Chapter Three

Data Collection

Shiferaw Mitiku, PhD

Marketing Research Procedure
• The following are inter-related steps of Research:
1. Specifying research objectives
2. Preparing a list of needed information
3. Designing the data collection project
4. Selecting a sample type
5. Determining sample size
6. Organizing & carrying out the field work
7. Analyzing the collected data & report the findings
 What is Good Research?
Following the standards of the scientific method
– Purpose clearly defined
– Research process detailed
– Research design thoroughly planned
– Limitations frankly revealed
– High ethical standards applied
– Adequate analysis for decision-maker’s needs
– Findings presented unambiguously
– Conclusions justified
– Researcher’s experience reflected
* Standardized sources of marketing data
Secondary Research

Secondary Data
 Inexpensive
 May not be relevant
 May be old
Internal Sources
• Company Accounts
• Internal Reports and Analysis
• Stock Analysis
• Retail data - loyalty cards, till data, etc.
External Sources
• Government Statistics
• Trade publications
• Commercial Data
• Household Expenditure Survey
• Magazine surveys
• Other firms’ research
• Research documents – publications, journals, etc.
Overview on Data Management
 Data management cycle
Design Enumerators collect
questionnaire data in the field

Design
survey Manual checking,
Conception editing etc.
Reporting of results

Data entered
Data into computer
analysis

Computer data management

 PLANNING THE SURVEY
• Identify the relevant Indicators
• Check to ensure the existence of an appropriate Sampling
Frame
• Choose the Sample Design [Methodology]
• Determine the Sample size and the associated cost of the
survey
• Train data collectors
• Determine how to collect, process, and analyse the data
• Determine the work-plan closely linking it to the budget.
• Consider the financial, material, and human resource
available
 Data collection
• Data could be collected by:
• conducting a census Primary Source
• conducting a sample survey
• use of administrative records
• conducting experiments
• Observation
• Review of secondary sources
 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
Data collection techniques generate both qualitative and
quantitative data.
Qualitative techniques of data collection involve the
identification and exploration of a number of related
variables for in-depth understanding of the phenomena.

Quantitative techniques of data collection are used to

generate quantifiable data.

Qualitative data is often recorded in a narrative form.

 QUALITATIVE METHODS
• The qualitative methods most commonly used in
evaluation can be classified in three broad categories: 
– In-Depth interview
– Participant observation
– Direct observation
– Document/literature review
– FGD
– KPI
– Questionnaire
– schedule
 QUANTITATIVE METHODS
• Typical quantitative data gathering strategies include:
• Sales volume trending
• Rate of return on investment
• Market share analysis
• Demand and supply projecting
• Experiments/clinical trials.
• Observing and recording well-defined events
• Customer loyalty status checking
• Obtaining relevant data from management information
systems.
 COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS
STEPS
• Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data
Preparation)
• Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)
• Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential Statistics)
 DATA PREPARATION
• Checking the data for completeness accuracy
• Preparing data entry screen
• Entering the data into the computer
• Transforming the data
DATA PRESENTATTION AND DESCRIPTION

• Used to describe the basic features of the data in a study

Data Presentation Techniques

• Graphical
• Histograms
• Bar charts
• Pie charts
• Error bars
• Tabular
– Frequency tables
– Percentages
 TYPES OF STATICTICS
A- Descriptive statistics

B – Relational Statistics
• Univariate, bi-variate, and multi-variate analysis

C- Inferential statistics
• Branch of statistics devoted to making
generalizations.
 DATA DESCRIPTION

• They provide simple summaries about the

sample and the measures.
• Simply describing what is; what the data
shows
 DESCRIPTION … Contd

• Measures of Central Tendency

– Mean, median, mode

• Measures of Dispersion

– Variation (Std)
 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
• Investigate questions, models and hypotheses.

– Confidence Intervals

– Hypothesis testing
Measuring and scaling marketing data
 Measurement
To collect data, you need to have something to
measure

Measurement is the process of assigning

numbers or scores to characteristics or
attributes of the objects or people of interest
 Variables
• When we measure the attributes of an object, we
obtain a value that varies between objects.

