QUARTER 4

MODULE 1

GATHERING OF DATA

● METHODS OF DATA COLLECTIO ●

Data Collection – the process by which the researcher collects the information needed to answer the
research problem.

 In collecting the data, the researcher must decide:

o Which data to collect?
o How to collect the data?
o Who will collect the data?
o When to collect the data?
 The selection of data collection method should be based on the following:
o The identified hypothesis or research problem
o The research design
o The information gathered about the variables
 The methods of data collection vary according to:
o Degree of structure
o Degree of quantifiability
o Degree of obtrusiveness
o Degree of objectivity

● RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS ●

 Instrument or a tool
o Described as a device used to collect the data
o Facilitate variable observation and measurement
 The type of instrument used by the researcher depends on the data collection method
selected.

● WAYS OF SEARCHING FOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS ●

 Read professional journals to learn what kind of instruments are being used for similar studies,
their format, style, and how they are used by the writers.
 Read books that provide a description or an actual copy of various instruments for the reader.
 Talk with other researchers who may know of certain tools they have developed for themselves,
or may have used tools developed by others.
 Combine or adapt one or more tools used by other researchers.
 Develop his/her own instrument to fulfil a specific need.

● GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING AN INSTRUMENT ●

 The instrument must be suitable for its function

 The research tool will only be effective only as it relates to its particular purpose.
 The instrument must be based on the theoretical framework.
 The instrument should be valid.
 The instrument should be reliable
 An instrument should include an item that directly asks the hypothesis.
 The research tool should be designed and constructed in such a way that cheating is minimized.
 The instrument should be free of bias.
 A good instrument is free of build – in clues.
● TYPE OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS ●

1 QUESTIONNAIRE 5 OBSERVATION
2 CHECKLIST 6 RECORDS
3 DISTRIBUTION 7 EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
4 INTERVIEW 8 SURVEY APPROACH

1. QUESTIONNAIRE
 A series of questions designed to elicit information, which is filled in by all participants in the
sample.
 This can be gathered either by oral interview or by written questionnaire.
 This is the most common type of research instrument.

Advantages:
1. Relatively simple method of obtaining data.
2. Less time is consumed.
3. Researcher is able to gather data from a widely scattered sample.
Disadvantages:
1. Responses to a questionnaire lack dept.
2. Respondent may omit or disregard any item he chooses.
3. Some items may force the subject to select responses that are not his actual choice.
4. Length of questionnaire is limited according to the respondent’s interest.
5. Printing may be costly especially if it is lengthy.
6. Some items may be misunderstood.
7. The sample is limited to those who are literate.

Criteria of a Good Questionnaire

Clarity of Language – it must meet the level of understanding of the respondents in order to generate
needed responses.

Singleness of Objective – an item must have one and only one answer.

One – to – one Correspondence – the questionnaire as a whole must correspond with the objectives
of the study.

Correct Grammar, Spelling, and Construction – the questionnaire must be constructed observing
grammatically correct sentences, correctly spelled words, coherence in instruction of sentences.

2. CHECKLIST
 These are items that comprise several questions on a topic and require the same response
format.

3. INTERVIEW
 This involves either structure or unstructured verbal communication between the researcher and
subject, during which information is obtained for a study.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW
1. Unstructured Interviews - more conversational
 This allows the researcher flexibility in questioning the subject

2. Structured Interviews - always operates within formal written instrument referred as interview
schedule.
ADVANTAGES OF INTERVIEW:
1. Data from interview are usable
2. Depth of response can be assured
3. In an exploratory study, the interview technique provides basis for the formulation of
questionnaire
4. Clarification is possible
5. No items are overlooked
6. Higher proportion of responses is obtained
7. Greater amount of flexibility is allowed

DISADVANTAGES OF INETRVIEW
1. Time Element
2. Biases may result
3. Costly

4. OBSERVATION
 Most common used in qualitative research

Types of Observation
1. Unstructured Observation
A method of collecting research data that has both opponents and proponents.
2. Structured Observation
 Preparation or record – keeping forms such as category systems, checklists and rating scales.
 Researcher typically has some prior knowledge about the behaviour or event of interest.

Advantages of Observation
1. Produces large quantities of data with relative case.
2. All data obtained from observation are usable.
3. Relatively inexpensive.
4. All subjects are potential respondents.
5. Subjects are usually available.
6. The observation technique can be stopped or begun at any time.
7. Observation may be recorded at the time they occur eliminating bias because of recall

Disadvantages of Observation
1. Accurate prediction of a situation or event to be observed is unlikely.
2. Interviewing selected subjects may provide more information, economically, than waiting for
the spontaneous occurrence of the situation.
3. The presence of an observer gives the subjects a quality normally absent.
4. Observed events are subjects to biases.
5. Extensive training is needed.

