What are methods used for collecting data and answering research questions?
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Our world’s greatest achievements were made possible with research, and research is made possible with data. Humans generate roughly 2.5 quintillion bytes1 of data every day; however, from this ocean of data, relevant data needs to be gathered to conduct any type of research. The data collection phase of a research project is one of the most crucial phases because it fuels the project and helps generate the results. Show Considering the importance of research data collection, we recommend getting a clear understanding of what it is and how it can be done before initiating the process. This article explores what research data collection is and what are the top methods of gathering research data. What is research data collection?Research data collection involves gathering, cleaning, and preparing data for analysis and study for specific research questions. This is one of the initial steps of conducting any research. For instance, if the purpose of the research is to study the potential demand for a new daycare center in a specific location, then data regarding the residents of that area will be gathered to know how many babies are in that locale and how many working parents. There are 2 broad types of research; qualitative and quantitative, and they require data collection of 2 types, primary and secondary. Qualitative vs. quantitativeWhile qualitative research involves using non-numerical data and has a subjective nature, quantitative research requires the analysis of numerical data and has a more objective nature. Primary vs. Secondary dataWe have explained the difference between primary and secondary data before. In a nutshell, primary data means freshly gathered data to solve a specific research problem. Secondary data means data gathered in the past and re-used to conduct new research. What are the top methods of collecting research data?This section highlights the top data collection methods for conducting research. 1. SurveysConducting a survey is one of the most common methods of collecting data for research in which human contributors are involved. A survey is used for primary data collection for use cases such as market research. This is done by providing a series of questions to the subject and obtaining his/her answers. These questions can be qualitative or quantitative in nature. 1.1. Offline vs. online surveysChoosing between the two comes down to evaluating the pros and cons of both methods and matching them with your research objectives. A survey can be conducted offline by simply providing questionnaires to the respondents and collecting their answers. Studies2 show that offline surveys eliminate the dependency on the internet and provide a higher response rate. However, finding participants can be difficult and expensive, especially if the survey requires a large and diverse sample. Online surveys, on the other hand, are found3 to be more efficient, cost-effective, and can cover a much larger and more diverse population. To learn more about how to conduct a quality online survey, check out this quick read. Sponsored Surveys can also be conducted through a crowdsourcing platform. Clickworker can help you improve your online survey with a crowdsourcing model. They work with over 4 million registered contributors worldwide who have proficiency in over 34 languages and cover over 70 target markets. They can help conduct surveys for your research projects and help you recruit participants. Watch this video to learn more about their service: You can also check our data-driven list of data collection/harvesting services to find the option that best suits your research project needs. The Quantitative data collection methods, rely on random sampling and structured data collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into predetermined response categories. They produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and generalize. Quantitative research is concerned with testing hypotheses derived from theory and/or being able to estimate the size of a phenomenon of interest. Depending on the research question, participants may be randomly assigned to different treatments. If this is not feasible, the researcher may collect data on participant and situational characteristics in order to statistically control for their influence on the dependent, or outcome, variable.If the intent is to generalize from the research participants to a larger population, the researcher will employ probability sampling to select participants. Typical quantitative data gathering strategies include:
InterviewsIn Quantitative research(survey research),interviews are more structured than in Qualitative research.(http://www.stat.ncsu.edu/info/srms/survpamphlet.html In a structured interview,the researcher asks a standard set of questions and nothing more.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) Face -to -face interviews have a distinct advantage of enabling the researcher to establish rapport with potential partiocipants and therefor gain their cooperation.These interviews yield highest response rates in survey research.They also allow the researcher to clarify ambiguous answers and when appropriate, seek follow-up information. Disadvantages include impractical when large samples are involved time consuming and expensive.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) Telephone interviews are less time consuming and less expensive and the researcher has ready access to anyone on the planet who hasa telephone.Disadvantages are that the response rate is not as high as the face-to- face interview but cosiderably higher than the mailed questionnaire.The sample may be biased to the extent that people without phones are part of the population about whom the researcher wants to draw inferences. Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI): is a form of personal interviewing, but instead of completing a questionnaire, the interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held computer to enter the information directly into the database. This method saves time involved in processing the data, as well as saving the interviewer from carrying around hundreds of questionnaires. However, this type of data collection method can be expensive to set up and requires that interviewers have computer and typing skills. QuestionnairesPaper-pencil-questionnaires can be sent to a large number of people and saves the researcher time and money.People are more truthful while responding to the questionnaires regarding controversial issues in particular due to the fact that their responses are anonymous. But they also have drawbacks.Majority of the people who receive questionnaires don't return them and those who do might not be representative of the originally selected sample.(Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) Web based questionnaires : A new and inevitably growing methodology is the use of Internet based research. This would mean receiving an e-mail on which you would click on an address that would take you to a secure web-site to fill in a questionnaire. This type of research is often quicker and less detailed.Some disadvantages of this method include the exclusion of people who do not have a computer or are unable to access a computer.Also the validity of such surveys are in question as people might be in a hurry to complete it and so might not give accurate responses. (http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/power/ch2/methods/methods.htm) Questionnaires often make use of Checklist and rating scales.These devices help simplify and quantify people's behaviors and attitudes.A checklist is a list of behaviors,characteristics,or other entities that te researcher is looking for.Either the researcher or survey participant simply checks whether each item on the list is observed, present or true or vice versa.A rating scale is more useful when a behavior needs to be evaluated on a continuum.They are also known as Likert scales. (Leedy and Ormrod, 2001) Qualitative data collection methods play an important role in impact evaluation by providing information useful to understand the processes behind observed results and assess changes in people�s perceptions of their well-being.Furthermore qualitative methods can beused to improve the quality of survey-based quantitative evaluations by helping generate evaluation hypothesis; strengthening the design of survey questionnaires and expanding or clarifying quantitative evaluation findings. These methods are characterized by the following attributes:
Regardless of the kinds of data involved,data collection in a qualitative study takes a great deal of time.The researcher needs to record any potentially useful data thououghly,accurately, and systematically,using field notes,sketches,audiotapes,photographs and other suitable means.The data collection methods must observe the ethical principles of research. The qualitative methods most commonly used in evaluation can be classified in three broad categories:
The following link provides more information on the above three methods. http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/impact/methods/qualitative.htm#indepth Different ways of collecting evaluation data are useful for different purposes, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Various factors will influence your choice of a data collection method: the questions you want to investigate, resources available to you, your timeline, and more. (http://dmc.umn.edu/evaluation/data.shtml What are the 5 methods of data collection?Here are the top six data collection methods:. Interviews.. Questionnaires and surveys.. Observations.. Documents and records.. Focus groups.. Oral histories.. What are the 3 major methods of data collection?Under the main three basic groups of research methods (quantitative, qualitative and mixed), there are different tools that can be used to collect data. Interviews can be done either face-to-face or over the phone.
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