to which we accept H0 (i.e., reject Ha) or reject H0 (i.e., accept
Ha).
ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION REGIONS IN CASE OF A TWO-TAILED TEST (WITH 5%
SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL)
 Sample
• According to Young (1992) “A statistical sample is miniature picture of cross
selection of the entire group or aggregate from which the sample is taken”.
• According to Goode and Hatt(1981) “A sample, as the name implies, is a
smaller representative of a large whole”.
• According to Blalock (1960) “It is a small piece of the population obtained by
a probability process that mirrors with known precision, the various patterns
and sub-classes of population”.
• Population: Population is a well defined set up of all elements pertaining to a
given characteristic. It refers to the whole that include all observations or
measurements of a given characteristic. Population is also called universe or
population.
• A population may be finite or infinite
• A finite population is one where all the members can be easily counted.
• An infinite population is one whose size is unlimited, and can not count
easily. Population of college teachers is an example of finite population and
production of wheat, and fishes in river are the example of infinite
population.
• A measure based upon the entire population is called a parameter.
• Sample: A sample is any number of persons selected to represent the
population according to some rule of plan. Thus, a sample is a smaller
representation of the population. A measure based upon a sample is known
as a statistic.
• Sample size: No. of selected individual for example, no. of students, families
from whom you obtain the require information is called the sample size and
usually denoted by the letter (n)
• Sampling design or strategy: The way researcher selects the sample or
students or families etc. is called the sampling design and strategy. It refers
to the techniques or procedures the researcher would adopt in selecting
some sampling units from which inferences about the population are drawn
• Sampling unit: Each individual or case that becomes the basis for selecting a
sample is called sampling unit or sampling elements.
• Sampling frame: The list of people from which the sample is taken. It should
be comprehensive, complete and up-to-date
 Sampling Methods/ Techniques

• The population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about.
• The sample is the specific group of individuals that you will collect data
from.
 Two Methods

• Probability sampling
• Non-probability sampling
• Probability sampling is a sampling technique that involves
randomly selecting a small group of people (a sample) from a larger
population, and then predicting the likelihood that all their responses
put together will match those of the overall population.

• Probability sampling means that every member of the population has

a chance of being selected. It is mainly used in quantitative research.
If the researcher wants to produce results that are representative of
the whole population, probability sampling techniques are the most
valid choice.
There are two important requirements when it comes to
probability sampling:
• Everyone in your population must have an equal, non-zero
chance of being selected. (In other words, everyone has an
equal chance of receiving a survey).

• You must know, specifically, what that chance of being selected

is for each person. (For example, you might determine that in a
population of 100 people, each person’s odds of receiving a
survey is 1 in 100.
• Beingable to represent each person’s chance of selection as a
probability is at the core of probability sampling.)
• Non-probability sampling is a method in which not all
population members have an equal chance of participating in
the study, unlike probability sampling.

• Non-probability sampling is a method of selecting units from a

population using a subjective (i.e. non-random) method. Since
non-probability sampling does not require a complete survey
frame, it is a fast, easy and inexpensive way of obtaining data.
 Simple random sampling

• In simple random sampling, all members of the population have an equal

chance of being selected and the selection is done randomly. To achieve
this, researchers may use tools like a random number generator to select
participants from the overall population to be part of a sample
 Stratified random sampling

• With stratified random sampling, researcher would draw a

sample from each of these groups (or strata) separately. This
allows the researcher to make sure that every subgroup is
properly represented, which leads to more accurate results
than simple random sampling.
• It’s common to stratify by characteristics like sex, age, income
bracket, or ethnicity.
• The strata must be specific and mutually exclusive, meaning
every individual in the population should only be assigned to
one group. Once the researchers had split their population into
strata, then they use simple random sampling to select
individuals from each group, in proportion to the total
population. Those individuals would then be combined into a
single sample.
 Systematic sampling

• It is similar to simple random sampling, though it’s usually a

bit easier to conduct.
• Each member of the population is assigned a number, then
selected at regular intervals to form a sample.
• (Systematic sampling is also known as interval sampling.) Or,
to put it another way, every “nth” individual in the population
is selected to be part of the sample.
• For example, in a population of 1,000, you might choose every
9th person for your sample. This can be more straightforward
than other sampling methods, as there is a clear and
systematic approach to picking individuals that doesn’t involve
a random number generator.
 Cluster sampling
• In which the researcher divide a population into clusters, such
as districts or schools, and then randomly select some of these
clusters as a sample.
• The clusters should ideally each be mini-representations of the
population as a whole.
• Eg. Doing an inter-departmental comparison of job satisfaction
 Area sampling