• For example consider the people in this a class as

objects and their height as the attribute

• The attribute height varies between objects, hence

attributes are more collectively known as variables

• Variables can be measured on four different scales

 Nominal Scale
Classifies data according to a category only.
E.g., which color people select.
Colors differ qualitatively not quantitatively.
A number could be assigned to each color, but
it would not have any value.
The number serves only to identify the color.
No assumptions are made that any color has
more or less value than any other color.
 Nominal Scale

 Assign subjects to groups or categories

– Mutually exclusive
– Collectively exhaustive

 No order or distance relationship

 No arithmetic origin
 Only count numbers in categories
 Only present percentages of categories
 Chi-square most often used test of statistical
significance
 Other Examples
Sex Social status
Marital status Days of the week (months)
Geographic location Patrons per hour
Ethnic Group Types of restaurants
Brand choice Religion
Job Type: Executive, Technical, Clerical

Coded as “1” Coded as “2”

Which of the following media influences your purchasing decisions the most?
– 1 Television 2 Radio 3 Newspapers 4 Magazines
 Ordinal Scale
classifies nominal data according to some order or rank E.g. names ordered
alphabetically
With ordinal data, it is fair to say that one response is greater or less than
another.

Examples
The gap between the items is
GPA unspecified.
Small medium large
Quality
Likert scales, rank on a scale of
1..5 your degree of satisfaction
Women’s dress sizes
 Interval Scale
assumes that the measurements are made in
equal units.
i.e. gaps between whole numbers on the scale
are equal.
e.g. Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales
an interval scale does not have to have a true
zero. e.g. A temperature of "zero" does not mean
that there is no temperature...it is just an
arbitrary zero point.
Permissible statistics: count/frequencies, mode,
median, mean, standard deviation
 Ratio Scale
similar to interval scales except that the
ratio scale has a true zero value.
e.g. the time something takes
allows you to compare differences
between numbers.
Permits full arithmetic operation.
If a train journey takes 2 hr and 35 min,
then this is half as long as a journey which  height, weight, age,
takes 5 hr and 10 min.  Length
 time
 Income
 Market share
Types of Variables
• Independent
• Dependent
• Moderating
• Extraneous
• Intervening
Types of Variables
• Independent & Dependent
– Leadership style & Employee performance or Job
satisfaction
– Price of a product & Demand
• Independent
– Cause, Stimulus, Predictor, Antecedent
• Dependent
– Effect, Response, Criterion, Consequence
Types of Variables
• Moderating
– In each relationship there is one Independent Variable (IV)
& one Dependent Variable (DV)

• Four day work week (IV) will lead to higher productivity (DV)
– Moderating variable is a second independent variable that
has significant effect on the originally stated IV–DV
relationship
• Four day work week (IV) will lead to higher productivity (DV),
especially among young workers (MV)
Types of Variables
• Extraneous
– Infinite number of extraneous variables (EV) exist that
might effect the relationship
– Most of such variables have little or no effect on the given
situation and these may be ignored
– Others may have highly random occurrence as to have
little impact
– For productivity example: election of a new mayor, rainy
days, bird flu, strike etc
Types of Variables
• Intervening
– Intervening variable (IVV) is defined as a factor
which theoretically effects the observed
phenomenon but can not be seen measured or
manipulated
– Its effect can be inferred from the effects on the
observed phenomenon
• Four day work week (IV) will lead to higher productivity
(DV) by increasing job satisfaction (IVV)
 Characteristics of Good Measurement Scales

1. Reliability
• The degree to which a measure accurately captures an
individual’s true outcome without error; Accuracy
• synonymous with repetitive consistency
2. Validity
• The degree to which a measure faithfully represents the
underlying concept; Fidelity
• it measures what it is supposed to measure
 Face Validity
Criterion Validity
 Concurrent validity
 Predictive validity
 Convergent validity
 Accuracy of Measurements
Face Validity
– The extent to which the content of a measurement scale appears to tap
all relevant facets of the construct
Criterion Validity
– Based on empirical evidence that the attitude measure correlates with
other “criterion” variables
Concurrent validity
– Two variables are measured at the same time
Predictive validity
– The attitude measure can predict some future event
Convergent validity
– A form of construct validity that represents the association between the
measured construct and measures of other constructs with which the
construct is related on theoretical grounds
 SAMPLING

• A sample is “a smaller (but hopefully

representative) collection of units from a
population used to determine truths about that
population” (Field, 2005)

• Why sample?
– Resources (time, money) and workload
– Gives results with known accuracy that can be
calculated mathematically

• The sampling frame is the list from which the

potential respondents are drawn
 Types of Samples
• Probability (Random) Samples
– Systematic random sample
– Simple random sample
– Stratified random sample
– Multistage sample
– Multiphase sample
– Cluster sample
• Non-Probability Samples
– Convenience sample
– Purposive sample
– Quota
 SAMPLING…….

