Different Data Collection and Analysis Procedures

Survey
 It is a data-gathering procedure that makes you obtain facts or information about
the subject or object of your research through the data-gathering instruments of
interview and questionnaire.
 This is the most popular data-gathering technique in quantitative and qualitative
researcher studies for the researchers are free to use not just one survey
instrument but also these two following data-gathering instruments.

Questionnaire
 Questionnaire is a paper containing series of questions formulated for an
individual and independent answering by several respondents for obtaining
statistical information.
 Making up a questionnaire are factual and opinionated questions.
 Questions to elicit factual answers are formulated in a multiple-choice type and
those to ask about the respondents’ views, attitudes, preferences, and other
opinionated answers are provided with sufficient space where the respondents
could write their sentential answers to opinionated questions.
 Responses yielded by this instrument are given their numerical forms (numbers,
fractions, percentages) and categories and are subjected to statistical analysis.
 Questionnaire is good for collecting data from a big number of respondents
situated in different places because all you have to do is either to hand the paper
to the respondents or to send it to them through postal or electronic mail.

Interviews
 The purpose of the research interview is to explore the views, experiences, beliefs
and/or motivations of individuals on specific matters (e.g. factors that influence
their attendance at the dentist).
 Qualitative methods, such as interviews, are believed to provide a 'deeper'
understanding of social phenomena than would be obtained from purely
quantitative methods, such as questionnaires.
 Interviews are, therefore, most appropriate where little is already known about the
study phenomenon or where detailed insights are required from individual
participants.
 They are also particularly appropriate for exploring sensitive topics, where
participants may not want to talk about such issues in a group environment.
There are three fundamental types of research interviews: structured, semi-structured
and unstructured.
 Structured interviews are, essentially, verbally administered questionnaires, in
which a list of predetermined questions are asked, with little or no variation and
with no scope for follow-up questions to responses that warrant further
elaboration.
 Unstructured interviews do not reflect any preconceived theories or ideas and are
performed with little or no organization.
 Such an interview may simply start with an opening question such as 'Can you
tell me about your experience of visiting the dentist?
 Unstructured interviews are usually very time-consuming (often lasting several
hours) and can be difficult to manage, and to participate in, as the lack of
predetermined interview questions provides little guidance on what to talk about.
 Semi-structured interviews consist of several key questions that help to define
the areas to be explored, but also allows the interviewer or interviewee to diverge
in order to pursue an idea or response in more detail.
 This interview format is used most frequently in social issues and other
phenomenon, as it provides participants with some guidance on what to talk
about, which many find helpful.
 Similar to a questionnaire, interviews make you ask a set of questions, only that,
this time, you do it orally.
 Some, however, say that with the advent of modern technology, oral interview is
already a traditional way of interviewing, and the modern ways happen through
the use of modern electronic devices such as mobile phones, telephones, smart
phones, and other wireless devices.

Order of Interview
 First set of questions – opening questions to establish friendly relationships, like
questions about the place, the time, the physical appearance of the participant, or
other non-verbal things not for audio recording.
 Second set of questions – generative questions to encourage open-ended
questions like those that ask about the respondents’ inferences, views, or opinions
about the interview topic.
 Third set of questions – directive questions or close-ended questions to elicit
specific answers like those that are answerable with yes or no, with one type of an
object, or with definite period of time and the like.
 Fourth set of questions – ending questions that give the respondents the chance
to air their satisfaction, wants, likes, dislikes, reactions, or comments about the
interview.

Guidelines in Formulating Interview Questions

1. Use clear and simple language.

2. Avoid using acronyms, abbreviations, jargons, and highfalutin terms.
3. Let one question elicit only one answer; no double-barrel question.
4. Express your point in exact, specific, bias-free, and gender-free language.
5. Give way to how your respondents want themselves to be identified.
6. Establish continuity or free flow of the respondents’ thoughts by using appropriate
follow-up questions (e.g., Could you give an example of it? Would you mind
narrating what happened next?).
7. Ask questions in a sequential manner; determine which should be your opening,
middle, or closing questions.

Focus Groups
 Focus groups share many common features with less structured interviews, but
there is more to them than merely collecting similar data from many participants
at once.
 A focus group is a group discussion on a particular topic organized for research
purposes. This discussion is guided, monitored and recorded by a researcher
(sometimes called a moderator or facilitator).
 Focus groups are used for generating information on collective views, and the
meanings that lie behind those views. They are also useful in generating a rich
understanding of participants' experiences and beliefs. Suggested criteria for
using focus groups include:
-As a stand alone method, for research relating to group norms, meanings and
processes
-In a multi-method design, to explore a topic or collect group language or narratives
to be used in later stages
-To clarify, extend, qualify or challenge data collected through other methods
-To feedback results to research participants.
 The composition of a focus group needs great care to get the best quality of
discussion. There is no 'best' solution to group composition, and group mix will
 always impact on the data, according to things such as the mix of ages, sexes and
social professional statuses of the participants
 Interaction is key to a successful focus group discussion.
 Group size is an important consideration in focus group research.

Observation
 Using your sense organs, you gather facts or information about people, things,
places, events, and so on, by watching and listening to them; then, record the
results of the functioning of your eyes and ears.
 Expressing these sensory experiences to quantitative data, you record them with
the use of numbers. For instance, watching patients lining up at a medical clinic,
instead of centering your eyes on the looks of the people, you focus your attention
on the number, weight, and height of every patient standing up at the door of the
medical clinic.
 Seeing, touching, and hearing the sources of data personally, you engage yourself
in direct observation.
 It is an indirect observation, if you see and hear them, not through your own eyes
and ears, but by means of technological and electronic gadgets like audiotapes,
video records, and other recording devices used to capture earlier events, images,
or sounds.

Content Analysis
 It is another qualitative data-collection technique that makes you search through
several oral or written forms of communication to find answers to your research
questions.
 Used in quantitative and qualitative research studies, this data-collection method
is not only for examining printed materials but also for analyzing information
coming from non-book materials like photographs, films, video tapes, paintings,
drawings, and the like.
 Here, you focus your study on a single subject or on two entities to determine
their comparative features.
 Any content analysis you want to do is preceded by your thorough understanding
of your research questions because these are the questions to guide you in
determining which aspect of the content of the communication should you focus
on to find the answers to the main problem of your research.