.

Chapter V
Sources and Methods of data
collection
 Contents

1. Primary data

1.1. Source

1.2. Data collection method

2. Secondary Data

2.1. Source

2.2. Data collection Method

 Objectives of this lesson

• Define secondary and primary data

• Describe primary & secondary data collection
methods
• Identify advantages disadvantages of
different data gathering techniques
 Primary Data

• Data never gathered before

• Primary data: information that is

developed or gathered by the

researcher specifically for the

research project at hand

 Primary Data Source

• Primary sources are the original sources of

information recorded at the time an event occurred.

– First-hand accounts of events
– Data collected for scientific studies

-Historical documents

• Primary sources can also be written well after events.

- memoirs

- oral histories
 Data collection method
Methods - how you will collect /gather the
information .

Common methods include

 Interviews
• However, for a small-scale
 Questionnaires
 Survey study, the most commonly
 Experimentation used methods are interviews,
 Case Study survey questionnaires and
 Observation
observations
 Methods are often thought of as quantitative
or qualitative
Quantitative methods Qualitative methods

Questionnaires Focus groups

Tests  interviews
Existing databases  observations

• Quantitative data collection methods produce numbers.

• Qualitative data collection methods produce words.
• Quantitative methods are more structured and allow for
aggregation and generalization.
• Qualitative methods are more open and provide for depth and
richness
 Interview
• A purposeful discussion between two or more people. It

can help you to gather valid and reliable data that are

relevant to your research question and objectives

• Structured interview: using standardized questions.

• Unstructured interview: informal, there is no prepared

questions before interview. It is used to explore in depth

a general area in which you are interested.

• Semi-structured interview: mix between the two

 .

• Qualitative interviews: divided into two

groups:

1. One to one: face-to-face, telephone

interviews.

2. One to many: focus group

interviews.
 Links between types of interviews and
research purpose

• Structured: used usually in survey research and it

will be subject to quantitative analysis. It is used in

descriptive and exploratory studies.

• Semi-structured: used usually in explanatory

studies.

• In depth: used usually in exploratory studies.

• You may incorporate more than one type of interview

in your study
 Interviews / Focus Groups

• Another unstructured group meeting conducted by a

manager or a consultant.
• A small group of 10-15 people is selected
representing a larger group of people
• Group discussion is started by asking general
questions and group members are encouraged to
discuss their answers in some depth.
• The richness and validity of this information will
depend on the extent that trust exists.
 Drawback to interviews

• They can consume a great deal of time if

interviewers take full advantage of the opportunity to

hear respondents out and change their questions

accordingly.

• Personal biases can also distort the data.

• The nature of the question and the interactions

between the interviewer and the respondent may

discourage or encourage certain kinds of responses.

• It take considerable skill to gather valid data.

 Sample Interview Questions
1. How do management and non-management

employees interact in the office?

2. How do you know when you have done an excellent

job?

3. How do non-management employees learn about

organizational change?

4. If you could change one or two things about the

way management and non-management personnel

interact, what would you change?

 Practice questions
• Assume you want to study customer satisfaction in
Wollo university café and you decided to face to face
interview some users.
• Conduct an structured (predetermined questions)
interview.
Procedures
• Create friendly atmosphere
 Questionnaires

A questionnaire is a set of questions for gathering information

from individuals.

 You can administer questionnaires by mail, telephone, using

face-to-face interviews, as handouts, or electronically (i.e., by e-

mail or through Web-based questionnaires).

 Questionnaires can be paper-based, or electronic.

 List of a research or survey questions asked to respondents, and

designed to extract specific information from the respondents is

called as questionnaire.
 .

Questionnaries serves four basic purposes:

1. Collect the appropriate data

2. Make data comparable and amenable to analysis

3. Minimize bias in formulating and asking question.

4. To make questions engaging and varied.

• Questionnaires are useful in gathering information from key

organization members about

– Attitudes

– Beliefs

– Behaviors

– Characteristics
 Types of Question

[Link] questions normally pertain to respondents ages, education, library

experience, memberships in professional organizations, or any other pertinent

personal data needed in the study.

2. Opinion and Attitude Question - When the purpose of a survey is to obtain

information about respondents beliefs. feelings, values, and related concepts,

opinion and attitude questions can be used

3. Information question - In some types of survey research, investigators might

attempt to deter­mine how respondents know about a given topic and how or when

their research subjects gained certain knowledge

4. Standard of action question - In some types of surveys, investigators might attempt to

determine how respondents will act in certain circumstances or how subjects feel about a

new development or forthcoming event.

5. Projective questions - At times, questions are used that allow respondents to answer

inquiries in an indirect manner by imposing their personal feelings, attitudes, or beliefs on

another person or group of persons.

 Questions can be :
1. Unstructured questionnaires (Open-ended)
Or

2. Structured questionnaires (Closed Ended

Questions)

3. Semi-structured questionnaires
(Partially Structured Question)
 Open-ended questions
• An open-ended question is one in which you do not
provide any standard answers to choose from.
• These questions ask respondents to construct answers using
their own words.
• Open questions can generate rich and candid data, but it can
be data that is difficult to code and analyse

[Link] old are you? ______ years.

