FINDING ANSWERS

THROUGH DATA
COLLECTION
Prepared by Ferdinand MaKenJi Velacruz Escalante
• In a qualitative research, your interest lies in people’s
thoughts and feelings about a certain subject matter.
• Your curiosity about such topic bombards your mind with
several questions.
• Finding answers to your questions is possible through these
theoretically based data-collection methods: observation,
interview, or survey through questionnaires.
• Obtaining data through these methods requires you to
perform necessary skills or strategies and to follow the right
procedure in observing, interviewing, and conducting a
survey through questionnaires.
OBSERVATION
• Observation is a technique of gathering data whereby you
personally watch, interact, or communicate with the
subjects of your research.
• It lets you record what people exactly do and say in their
everyday life on Earth.
• Through this data gathering technique, proofs to support
your claims or conclusions about your topic are obtained in
a natural setting.
• Witnessing the subjects manages themselves in a certain
situation and interpreting or expressing your thoughts and
feelings about your observation, you tend to deal with the
observation results in a subjective manner.
• Watching and listening to your subjects then recording what
you’ve observed about them are the reasons many
consider observation the foundation of all research
methods.
• Observation is the central method in qualitative types of
research, most especially, ethnography, in which you
observe the lifestyle of a cultural group. (Letherby 2013;
Snort 2013)
 2 TYPES
1. Participant Observation
• The observer, who is the researcher, takes part in the activities of
the individual or group being observed. Your actual involvement
enables you to obtain firsthand knowledge about the subjects’
behavior and the way they interact with one another.
• To record your findings through this type of observation, use the
diary method or logbook.
• The first part of the diary is called descriptive observation. This
initial part of the record describes the people, places, events,
conversation, and other things involved in the activity or object
focused on by the research.
• The second part of the diary is called the narrative account that
gives your interpretations or reflections about everything you
observed.
2. Non-participation or Structured Observation
• This type of observation completely detaches you from the
target of your observation.
• You just watch and listen to them do their own thing, without you
participating in any of their activities.
• Recording of nonparticipation observations happens through
the use of a checklist. Others call this checklist as an observation
schedule.
• These two observation types, participation and non-participation, can
occur in either of the covert or overt observation models. The first lets
you observe the subjects secretly; that is, you need to stay in a place
where the subjects don’t get sight of or feel your presence, much less,
have the chance to converse with you. The second permits you to
divulge things about your research to the participants. (Birks 2014)
 METHODS OF OBSERVATION
• 1. Direct Observation
• This observation method makes you see or listen to everything
that happens in the area of observation. For instance, things
happening in a classroom, court trial, street trafficking, and the
like, come directly to your senses.
• Remember, however, that to avoid waste of energy, time, and
effort in observing, you have to stick to the questions that your
research aims at answering.
• What you ought to focus your attention to during the
observation is specified by your research problem in general as
well as your specific research questions.
• 2. Indirect Observation
• This method is also called behavior archaeology because,
here, you observe traces of past events to get information
or a measure of behavior, trait, or quality of your subject.
• Central to this method of observation are things you listen to
through tape recordings and those you see in pictures,
letter, notices, minutes of meetings, business
correspondence, garbage cans, and so on.
• Indirect observation takes place in the following ways.
(Peggs 2013; Maxwell 2012)
 METHODS OF INDIRECT
OBSERVATION
• 1. Continuous Monitoring or CM
• Here, you observe to evaluate the way people deal with
one another.
• As such, this is the main data gathering technique used in
behavioral psychology, where people’s worries, anxieties,
habits, and problems in shopping malls, play areas, family
homes, or classrooms serve as the focus of studies in this field
of discipline.
• 2. Spot Sampling
• Named also as scan sampling or time sampling.
• Spot sampling comes in two types: time allocation (TA) and
experience sampling.
• In TA sampling, what goes into the record are the best activities
of people you observed in undetermined places and time.
• Experience sampling, on the other hand, lets you record
people’s responses anytime of the day or week to question their
present activities, companions, feelings, and so on.
 ADVANTAGES
• 1. It uses simple data collection technique and data recording
method.
• 2. It is inclined to realizing its objectives because it just depends
on watching and listening to the subjects without experiencing
worries as to whether or not the people will say yes or no to your
observation activities.
• 3. It offers fresh and firsthand knowledge that will help you come
out with an easy understanding and deep reflection of the data.
• 4. It is quite valuable in research studies about organizations that
consider you, the researcher, a part of such entity.
 DISADVANTAGES
• 1. It requires a long time for planning.
• 2. Engrossed in participating in the subjects’ activities, you may eclipse or
neglect the primary role of the research.
• 3. It is prone to your hearing derogatory statements from some people in the
group that will .lead to your biased stand toward other group members
 DIRECTIONS:
EXPRESS YOUR AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT ON
EACH SENTENCE. JUSTIFY YOUR
ANSWER.
1. You may observe a group openly or secretly.
2. Interview can be a replacement for observation.
3. Observation can be enhanced by interviews.
4. Hurting people is possible through observation.
5. You can both be objective and subjective in research.
6. There is only one observation method.
7. The basis of all research types is observation.
8. Secondary data is supremely important in observation.
9. You can use covert observation in both observation types.
10. You can go covert and overt in all observation types.
 DIRECTIONS: WHICH AMONG THESE TOPICS CAN
LEND ITSELF TO OBSERVATION TECHNIQUE?
EXPLAIN YOUR CHOICE.

• 1. K-12 Goals, Theories, and Methodologies

• 2. Historical Development of Cell Phones
• 3. Philippine Bridges in Metro Manila
• 4. Shoe Styles of UST Freshmen Architectural Students
• 5. Human Respiratory System
• 6. First Friday Mass with Quiapo Devotees
• 7. Playground Bullying among Elementary Pupils
• 8. Molecular Contents of Water
• 9. Uniform Wearing by All Divisoria Vendors
• 10. Dirty Ice Cream Selling at UST Campus