Research Methodology: Data Collection

Research Methodology: Data Collection Presented by Dr. Chan Chang Tik

Research Process (Recall) Research Topic Literature Review Research Strategy Negotiating Access Data Collection Data Analysis Project Report Short-term Training

Contents • Negotiating Access • Data Collection Short-term Training

Negotiating Access • The following strategies may be used to help you gain physical and cognitive access in the form of personal entry to an organization: • Allowing yourself sufficient time. • Using existing contacts and developing new ones. Short-term Training

Negotiating Access (2) • Strategies to gain access: • Clear account of purpose and type of access required. • Overcoming organizational concerns. • Identifying possible benefits. Short-term Training

Negotiating Access (3) • Strategies to gain access: • Using suitable language. • Facilitating ease of reply. • Developing access on an incremental basis. • Establishing your credibility. Short-term Training

Sufficient Time • Physical access may take weeks or even months to arrange. • You may have to necessitate several telephone calls simply to make the contact with the appropriate person. You may send emails too. • Once a contact is made it may take a number of weeks before you conduct the actual interviews, engage in observations or use the secondary data. Short-term Training

Existing Contacts • Use your existing contacts to gain access. • The use of known contacts is suitable for case study strategy and non-probability sampling. Short-term Training

Existing Contacts (2) • Using your work placement organization for your research project. • To develop new contacts you may consider: • Professional association • Trade union • Employers’ association • Chamber of commerce Short-term Training

Purpose of Research • You must be very specific of your requirements. • Send an introductory letter requesting access. Your letter should: • Outline your proposed research and requirement. • How the person being contacted might be able to help. Refer to Appendix C. Short-term Training

Organizational Concerns • The concerns may fall into three categories, namely: • Concerns about the amount of time or resources (avoid multiple requests). • Sensitivity (avoid presenting the organization in a bad light). • Confidentiality of data and anonymity of the organization or individual participants (make these assurance repeatedly). Short-term Training

Organizational Benefits • Applicability of proposed research to the organization. • Report of your findings. Short-term Training

Suitable Language • Avoid terms that may be perceived as threatening or not interesting. For example • Research  learn from your experience • Publish  write an account • Interview  conversation • Your language should be appropriate to the person you are contacting so that it does not sound patronizing or just boring. Short-term Training

Ease of Reply • Use a simple pro forma for recipients. • Include stamped, addressed envelope or a fax number or an email address. Short-term Training

Incremental Access • To overcome organizational concerns about time-consuming and multiple requests, consider incremental access. • This strategy allows you the opportunity to develop positive relationship with the person who grants you initial access. • Incremental access is time consuming. Short-term Training

Establish Credibility • Once you have gained physical access you have to establish your credibility in order to gain cognitive access. • Provide assurances about confidentiality and anonymity. • Consider ethical issues. Short-term Training

Data Collection • Questionnaire techniques • Interviews • Observations Short-term Training

Questionnaire Techniques • When do you use questionnaire? • Types of questionnaire • Designing individual questions • Administrating the questionnaire Short-term Training

When to Use Questionnaire? • Suitable for descriptive or explanatory research. • Descriptive research • Using attitude and opinion questionnaires • Explanatory research • Cause-and-effect relationships between variables • Not suitable for exploratory research that requires large numbers of open-ended questions. Short-term Training

Types of Questionnaire Short-term Training

Types of Questionnaire (2) • Your choice of questionnaire is influenced by the following factors: • Importance of reaching a particular person as respondent. • Importance of respondent’s answer not being contaminated. Short-term Training

Types of Questionnaire (3) • Factors affecting choice of questionnaire: • Size of sample required, taking into account the likely response rate. • Types of questions you need to ask to collect your data. • Number of questions you need to ask to collect your data. Short-term Training

Designing Individual Questions • Open Questions • Used widely in exploratory research where you require a detailed answer or when you want to find out what is uppermost in the respondent’s mind. • Open questions are difficult to analyze and you are advised to keep them to a minimum. Short-term Training

Designing Questions (2) • List Questions • List questions offer the respondents a list of responses any of which they can choose. • The response categories can include ‘yes/no’, ‘agree/disagree’ and ‘applies/does not apply’. You can also add a catch-all category of ‘other’. Short-term Training

Designing Questions (3) • Category Questions • Category questions are designed so that each respondent’s answer can fit only one category. • Useful to collect data about attributes and behaviour. • You should have no more than five response categories. Short-term Training

Designing Questions (4) • Ranking Questions • A ranking question asks the respondent to place things in rank order. This means that you can discover their relative importance to the respondent. • Keep the list of items to seven or less. Short-term Training

Designing Questions (5) • Scale Questions • Scale questions are often used to collect attitude and belief data. • We usually used five-point Likert scale. • You can also capture the respondent’s attitude using a 10-point numeric scale. 8 7 9 10 6 5 4 2 1 3 Good value for money Poor value for money Short-term Training

Designing Question (6) • Another variation of the scale questions is the bi-polar scale often used in consumer research to rate a simple object or idea. This scale has a pair of opposite adjectives. Fast Slow Short-term Training

Open Question • An example of an open question: • What do you think of INTI Online? .……………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………. Short-term Training