[Link] do you like best about your job?
 .

• An interview question that encourages an answer phrased

in respondent’s own words

Non-structured questions, or open-ended questions, are
questions where there is no list of answer choices from which
to choose. Respondents are simply asked to write their
response to a question. Here is an example:
An open question is likely to receive a long answer.

• Example of a Non-structured Question

What are the facilities and services do you expect from your library?

It is best to use non-structured questions when you are exploring new

ideas and you don't really know what to expect from the
respondents.
 2. Structured questionnaires (Closed Ended
Questions)
• are based predominantly on closed questions which produce
data that can be analyzed quantitatively for patterns and trends.
Closed ended, An interview question that asks the respondent
to make a selection from a limited list of responses.
• The agenda is entirely predetermined by the evaluator and
provides little flexibility for respondents to qualify their answers.
Closed questions include:
• Dichotomous
• Multiple choice
• scales (Likert , Semantic differential , rank-order
scale,etc.
 Dichotomous
• Dichotomous Question:

a question that has two possible responses

– Could be

• Yes/No

• True/False

• Agree/Disagree

• for/against
• Do you currently smoke?

_____ YES

_____ NO
 Multiple Choice Questions
• What purpose do you visit the library?
( ) To read news papers
( ) To refer books
( ) To borrow and return books
( ) To brows Internet

Scaled questions
• Responses are graded on a continuum (example: rate the
appearance of the product on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10
being the most preferred appearance).
• Examples of types of scales include the Likert scale,
semantic differential scale, and rank-order scale
 A likert scale
• A statement with which the respondent shows the
amount of agreement or disagreement.
• Likert scale measures the feelings/ degree of
agreement of respondents
Example: To what extent the information obtained from the web
based resources are useful to you?

1 Unsatisfied 2 Somewhat satisfied 3 Neutral 4 Satisfied 5 Extremely

satisfied

Agreement SD D ND A SA
Satisfaction SD D ND S SS
Quality VP P Average G VG
 Sample Likert-Scale Questions
Rate each item on the scale shown to indicate

your level of agreement:

• I believe in the bill of rights.

• strongly agree agree uncertain disagree strongly disagree

• I think that everyone should vote.

• strongly agree agree uncertain disagree strongly disagree

• Most politicians cannot be trusted.

• strongly agree agree uncertain disagree strongly disagree
The format of a typical Seven-level Likert item
 Semantic Differential Scale
This technique assesses the extent of the subject’s agreement with

items, where the response for each item is shown on a continuum.

• A scale is inscribed between two bipolar words, and

the respondent selects the point that represents the

direction and intensity of his or her feelings.

Example:

Skipping class in Research Methodology is...

• Good for me. 1___2___3___4___5 Bad for me.

 .

Service is discourteous 1…2…3…4…5…6…7 Service is courteous

Location is convenient 1…2…3…4…5…6…7 Location is inconvenient

Hours are inconvenient 1…2…3…4…5…6…7 Hours are convenient

Loan interest rates 1…2…3…4…5…6…7 Loan interest rates

are high are low
 Paired Comparisons
• Paired comparison scales ask a respondent to pick
one of two objects from a set based upon a given
criterion

• Example - Which brand do you prefer?

___ Coca-Cola ___ Pepsi

___ Dr. Pepper ___ Pepsi
___ Coca-Cola ___ Seven-Up
___ Dr. Pepper ___ Seven-Up
 Rankings:
Please rank the following web based resource
usefulness in order of preference (starting from 1 is
least preferred and 10 is most preferred)
.
[Link].
Web based resources Ranking
(1…………….10)
1
E-books
2
E-journals
3
Discussion forums
4
Databases
3. Semi-structured questionnaires (Partially
Structured Question)
 take a mixed approach.

 In some situations, you may have a partial list of answer choices, but you

may still have some doubt or uncertainty about other possible responses.

You can create a partially structured question such as the following:

Example of a Partially Structured Question

•What purpose do you use web based resources?

•For research work

•To write assignments

•To improve subject knowledge

•For the purpose of seminar presentation

Any other (Please specify): 1.________________

2. ________________
 Contingency questions
A question that is answered only if the respondent gives a
particular response to a previous question. This avoids asking
questions of people that do not apply to them.
1. Do you have computer knowledge?
Yes ( )
No ( )

2. If ‘yes’ how long have you been using?

• From last 6 months ( )
• From last 1 year ( )
• From last 2 years ( )
• From last 3-4 years ( )
Cautions regarding Questions and Questionnaires
Construction

1. Question number

2. Order of Questions

3. Check the spellings of the question statements

4. Do not use offensive language

5. Avoid double-meaning Questions

6. If there are any difficult terms in the questionnaire than do explain them

7. Avoid unnecessary questions

8. Know the academic and mental capacities of the target population

9. If there are certain personal or emotional questions ask them in the middle or at

the end

[Link]'t ask for elaborate answers

[Link] polite language

[Link]'t write questions that already contain the answer to the question

[Link] the respondents know that their privacy will be ensured

 Observation
Mystery Shoppers
• . One-Way Mirrors
People Watching
People
Types of
Observation
Research People Watching
Audits
Audits
an Activity

Machines Watching Traffic Counters

People Passive People Meter
 Types of observations.

