Data Collection Methods

Data Collection Methods

Methods of data collection: • Questionnaires • Interviews • Observations • Physiological and psychological measures

Questionnaires: • Is a paper and pencil, self report instrument • Purposes: to measure knowledge levels, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, ideas, feelings, and perceptions and factual information about respondents

A questionnaire in influenced by: • The overall appearance • Language and reading level of questions • Length of questionnaire and questions

Advantages/disadvantages of questionnaires

Interviews: • Face to face • Telephone interview

Types of interviews: • Structured • Unstructured • Semi structured

Influence of interviewers on respondents: • In face to face interviews, non experimental research it is called Rosenthal effect • In experimental research it is called experimental effect

Advantages/disadvantages of interviews

Observation Methods: • Gathering data through visual observation • Structured (Checklist) and unstructured observations • Interrater reliability

Relationship between observer and subjects: • Non participant observer- overt • Non participant observer- covert • Participant observer- overt • Participant observer- covert

Physiologic measures: collection of physical data from subjects • They are more objective and accurate • Example: measuring BP , ECG

Attitude scales: Self report data collection instruments that ask respondents to report their attitudes or feelings on a continuum • Types: • Likert scale: SD D U A SA • Semantic: Friendly ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- unfriendly

Psychological tests: personality inventories

Visual Analog Scale: A straight line that represent extremes of a phenomenon • Pain 0-------------------------------------100mm Can be a horizontal or vertical line

Pre existing data; Using data that is available and that has not been collected for research purposes, patients’ records

attitude scales • Self-report data collection instruments that ask respondents to report their attitudes or feelings on a continuum. • close-ended questions • Questions that require respondents to choose from given alternatives. • contingency questions • Questions that are relevant for some respondents and not for others.

Delphi technique • A data collection method that uses several rounds of questions to seek a consensus on a particular topic from a group of experts on the topic. • demographic questions • Questions that gather data on characteristics of the subjects (see demographic variables). • demographic variables • Subject characteristics such as age, educational levels, and marital status. • double-barreled questions • Questions that ask two questions in one.

Likert scale • An attitude scale named after its developer, Rensis Likert. These scales usually contain five or seven responses for each item, ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." • nonparticipant observer-covert • Research observer does not identify herself or himself to the subjects who are being observed. • nonparticipant observer-overt • Research observer openly identifies that she or he is conducting research and provides subjects with information about the type of data that will be collected.

observation research • A data-collection method in which data are collected through visual observations. • open-ended questions • Questions that allow respondents to answer in their own words. • participant observer-covert • Research observer interacts with subjects and observes their behavior without their knowledge. • participant observer-overt • Research observer interacts with subjects openly and with the full awareness of those people who will be observed.

personality inventories • Self-report measures used to assess the differences in personality traits, needs, or values of people. • preexisting data • Existing information that has not been collected for research purposes. • probes • Prompting questions that encourage the respondent to elaborate on the topic that is being discussed.

Projective technique • Self-report measure in which a subject is asked to respond to stimuli that are designed to be ambiguous or to have no definite meaning. The responses reflect the internal feelings of the subject that are projected on the external stimuli. • Q-sort (Q methodology) • A data-collection method in which subjects are asked to sort statements into categories according to their attitudes toward, or rating of, the statements.

questionnaire • A paper-and-pencil, self-report instrument used to gather data from subjects. • semantic differential • Attitude scale that asks subjects to indicate their position or attitude about some concept along a continuum between two adjectives or phrases that are presented in relation to the concept that is being measured.

semi structured interviews • Interviewers ask a certain number of specific questions, but additional questions or probes are used at the discretion of the interviewer. • structured interviews • Interviewers ask the same questions in the same manner of all respondents. • structured observations • The researcher makes the determination of behaviors to be observed before data collection. Usually some kind of checklist is used to record behaviors.

telephone interviews • Data are collected from subjects through the use of phone calls rather than in face-to-face encounters. • unstructured interviews • The interviewer is given a great deal of freedom to direct the course of the interview; the interviewer's main goal is to encourage the respondent to talk freely about the topic that is being explored.

unstructured observations • The researcher describes behaviors as they are viewed, with no preconceived ideas of what will be seen. • visual analogue scale • Subjects are presented with a straight line that is anchored on each end with words or phrases that represent the extremes of some phenomenon, such as pain. Subjects are asked to make a mark on the line at the point that corresponds to their experience of the phenomenon.

Data Collection Methods