• 3 factors that influence sample representative-

ness
• Sampling procedure
• Sample size
• Participation (response)

• When might you sample the entire population?

• When your population is very small
• When you have extensive resources
• When you don’t expect a very high response
 THANK YOU

[email protected]
 Population definition…….
• Note also that the population from which the
sample is drawn may not be the same as the
population about which we actually want
information. Often there is large but not
complete overlap between these two groups due
to frame issues etc .
• Sometimes they may be entirely separate - for
instance, we might study rats in order to get a
better understanding of human health, or we
might study records from people born in 2008 in
order to make predictions about people born in
2009.
 SAMPLING FRAME
• In the most straightforward case, such as the
sentencing of a batch of material from production
(acceptance sampling by lots), it is possible to
identify and measure every single item in the
population and to include any one of them in our
sample. However, in the more general case this is not
possible. There is no way to identify all rats in the
set of all rats. Where voting is not compulsory,
there is no way to identify which people will actually
vote at a forthcoming election (in advance of the
election)
• As a remedy, we seek a sampling frame which has
the property that we can identify every single
element and include any in our sample .
• The sampling frame must be representative of the
population
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING

• A probability sampling scheme is one in which every

unit in the population has a chance (greater than
zero) of being selected in the sample, and this
probability can be accurately determined.

• . When every element in the population does have the

same probability of selection, this is known as an
'equal probability of selection' (EPS) design. Such
designs are also referred to as 'self-weighting'
because all sampled units are given the same weight.
 PROBABILITY SAMPLING…….

• Probability sampling includes:

• Simple Random Sampling,
• Systematic Sampling,
• Stratified Random Sampling,
• Cluster Sampling
• Multistage Sampling.
• Multiphase sampling
 NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING
• Any sampling method where some elements of population
have no chance of selection (these are sometimes
referred to as 'out of coverage'/'undercovered'), or
where the probability of selection can't be accurately
determined. It involves the selection of elements based
on assumptions regarding the population of interest,
which forms the criteria for selection. Hence, because
the selection of elements is nonrandom, nonprobability
sampling not allows the estimation of sampling errors..

• Example: We visit every household in a given street, and

interview the first person to answer the door. In any
household with more than one occupant, this is a
nonprobability sample, because some people are more
likely to answer the door (e.g. an unemployed person who
spends most of their time at home is more likely to
answer than an employed housemate who might be at
work when the interviewer calls) and it's not practical to
calculate these probabilities.
NONPROBABILITY SAMPLING…….

• Nonprobability Sampling includes:

Accidental Sampling, Quota Sampling and
Purposive Sampling. In addition,
nonresponse effects may turn any
probability design into a nonprobability
design if the characteristics of
nonresponse are not well understood, since
nonresponse effectively modifies each
element's probability of being sampled.
 SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING
• Applicable when population is small,
homogeneous & readily available
• All subsets of the frame are given an equal
probability. Each element of the frame thus
has an equal probability of selection.
• It provides for greatest number of possible
samples. This is done by assigning a number
to each unit in the sampling frame.
• A table of random number or lottery system
is used to determine which units are to be
selected.
SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING……..
• Estimates are easy to calculate.
• Simple random sampling is always an EPS design, but not all
EPS designs are simple random sampling.