Non-participant: In this role, the researcher

does not become, nor aims to become an

integral part of the system or community

they are observing

• Participant: In this role, the researcher is,

or becomes, a part of the team, community,

or cultural group they are observing

 .
– Structured: Highly systematic and often rely on
predetermined criteria related to the people,
events, practices, issues, behaviors, actions,
situations, and phenomena being observed.
– Semi-structured: Observers generally use some
manner of observation schedule or checklist to
organize observations, but also attempt to observe
and record the unplanned and/or the unexpected.
– Unstructured: Observers attempt to observe and
record data without predetermined criteria.
 Advantages of Observation
• They are free of the biases inherent in the self-
report data.

• They put the practitioner directly in touch with the

behaviors in question.

• They involved real-time data, describing behavior

occurring in the present rather than the past.

• They are adapting in that they can be modified

depending on what is being observed.
 What method shall I use?
There is no simple answer
There is no ONE best method
It all depends
Often, it is better to use more than one data collection method
When we use several methods we say we are ‘triangulating’.
Triangulation is important in evaluation because we want accurate
and trustworthy information.
Triangulation means the use of multiple sources and methods to
gain a better understanding.
Each source and each method has inherent biases so using more
than one source and/or method provides a more accurate picture.
.
 Instrument
• Actually, we use the term “instrument” to mean the tool
on which the data is actually recorded: the
questionnaire, the recording form, the video or audio
tape, for example.

• If you have selected a survey as your method, you

automatically know that you will need a questionnaire.
• But, if you choose a method such as focus group or
interview or observation, think about what you will use
for recording the information
 Advantage of primary data
• Answers a specific research question
• Data are current
• Source of data is known
• Secrecy can be maintained
 Disadvantage of primary data
• Expensive

• Quality declines if interviews

are lengthy

• Reluctance to participate in lengthy

interviews
 Secondary Data
Secondary data: information that has
previously been gathered by someone other
than the researcher and/or for some other
purpose than the research project at hand

ALWAYS

USE THIS FIRST

 Secondary Data Source
Internal Corporate Information

Government Agencies

Trade and Industry Associations

Marketing Research Firms

Commercial Publications

News Media
 .
• External secondary data: data obtained from outside the firm
• Types:
• Published

• Syndicated Services Data

• External Databases

• External secondary data

• Published: sources of information prepared for public
distribution and found in libraries or a variety of other
entities
• Syndicated Services Data: data provided by firms that
collect data in a standard format and make them available to
subscribing firms
 Data Collection Methods

• They include both qualitative and

quantitative data and they can be used
in both descriptive and exploratory
research
• May be classified into 2 types:

1. Documentary

2. Multiple source
 Documentary secondary data
Classified into two:

1. Written materials

Organization’s record

Organization’s web site , Reports ,Books,

journals, Newspapers

2. Non-written materials

Tape and video recordings ,Pictures

Drawings , Films and TV programs

Soft documents (CD)

The documentary sources you have available will depend on:

2. Whether you have been granted access to an organization’s records

3. Your success in locating library, data archive and commercial sources.

 Multiple-source secondary data
• Can be based on documentary or on survey
data or mixed. They are 2 types:
1. Area based: focus on geographical area.
E.g., government publications, Journals.
2. Time series: include, Annual Abstract of
Statistics Regional Trends, Industry
Statistics.
 Advantages of Secondary Data
• Obtained quickly (compared to primary data gathering)
• Inexpensive (compared to primary data gathering)
• Usually available

• Enhances existing primary data

• Saves time and money if on target

• Aids in determining direction for primary data collection

• Pinpoints the kinds of people to approach

• Serves as a basis of comparison

for other data
 Disadvantages of Secondary Data
• Mismatch of the units of measurement
• Timeliness (how current is the secondary data)

• Lack of information needed to assess the

credibility of the reported data
 Evaluating Secondary Data
• What was the purpose of the study?

• Who collected the information and when was this done?

• What information was collected (questions, scales, etc.)?

• How was the information obtained (sampling frame,

method of sample draw, communication method,

resulting sample, etc.)?

• How consistent is the information with other published

information?
 Overall suitability of secondary data
(measurement criteria):

1. does data set contain the information you require?

2. Do the measures used match those you required?

3. Is the data set a proxy for the data you really need?

4. Does it covers the population?

5. Can data about population be separated from

unwanted data?

6. Are the data sufficiently up to date?

7. Are the data cover all the variables?

 Characteristics of Good Measurement
Scales
• Are we testing what we think we’re testing?

Reliability
1. Reliability
• The degree to which a measure accurately captures
an individual’s true outcome without error; Accuracy
• synonymous with repetitive consistency

2. Validity
• The degree to which a measure faithfully represents

the underlying concept; Fidelity

 Concept Check

1. What is the difference between secondary

and primary data?
2. What are some advantages and
disadvantages of secondary data?
3. What is the difference between
observational and questionnaire data?
 Test

You will have a

Test Next week.

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