Selecting

Appropriate Data
Collection Methods
Chapter 6
‘It is a capital mistake to theorize before one
has data.’

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as Sherlock Holmes

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 2

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Data Collection Options
 Data collection possibilities are wide and
varied with any one method of collection
not inherently better than any other
 Each has pros and cons that must be
weighed up in view of a rich and complex
context

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 3

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
The Data Collection Process
 All methods of collection require rigorous and
systematic design and execution that includes
 thorough planning
 well considered development
 effective piloting
 weighed modification
 deliberate implementation and execution
 appropriate management and analysis

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 4

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Surveys
 Surveying involves gathering information from
individuals using a questionnaire
 Surveys can
 reach a large number of respondents
 generate standardized, quantifiable, empirical data -
as well as some qualitative data
 and offer confidentiality / anonymity
 Designing survey instruments capable of
generating credible data, however, can be
difficult

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 5

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Survey Types
 Surveys can be
 descriptive or explanatory
 involve entire populations or samples of
populations
 capture a moment or map trends
 can be administered in a number of ways

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 6

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Survey Construction
 Survey construction involves
 formulating questions and response
categories
 writing up background information and
instruction
 working through organization and length
 determining layout and design

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 7

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Interviewing
 Interviewing involves asking respondents a
series of open-ended questions
 Interviews can generate both standardized
quantifiable data, and more in-depth qualitative
data
 However, the complexities of people and the
complexities of communication can create many
opportunities for miscommunication and
misinterpretation

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 8

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Interview Types
 Interviews can range from
 formal to informal
 structured to unstructured
 can be one on one or involve groups

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 9

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Conducting Interviews
 When conducting your interviews you will
need to
 question, prompt, and probe in ways that help
you gather rich data
 actively listen and make sense of what is
being said
 manage the overall process

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 10

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Observation
 Observation relies on the researchers’
ability to gather data though their senses -
and allows researchers to document
actual behaviour rather than responses
related to behaviour
 However, the observed can act differently
when surveilled, and observations can be
tainted by a researcher’s worldview

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 11

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Observation Types
 Observation can range from
 non-participant to participant
 candid to covert
 from structured to unstructured

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 12

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
The Observation Process
 The observation process is sometimes
treated casually, but is a method that
needs to be treated as rigorously as any
other
 The process should include planning,
observing, recording, reflecting, and
authenticating

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 13

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Unobtrusive Methods
 Unobtrusive methods involve researchers
and research processes that are removed
from the researched
 Unobtrusive methods are ‘non-reactive’
and capitalize on existing data
 But researchers need to work through data
not expressly generated for their proposes
that may contain biases

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 14

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Unobtrusive Methods
 Unobtrusive methods include
 the exploration of official data and records
 corporate data
 personal records
 the media
 the arts
 social artefacts

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 15

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
The ‘Unobtrusive’ Process
 In order to gather data by unobtrusive
means you need to
 know what you are looking for
 where you can find it
 whether it can be trusted
 what you can do with it

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 16

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Experimentation
 Experimentation explores cause and effect
relationships by manipulating independent
variables in order to see if there is a
corresponding effect on a dependent
variable

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 17

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Experimentation
 Pure experimentation requires both a
controlled environment and the use of a
randomly assigned control group
 This can be difficult to achieve in human
centred experiments conducted in the real-
world

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 18

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to
Real-World Experiments
 There are many experiments that can only
be carried out in the messy uncontrolled
environments of the real-world, so the
search for cause and effect will require
tradeoffs between real-world contexts and
a controlled environment

O'Leary, Z. (2005) RESEARCHING RE 19

AL-WORLD PROBLEMS: A Guide to