List Question • An example of a list question: • Please tick the box provided for places you have visited in Malaysia. For places you have not visited, please leave the box blank. KLCC Museum Pulau Redang Ipoh Other (please state) ………………………………………………………… Short-term Training

Category Question • An example of a category question: • How often do you login to INTI Online? never login 1 – 4 times per week 5 – 9 times per week more than 10 times per week Short-term Training

Ranking Question • An example of a ranking question: • Please number each of the factors listed below in order of importance to you in your choice of a course. Number the most important 1, the next 2 and so on. If a factor has no importance at all, please leave blank. Lecturer teaching Course fees Library facilities Lab Other (please specify) …………………………………………………………………. Short-term Training

Scale Question • An example of a scale question: • For the following statement please tick the box which matches your view most clearly. Agree Neutral Disagree I find the course interesting. Short-term Training

Administrating the Questionnaire • Online questionnaire through email: • Contact recipients by email and advise them to expect a questionnaire. • Email questionnaire with a covering letter (avoid attachment). • Email the first follow-up one week after. • Email the second follow-up after three weeks. This should include another covering letter and a copy of the questionnaire. • A third follow-up can also be used if time allows or your response rate is low. Short-term Training

Postal Questionnaire • Ensure that questionnaire and letter are printed, and envelopes addressed. • Pre-survey contact through email, phone or post. • Post the survey with a covering letter, and a return envelope. • Post (or email) the first follow-up one week after using a postcard. • Post the second follow-up after three weeks. This should contain another copy of the questionnaire, a new return envelope and a new covering letter. • A third follow-up can also be used if time allows or your response rate is low. For this it may be possible to use telephone calls or even call in person. Short-term Training

Delivery and Collection Questionnaire • Ensure that all questionnaires and covering letters are printed and a collection box is ready. • Contact respondents and advise them to attend a meeting. • At the meeting hand over the questionnaire with a covering letter to each respondent. • Introduce the questionnaire and stress its anonymous or confidential nature. • Ensure that respondents place their completed questionnaire in a collection box before they leave the meeting. Short-term Training

Telephone Questionnaire • Ensure that all questionnaires are printed. • Where possible contact respondents by post, email or telephone advising them to expect a telephone call. • Record the date and time of call and whether or not the questionnaire was completed. • You should note any specific times that have been arranged for callbacks. • For calls that were not successful, you should note the reason such as no reply or telephone disconnected. • Make callback calls at the time arranged. Short-term Training

Interviews • Interview approach is suitable for questions which are complex or open-ended, or large in number. • In an explanatory study you need to conduct interview to infer causal relationships between variables. • You are likely to include interviews in an exploratory study too. Short-term Training

Interviewing Competence • Opening the interview • Questioning • Listening • Testing and summarizing understanding • Behavioural cues • Recording data • Appropriate language Short-term Training

Opening Comments • Thanked the participants. • The purpose of the research, its funding and progress to date were briefly outlined. • Right to confidentiality and anonymity was reiterated. • Participant’s right not to answer any question was carefully emphasized. • Offer of any written documentation. • Nature of the outputs to which the research was intended to lead. Short-term Training

Questioning • You can use open questions which are designed to encourage the interviewee to provide an extensive and developed answer. • Open questions are likely to start with one of the following words: • What • How • Why • Example: Why did the organization introduce five-day week? Short-term Training

Questioning (2) • Probing questions can be used to explore responses that are of significance to the research topic. • Probing questions can also be used to seek explanation where you do not understand the interviewee’s meaning. • Use of reflection may also help you to probe a theme by paraphrasing their words. • Specific and closed questions may be used to obtain specific information or to confirm a fact or opinion. Short-term Training

Listening Skills • Listen and build understanding so as to explore with the interviewee. • Deliberately holding back own thoughts which would divert or compete with the other’s. • Provide the interviewee with reasonable time to develop their responses. Short-term Training

Test Understanding • Summarizing an explanation provided by the interviewee. • If possible, ask the interviewee to read thorough the factual account that you need to produce of the interview. Short-term Training

Interviewer’s Behaviour • Comments or non-verbal behaviours which indicate any bias in your thinking should be avoided. • Your posture and tone of voice may encourage or inhibit the flow of the discussion. • Sit slightly inclined towards the interviewee and adapt an open posture, avoiding folded arms. Short-term Training

Recording Data • A full record of the interview should be compiled as soon as possible after it has taken place. • Permission should always be sought to tape record an interview. You have to explain why you need a recorder. Short-term Training

Observations • Participant observation • Structured observation Short-term Training

Participant Observation • Researcher attempts to participate fully in the lives and activities of subjects and thus becomes a member of their organization or community. • Very commonly used in sociology and anthropology. • You can adopt the participant observer role as an existing member of an organization you work with. Short-term Training

Participant Observation (2) • What participant observers do? There are four roles to choose from, namely • Complete participant • Complete observer • Observer as participant • Participant as observer • Data Collection Short-term Training

Complete Participant • You attempt to become a member of the group without revealing your true purpose to the group members. • Aware of ethical issues. Short-term Training

Research Methodology: Data Collection