• It is a method of sampling used when no complete frame of

reference is available.
• The total area under investigation is divided into small sub-
areas which are sampled at random or according to a restricted
process (stratification of sampling).
• Area sampling involves sampling from a map, an aerial
photograph, or a similar area frame. It is often the sampling
method of choice when a sampling frame isn't available.
• For example, a city map can be divided into equal size blocks,
from which random samples can be drawn.
 Multistage sampling

• Inmultistage sampling, or multistage cluster sampling, you

draw a sample from a population using smaller and smaller
groups at each stage.
• This method is often used to collect data from a large,
geographically spread group of people in national surveys.
 Example

• Gallup Polls: Most Gallup polls select a simple random sample

of districts in each state and then select a simple random
sample of households within each district and collect data on
those households.
• The Census : The Census uses multistage sampling by first
taking a simple random sample of counties in each state, then
taking another simple random sample of households in each
county and collecting data on those households.
Multistage sampling offers the following benefits:
• It’s convenient.
• It’s generally cost-effective.
• It’s particularly useful when individuals of interest are geographically
dispersed.
• It does not require a complete list of all individuals in a population.
 Non-probability sampling

• It a method of selecting units from a population using a

subjective (i.e. non-random) method
 Purposive Sampling/judgmental sampling

• in which the sample members are chosen only on the basis of the
researcher's knowledge and judgment.
• This strategy is used in situations where a researcher believes some
respondents may be more knowledgeable than others, and requires an
expert to use their judgment in selecting cases with that purpose in
mind.
or
• Judgments are made by an experts
• Sample inclusion criteria are based on these judgments, hence called
judgmental sampling
• Judgments made by the experts limit the generalizability of the data.
• For example, if the researcher wants to explore the attitudes,
opinions, or preferences of a specific group of customers, they
might use judgment sampling to select a few customers who
are likely to provide rich and diverse information.
 Convenience Sampling

• In this sampling, subjects are selected because of their convenient

accessibility and proximity to the researcher.
• This is one of the weakest sampling procedures.
• Convenience sampling relies on location and accessibility to
determine the research variables. This makes it very difficult to
replicate results.
• Most quick and inexpensive means
• Can include family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, etc
• Examples of convenience sampling include online and social
media surveys, asking acquaintances, and surveying people in
a mall, on the street, and in other crowded locations.
• Surveying students in one's class.
 Snowball Sampling

• Snowball sampling is used when researchers have difficulty

finding participants for their studies.
• This typically occurs in studies on hidden populations, such as
criminals, drug dealers, undocumented workers, as these
individuals are difficult for researchers to access.
• One participant is contacted
• Each respondent is asked to identify few other samples
• Might lead to similar type of data due to the relationship the
individuals
 Quota Sampling

• Sample are divided into different groups based on some criteria

• Different groups are assigned different quota for being part of
the research
• Eg. A college admitting 60 students allows 19-General, 31-
OBC, 10-DNC
• Respondents from each sample is chosen at the convenience of
the researcher
 Panel sampling

• Panel sampling involves randomly choosing a group of people to

be part of a panel that takes part in a study several times over
a period of time.
• For example, in a longitudinal survey, the same panel of people
might be surveyed repeatedly over time.
 Sampling and Non-sampling Errors

• Sampling errors arises because of the variation between the true mean value
for the sample and the population.
• Non-sampling error arises because of deficiency and inappropriate analysis
of data. Non-sampling error can be be random or non-random whereas
sampling error occurs in the random sample only.
 Sampling Errors

• It is a statistical error that occurs when an analyst does not select a sample
that represents the entire population of data. As a result, the results found
in the sample do not represent the results that would be obtained from the
entire population.
• Sampling error is affected by a number of factors including sample size,
sample design, the sampling fraction and the variability within the
population
• Sample mean is deviant from the population mean
• Sampling error = Population mean - Sample mean
• Sampling error can be reduced by increasing sample size
• Example, sample frame errors, selection errors, population
specification errors, and non-response errors.
• Non-sampling error refers to all sources of error that are unrelated to sampling.
• Non-sampling errors are present in all types of survey, including censuses and
administrative data.
• They arise for a number of reasons: the frame may be incomplete, some respondents may
not accurately report data, data may be missing for some respondents, etc.

