Chapter 7: Data collection

techniques
Dr. Nebiyou Tafesse (Ph.D. in
Public Health )
 Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, the student will
be able to:
• Understand the different techniques and
tools of data collection
• Use appropriate data collection techniques
when planning and conducting research
 References
• Bowling A. Research Methods in Health. Investigating Health and Health Services. Open
University Press, 2000
• John W. Creswell. Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches
(third edn). SAGE Publications, Inc., 2009
• Davies M. Brett. Doing a successful research project. Using Qualitative or Quantitative Methods.
Palgrave macmillan, 2007
 Overview of data collection
techniques
• Using available information
• Observing/observation
• Interviewing (face-to-face)
• Administering written questionnaires
• Focus group discussions
• Projective techniques, mapping, scaling
 Using available information
• For example- analysis of the information routinely
collected by health facilities can be very useful for
identifying problems

• Use of key informants is another important technique to

gain access to available information

• Other sources of available data – newspapers, published

case histories etc
 Using available information
cont…
• Advantage of available data – collection is inexpensive
• Disadvantage of existing data:
– It is sometimes difficult to gain access to records or
reports
– Data may not always be complete and precise
enough, or too disorganized
 Observation
• Observation is a technique that involves
systematically selecting, watching and recording
behavior and characteristics of living beings,
objects or phenomena
 Observation cont…
Observation of human behavior can be
undertaken in different ways:
A) participant observation – observer
takes part in the situation he or she
observes
E.g. A doctor hospitalized with a broken
hip, who now observes hospital
procedures ‘from within’
 Observation cont…
B) Non-participant observation – observer
watches the situation, openly or
concealed, but does not participate

• Ex. of concealed observation – mystery clients

trying to obtain antibiotics without medical
prescription
 Observation cont…
• Observation can give additional, more
accurate information on behavior of people
than interviews or questionnaires

• They can also check on the information

collected through interviews especially on
sensitive topics such as khat chewing in
areas where khat chewing is not accepted
by the community
 Observation cont…
• Observations of human behavior can form
any type of study, but as they are time
consuming they are most often used in
small scale studies

• Observations can also be made on objects

• E.g the presence or absence of latrines

and the state of cleanliness may be
observed
 Interviewing
• It involves oral questioning of respondents,
either individually or as a group

• Answers can be recorded by writing them down

or by tape-recording the responses, or by a
combination of them

• Interviews can be conducted with varying

degree of flexibility (high degree of flexibility Vs.
low degree of flexibility)
 Interviewing cont…
A) High degree of flexibility:
• Usually used when studying sensitive
issues or when the researcher has little
understanding of the problem
• Is frequently applied in exploratory studies
• When studying sensitive issues (e.g.
teenage pregnancy) the investigator may
use a list of topics rather than fixed
questions
 Interviewing cont…
• The sequence of topics should be
determined by the flow of discussion

• It is often possible to come back to a topic

discussed earlier in a later stage of the
interview
 Interviewing cont…
B) Low degree of flexibility
• Useful when the researcher is relatively
knowledgeable about expected answers or when
the number of respondents being interviewed is
relatively large

• Questionnaires may be used with a fixed list of

questions in a standard sequence, which have
mainly fixed or pre-categorized answers
Administering written questionnaires
(self-administered questionnaire)

Written questions are presented that

are to be answered by the
respondents in written form
 Administering written
questionnaires cont…
• A written questionnaire can be administered in different
ways, such as by:
– Sending questionnaires by mail
– Gathering all or part of the respondents in one place
at one time, giving oral or written instructions, and
letting them fill out the questionnaires
– Hand-delivering questionnaires to respondents and
collecting them later
 Focus group discussions
(FGDs)
FGDs allow a group of 8-12 informants to
freely discuss a certain subject with the
guidance of a facilitator or reporter
 Projective techniques
• Researcher asks an informant to react to some kind of
visual or verbal stimulus

• Eg1. An informant may be provided with a rough outline

of the body and be asked to draw her/his perception of
the conception or onset of an illness
 Projective techniques cont…
• Ex2. the presentation of a hypothetical question
or an incomplete sentence or case study to an
informant (‘story with a gap)

• A researcher may ask informant to complete in writing

sentences such as:
– If I were to discover that my neighbor had TB, I
would…..;
– If my wife were to propose that I use condoms, I
would….
 Mapping and scaling
• Mapping is a valuable technique for visually
displaying relationships and resources
• For ex- mapping is invaluable in water supply
project
• It can be used to present the placement of the
wells, distance of the homes from the wells,
other water systems etc…
• Mapping a community is also very useful and
often indispensable as a pre-stage to sampling
 Mapping and scaling cont…
• Scaling is a technique that allows
researchers through their respondents to
categorize certain variables that they
would not be able to rank themselves
• Ex- they may ask their informants to bring
certain types of herbal medicine and ask
them to arrange these into piles according
to their usefulness
• The informants would then be asked to
explain the logic of their ranking
 Differences between data collection
techniques and data collection tools
Data collection techniques Data collection tools
Using available information Checklist; data compilation
forms

Observation Eyes and other senses,

pen/paper, watch, scales,
microscope, etc..

Interviewing Interview guide, checklist,

questionnaire, tape recorder

Administering written Questionnaire

questionnaire
 Advantages and disadvantages cont..
Technique Advantages Disadvantages (constraints)
Using available Is inexpensive, permits observation Data is not always easily
information of trends over the past accessible; ethical issues
concerning confidentiality may
arise; information may be imprecise
or incomplete
observing Gives more detailed & context Ethical issues concerning
related information; permits confidentiality or privacy may arise;
collection of information on facts not observer bias may occur; the
mentioned in an interview; permits presence of data collector can
tests of reliability of responses to influence the situation observed;
questionnaires thorough training of research
assistants is required
Interviewing Is suitable for use with both literates Presence of interviewer can
& illiterates; permits clarification of influence responses; reports of
questions; has higher response rate events may be less complete than
than written questionnaires information gained through
observations
 Advantages and disadvantages cont…
Technique Advantages Disadvantages (constraints)
Small scale Permits collection of in-depth Interviewer may inadvertently
flexible information & exploration of influence the respondents; analysis
interview spontaneous remarks by of open ended data is more difficult
respondents & time-consuming
Large scale Is easy to analyze Important information may be
fixed interview missed b/c spontaneous remarks
by respondents are usually not
recorded or explored
Administering Is less expensive; permits Cannot be used with illiterates;
written anonymity & may result in more there is often a low rate of
questionnaire honest responses; does not require response; questions may be
research assistants; eliminates bias misunderstood
due to phrasing questions differently
with different respondents
Participatory Provide rich data & may have Require some extra training of
& projective positive spin offs for knowledge researchers
methods & skills by researchers and
informants