5. RECORDS
A Record refers to all the numbers and statistics that institutions, organizations and people keep as
a record of their activities.
Sources:
1. Census data
2. Educational records
3. Hospital/clinic records
Advantages of Records
1. Records are unbiased
2. Records often cover a long period of time
3. Inexpensive
Disadvantages of Records
1. All the researcher can have is what is there. If the records is incomplete, there is no way it can
be completed.
2. No one can be sure of the conditions under which the records were collected.
3. There is no assurance of the accuracy of the records.

6. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
A powerful design for testing hypothesis of casual relationships among variables.
Researcher controls the independent variable & watches the effect on the dependent variable.

Two Groups of Experimental Approach

1. Treatment/ Experimental Group
2. Control Group.

Advantages of Experimental Approach

1. It is difficult to minimize all the variables in which the control and experimental groups might
differ.
2. Causal relationships are difficult if not impossible to establish.
3. The time element may confound the results of experimental research.
4. In an experimental laboratory setting it may be difficult to obtain subjects who are unaware of
the experiment.

Disadvantage of Experimental Approach

1. Care should be taken on making conclusions to the result of the experiment.

7. SURVEY APPROACH
 Non – experimental type in which the researcher investigates a community or a group of
people.
 Also known as “Formulative or Exploratory Research”

Advantages of Survey Approach

1. Can provide information about the possibilities of undertaking different types of research
methods.
2. Provides data about the present.
3. Has a high degree of representativeness.
4. Easy to get respondents and information often do not express their true reactions to the
questions.

Disadvantages of Survey Approach

1. Yields a low degree of control over extraneous variables
2. Verbal behaviour is quite unreliable and that people.

● MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES ●
Measurement is the process by which the researcher assigns specific number to the collected
data (Massey, 1991)

Levels of Measurement

1. Nominal Level (The lowest level)

 This level includes assignment of numbers simply to classify characteristics into categories.
 Assigning a code to label
 Example:
 In relation to marital status, 0 might represent single and 1 for married.
 Nominal level variables includes sex, marital status and health status.

2. Ordinal Level (The second lowest level)

 This permits the sorting of objects on the basis of their standing on an attribute relative to each
other.
 Data are categorized and ranked, ordered from “most” to “least”: according to frequency of
occurrence as explained by Dr. Barrientos – Tan.
 Represent the rank order (1st, 2nd, 3rd atc.)

3. Interval Level (The second highest level)

 This occurs when the researcher can specify both the rank – ordering of objects attribute and
the distance between those objects.
 Do not have an absolute or rational zero point.
 Use of mode, median, mean.

Example:
 Fahrenheit and centigrade temperatures

4. Ratio Level (The highest level)

 The ratio level has a rational, meaningful zero.

● DETERMINING THE SAMPLE SIZE ●

SLOVIN’S FORMULA
𝑵
𝒏=
𝟏 + 𝑵𝒆𝟐
Where; n = sample size
N = population size
E = margin of error

Margin of error – when we use a sample, we do not get the actual value but just an estimate of the
parameter. Hence, there is an error associated when using the sample. It is represented by “e”

Example in finding the Sample Size:

A group or researchers will conduct a survey to find out the opinion of residents of a particular
community regarding the hospital arrest of GMA. If there are 15000 residents in the community and the
researchers plan to use a sample using a 10% margin of error, what should be the sample size?

Suppose that in the first example, the researchers would like to use a 5% margin of error. What
should be the size of the sample?

EXERCISES:
1. Below are researchable problems. Identify the most appropriate method/s of gathering data to
be used. Explain and justify your answer.

a. A study to identify the factors being considered by the consumers in buying shoes,
clothes, and personal accessories.
Answer:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
 b. A study to find out if a new brand of drug is effective in curing tuberculosis.
Answer:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

c. Researches to determine the mortality rate from 1990 to1998.

Answer:
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

2. A researcher plans to conduct a survey. If the population size is 25,000, find the sample size if the
desired margin of error is:
a. 10% c 1%

b. 5 % d 3%

3. Given the following population size and margin of error, determine the desired sample size.
a. N = 40 000 e = 10 %

b. N = 20 000 e=5%

c. N = 35 000 e=1%