• Poor sampling method,

• Questionnaire or measurement error
• Behavioral effects
Example,
• Respondents give wrong/ invalid responses
• Error in scoring and transferring the scores from the questionnaire to the spreadsheet
• Errors in coding, tabulating and analysing
• When respondents leave the study
• Errors in omitting certain parts of the population
 Methods of Data Collection

• Methods used to collect and analyze different forms of data.

Standard data collection techniques include going through
documents related to a topic, as well as conducting interviews
and observations.
• Primary data collection sources include surveys,
observations, experiments, questionnaire, personal interview,
etc.
• Example: Autobiographies. Diaries, personal letters, and
correspondence. Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork. Internet
communications on email, blogs and newsgroups.
• Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the
actual user. It means that the information is already available,
and someone analyses it.
• The secondary data includes government publications,
magazines, newspapers, books, journals, articles etc. It may be
either published data or unpublished data.
 Different methods

• Observation
• Surveys
• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• Psychometric Tests
• Secondary data
 Observation Method
• Observation is way of gathering data by watching behavior, events, or noting
physical characteristics in their natural setting.
• Observations can be overt (everyone knows they are being observed) or covert (no one
knows they are being observed and the observer is concealed)

• Helps understand behaviour

• Can be used to predict future behaviour
• Psychologists: Conduct observation in systematic settings
• Based on degree of experimenter involvement
• Naturalistic observation
• Participant observation
• Can differ based on
• Scope of observation: Global: Focusing on variety of behaviours/
Narrow: Focusing on specific behaviours
Setting of observation:
• Structured: Setting up the premises for observation, most often
Laboratory observation studies/ Unstructured: Without any prior setup.
 Naturalistic Observation

• To study the participants in their day-to-day environment

• Semi-naturalistic observation: Studying participants in an alternative
setting which has been regularized
• Researchers should ensure that their presence is not affecting the behaviour
observed
• Hiding from the participants or using video recorders
• Allowing participants to get habituated to the observer
 Participant Observation

• Presence of observer is known to the participants

• Covert: Uninformed participation
• Overt: Informed participation
• Allows for researcher to closely observe the participants
• Used in closed fraternities, eg. Educational institutions
• Most often used in qualitative research
 Observational Methods
• Applications:
• Rich source of information and ideas for future research
• Allows verification of theories
• Challenges:
• Absence of control
• Experimenter/ Observer bias: Behaviour checklists, time sampling, event sampling
• Reactivity of participants
• Ethical considerations
 Survey

• Structured set of questions or statements used to test beliefs,

attitudes, values, etc
• Most often coupled with probability sampling
• Used widely in marketing research
• Used as part of a mixed-method
• Data is usually collected through a face-to-face interview or
telephonic/ mail interview
 Interviews

• Is comprehensive
• Allows for high information and detailing
• Allows for follow-ups on answers and probing
• Reduces un-clear questions
• Time consuming
• Sampling might be challenging
• Group interviews: Focus-group discussions
• Interviewer bias
 Interviews

• Phone surveys: Sample are recruited through Random Digit Dialling

• Telemarketing:
• Cell phones: Led to change in the population accessed through phone surveys
• Cost and time effective
• Can be used when accessing high-risk population
• Mixed approach: Alerting by mail before call
 Electronic Surveys

• E-surveying: Internet data collection

• Mails can be used
• Posting pop-ups on websites
• Incentivised e-surveys
• Representativeness of sample is not ensured
• Risk of mails or posts going unanswered in present
• Time and cost effective
 Surveys

• Written Surveys: Sending survey forms through post

• Social Desirability Bias: Can be reduced by maintaining
anonymity of responder
• Effective surveys: Should address the research
question effectively, fulfilling all objectives
 Constructing a Survey

