Methods of Data Collection

 Technique for physically obtaining data to be analyzed in

a research study
Most common methods of data collection
1. Tests
2. Questionnaires
3. Interviews
4. Focus groups
5. Observation
6. Constructed and secondary or existing data
  Advises researchers to
thoughtfully and strategically
mix or combine qualitative
and quantitative research
Fundamental methods, approaches,
procedures, concepts and
principle of other paradigm
mixed research characteristics in a way that
produces an overall design
with multiple and
complementary strengths and
nonoverlapping weaknesses
Kinds of mixing the six major methods of
data collection
1. Intermethod mixing – use of more than one method of data
collection in a research study; uses information from two or
more data collection methods
Examples:
 Collecting standardized test data and then collecting
qualitative interview data to provide a fuller picture of a
group teachers’ aptitude for teaching reading
 Finding a statistical relationship between parental social
class and the likelihood of children joining the middle school
band (perhaps higher social class is related to band
membership)
Kinds of mixing the six major methods of
data collection
2.Intramethod of mixing – use of s single method of data
collection to obtain a mixture of qualitative and quantitative
data; uses information collected by one method
Examples:
Using a mixed questionnaire – includes both open-ended
(exploratory) questions and standardized closed-ended items
- the open-ended part uses qualitative data and the closed-
ended part uses quantitative data
Major methods of data collection
1. Tests – used in quantitative research to measure attitudes,
personality, self-perceptions, aptitude and performance of
research participants; need to be tailored to the content or task
Examples – standardized tests for intelligence and personality,
achievement, preschool, aptitude and diagnostic tests

Tests may be mixed other methods in a research study

Example: Using school records, parent interviews, teacher
questionnaires, and standardized tests of achievement to
determine the relation ship of school and family mobility to
children’s academic achievement
Major methods of data collection
2. Questionnaires – self-report data collection instrument filled
out by each research participant
3. Interview – data collection method in which an interviewer
asks and interviewee questions
- Interviewer collects data from an interviewee
- Strengths of interviews is that a researcher can freely use
probes (prompts used to obtain response clarity or additional
information
Commonly used probes and abbreviations
Standard Interviewers Probe Abbreviations
used on
interviewer
Protocol
Repeat question (RQ)
Anything else? (AE or Else?)
Any other reason? (AO?)
How do you mean? (How mean?)
Could you tell me more about your thinking on that? (Tell more)
Would you tell me what you have in mind? (What in mind?)
What you mean? (What mean)
Why do you feel that way? (Why?)
Which would you be closer to the way you feel? (Which closer?)
Focus group interviews
 A type of group interview in which a moderator (working for
the researcher) leads a discussion with a small group of
individuals (e.g., students, teachers, teenagers) to examine,
in detail, how the group members think and feel about a topic
 Focus group because the moderator keeps the individuals in
the group focused on the topic being discussed
 Moderator generates group discussion through the use of open-
ended questions and acts as a facilitator of group process
 Focus groups are used to collect qualitative data that are in
the words of the group participants
Observation
 Watching of behavioral patterns of people in certain situations to
obtain information about the phenomenon of interest
 Researcher records the actual behavior rather than obtaining reports of
preferences or intended behavior
 Observational data are collected in two different types of environment:
1. Laboratory observation – done in the lab or other setting set up by
the researcher
Example – observing the behavior of children through a one way
window (a mirror on one side and a window through which the researcher
can observe on the other side) in the researcher’s laboratory
2. Naturalistic observation – observation done in real-world settings
Example – observing the behavior of children in their classrooms
Quantitative observation
 Involves the standardization of all observational procedures in
order to obtain reliable research data.
 It involves the standardization of each of the following:
1. who is to be observed – what kinds of people to be observed
(e.g., students, teachers)
2. what is to be observed – what variables are to be observed
(e.g., time on task or out-of-seat behavior)
3. when the observations are to take place – (e.g., during the
morning hour)
4. where the observations are to be carried out – (e.g., in the
laboratory, in the classroom, in the library or in the playground)
5. how the observations are to be done – involves training of the
observers so that they use the same procedures
 Quantitative observation may also involve observational
sampling techniques:
1. Time-interval sampling – observing during specific time
intervals in advance of the actual data collection (e.g.,
observing student behavior for the first 10 minutes of every
hour)
2. Event sampling – observing only after specific events
have occurred (e.g., observing the behavior of students in a
classroom after the teacher sends a student to the
principal’s office)
Qualitative observation
 Observing all potentially relevant phenomena and taking field
notes without specifying in advance exactly what is to be
observed
 Usually done for exploratory purposes
 Usually done in natural settings

Researchers record what they believe is important in their field

notes
Field notes – notes written by the observer during and after making
observations
The form of interaction or type of role taken by the researcher during
the conduct of a qualitative observation varies according to the
following:
a. Complete participant – researcher becomes a member of the group
being studied and does not tell the members they are being studied.
Example: Researcher spends a year teaching at a “ model school”
and during that year, he takes expensive field notes documenting what
he observes and experiences
b. Participant as observer – Researcher who spends extended time with
the group as an insider and tells members they are being studied
c. Observer as participant – takes on the role of an observer much more
than the role of a participant
d. Complete observer – fully takes on the role of outside observer
Visual Data
 Visual data collection – a process of collecting data using
visual sources such as photographs, drawings, graphics,
paintings, film and video
 Image – one of the richest methods of data collection (A
picture is worth a thousand words)
 Photographs are sometimes used as part of the
interviewing process
 Photo interviewing or photo elicitation uses visuals to
obtain additional information during interviews
Constructed and Secondary or Existing
Data
Constructed data - objects or things produced by research
participants during a research study such as drawings,
paintings, diaries, recordings, videos, and newly produced
personal documents
Secondary or existing data – data that were collected or
recorded, or left behind at an earlier time, usually by a
different person and often for an entirely different purpose
than the current research purpose at hand
Types of secondary data
 Documents – major type of secondary data; frequently used by
qualitative researches and by historical researchers
1. Personal documents – anything written , photographed or
recorded for private purposes. Examples: letters, diaries,
correspondence, family videos and pictures
2. Official documents – anything written, photographed, or
recorded by some type of public or private organization. Examples
– newspapers, educational journals and magazines, curriculum
guides, annual reports, minutes of school board meetings student
records, student work, books, published articles, speeches,
personnel files, videos such as news, programs and advertisements
Types of secondary data
 Physical data – Any material thing created or left by
humans that might provide information about a
phenomenon of interest to a researcher; mostly used by
social scientists
Examples: wear on floor tiles in museums, wear on
library books, soil from shoes and clothing, radio dial
settings, fingerprints, suits of armor, contents of people
trash
Physical data can also include instances of material
culture (e.g. clothes, buildings, books, billboards, etc.)
Types of secondary data
 Archived research data – data originally used for research
purposes and then stored for a possible later use
Examples: census data, social science research data
stored and kept by researchers or research-related
organizations