• Surveys are constructed to collect data for empirical questions

• Should include questions that effectively address the objectives of the study
• Items can take different forms
• Open-ended questions: Elicits wide range of responses, allows participant to take
control of the survey
• Closed-ended questions: Follows a likert scale or yes or no responses
 Constructing a Survey
• Overcoming bias in answering
• Respondents might answer without carefully reading through the
items
• Response acquiescence: Tendency to agree with statements
• Can be overcome by using favourable and unfavourable items
alternatively
• Sequencing of items
• Begin with general and interesting items
• Sensitive or personal questions towards end
• Group items of similar theme together
 Constructing a Survey
• Don’ts
• Burdening with memory testing items
• Provide shorter spans for recall for frequent behaviours, eg. Have you
drank alcohol in the last week
• Provide longer spans for rare events, eg. Have you visited a zoo in the
past month
• Using don’t know often
• Including more of knowledge questions
• Preface with statements such as ‘using your best guess’, ‘have you heard
of’, etc
 Constructing a Survey
• Include demographic details and items that are necessary for
grouping data
• Wordings: Should be clear and precise
• Use simple and precise items/ questions
• Use complete sentences
• Prefer positive over negative statements
• Avoid abbreviations and jargons
• Avoid linguistic ambiguity
• Avoid asking two questions in one statement: Double-barreled questions
• Avoid leading questions
 Questionnaires

• Standardized tools
• With norms established for studied population
• Scales: Measures attitudes or behaviours
• Inventories: Measures specific variables, with yes or no responses
• Questionnaires: Has questions
• Rating scales: Numerical rating of intensity
• Self
• Clinician
 Experiments

• Performance tests
• Can involve paper pencil assessments or equipment
based tests
• Are culture fair
• Are free of language
 Introduction

• Research tools are the measuring devices.

• Every measuring device has some kind of graduation depending
upon the system of measurement.
 Two Kinds of Measurements

• Physical measurement- centimetre, inches etc.,

• Mental measurement-intelligence, achèvement, attributes, etc.
 Types of scaling in measurement.

• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval
• Ratio
 Characteristics of a Good Research
Tool

• Reliability-is the consistency of the results when a research

tool is repeatedly administered on the same individual under
similar conditions and the result must be the similar for all the
conditions.
• Validity-pertains to the truthfulness of a research tool.
• Or it must produce only valid information and measurement it
claims to measure
• Usability -The usability of a tool depends on its objectivity, cost
effectiveness, the time and effort required to administer it, and
how easy it is to analyse and draw conclusions through its use
 Rating scales

• Rating scales arc used to obtain judgement on a set of points which

describe varying degrees of an attribute under observation.
 Graphic Rating Scale

• It a performance appraisal method in which an employee is rated against a list of traits or

behaviours which are deemed important and relevant for effective employee performance and
productivity. The rating scale helps employers to quantify the behaviours displayed by its
employees.

• Some of these behaviours might be:

• • Quality of work
• • Teamwork
• • Sense of responsibility
• • Ethics etc.
• Ratings are usually on a scale of 1-5, 1 being Non-existent, 2 being Average, 3 being Good, 4
being Very Good and 5 being Excellent.
 Attitude scales

• Attitude scales are used to assess the attitude of an individual towards

another individual, religion, institution, a different mode of teaching
etc.
 Guttman scales:

•A Guttman scale (also known as cumulative scaling or

scalogram analysis) is an ordinal scale type where statements
are arranged in a hierarchical order so that someone who
agrees with one item will also agree with lower-order, easier,
less extreme items.
• The ideal Guttman scale is such that if the respondent disagrees, for
example, with statement 4 (having agreed with statements 1 to 3) then the
respondent will disagree with statement 5 and higher as these represent
more extreme expressions of the attitude being investigated.
 Questionnaires
• Structured questionnaires are those which pose definite, and concrete
questions. The form of questions may require responses which ate either
closed or open.

• Closed-form of questionnaires are used when categorized data are required.

They include a set of questions to which a respondent can reply in a limited
number of ways -- 'yes', 'no', 'no-opinion', or an answer from a short list of
possible responses. He or she is asked to put a tick mark in a space provided
on the answer sheet or is requested to underline a response.
• The open-ended responses are used mainly intensive study of a
limited number of cases or preliminary exploration of new problems
and situations. At times, the respondent is asked to write a descriptive
essay and express his/her viewpoints or report on details and events,
without restrictions imposed as in the case of closed questions.
• Unstructured questionnaires are frequently referred to as interview guides.
• They also aim at precision and contain definite issues that are covered while
conducting an interview. Flexibility is the chief advantage of the
unstructured questionnaire.
• It is designed to obtain viewpoints, opinions, attitude and to show
relationships between various types of information and so on.
• No predetermined responses are provided; instead, free responses are
solicited
 Projective test

• In psychology, examination that commonly employs ambiguous

stimuli, notably inkblots (Rorschach Test) and enigmatic
pictures (Thematic Apperception Test), to evoke responses that
may reveal facets of the subject's personality by projection of
internal attitudes, traits, and behaviour patterns upon the
external stimuli.