• Disadvantages
• If sampling frame large, this method impracticable.
• Minority subgroups of interest in population may not be
present in sample in sufficient numbers for study.
 REPLACEMENT OF SELECTED UNITS

• Sampling schemes may be without replacement

('WOR' - no element can be selected more than
once in the same sample) or with replacement
('WR' - an element may appear multiple times in
the one sample).
• For example, if we catch fish, measure them, and
immediately return them to the water before
continuing with the sample, this is a WR design,
because we might end up catching and measuring
the same fish more than once. However, if we do
not return the fish to the water (e.g. if we eat the
fish), this becomes a WOR design.
 SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
• Systematic sampling relies on arranging the target
population according to some ordering scheme and then
selecting elements at regular intervals through that
ordered list.
• Systematic sampling involves a random start and then
proceeds with the selection of every kth element from
then onwards. In this case, k=(population size/sample
size).
• It is important that the starting point is not
automatically the first in the list, but is instead
randomly chosen from within the first to the kth
element in the list.
• A simple example would be to select every 10th name
from the telephone directory (an 'every 10th' sample,
also referred to as 'sampling with a skip of 10').
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING……
As described above, systematic sampling is an EPS method, because all
elements have the same probability of selection (in the example
given, one in ten). It is not 'simple random sampling' because
different subsets of the same size have different selection
probabilities - e.g. the set {4,14,24,...,994} has a one-in-ten
probability of selection, but the set {4,13,24,34,...} has zero
probability of selection.
 SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING……

• ADVANTAGES:
• Sample easy to select
• Suitable sampling frame can be identified easily
• Sample evenly spread over entire reference population
• DISADVANTAGES:
• Sample may be biased if hidden periodicity in population
coincides with that of selection.
• Difficult to assess precision of estimate from one survey.
 STRATIFIED SAMPLING
Where population embraces a number of distinct
categories, the frame can be organized into separate
"strata." Each stratum is then sampled as an
independent sub-population, out of which individual
elements can be randomly selected.
• Every unit in a stratum has same chance of being
selected.
• Using same sampling fraction for all strata ensures
proportionate representation in the sample.
• Adequate representation of minority subgroups of
interest can be ensured by stratification & varying
sampling fraction between strata as required.
 STRATIFIED SAMPLING……
• Finally, since each stratum is treated as an
independent population, different sampling
approaches can be applied to different strata.

• Drawbacks to using stratified sampling.

• First, sampling frame of entire population has to
be prepared separately for each stratum
• Second, when examining multiple criteria,
stratifying variables may be related to some, but
not to others, further complicating the design,
and potentially reducing the utility of the strata.
• Finally, in some cases (such as designs with a
large number of strata, or those with a specified
minimum sample size per group), stratified
sampling can potentially require a larger sample
than would other methods
STRATIFIED SAMPLING…….

Draw a sample from each stratum

 POSTSTRATIFICATION

• Stratification is sometimes introduced after the

sampling phase in a process called "poststratification“.
• This approach is typically implemented due to a lack
of prior knowledge of an appropriate stratifying
variable or when the experimenter lacks the
necessary information to create a stratifying variable
during the sampling phase. Although the method is
susceptible to the pitfalls of post hoc approaches, it
can provide several benefits in the right situation.
Implementation usually follows a simple random
sample. In addition to allowing for stratification on an
ancillary variable, poststratification can be used to
implement weighting, which can improve the precision
of a sample's estimates.
 OVERSAMPLING

• Choice-based sampling is one of the stratified

sampling strategies. In this, data are stratified
on the target and a sample is taken from each
strata so that the rare target class will be more
represented in the sample. The model is then
built on this biased sample. The effects of the
input variables on the target are often
estimated with more precision with the choice-
based sample even when a smaller overall sample
size is taken, compared to a random sample. The
results usually must be adjusted to correct for
the oversampling.
 CLUSTER SAMPLING
• Cluster sampling is an example of 'two-stage
sampling' .
• First stage a sample of areas is chosen;
• Second stage a sample of respondents within
those areas is selected.
• Population divided into clusters of homogeneous
units, usually based on geographical contiguity.
• Sampling units are groups rather than individuals.
• A sample of such clusters is then selected.
• All units from the selected clusters are studied.
 CLUSTER SAMPLING…….

• Advantages :
• Cuts down on the cost of preparing a
sampling frame.
• This can reduce travel and other
administrative costs.
• Disadvantages: sampling error is higher
for a simple random sample of same size.
• Often used to evaluate vaccination
coverage in EPI
 CLUSTER SAMPLING…….
• Identification of clusters
– List all cities, towns, villages & wards of cities with
their population falling in target area under study.
– Calculate cumulative population & divide by 30, this
gives sampling interval.
– Select a random no. less than or equal to sampling
interval having same no. of digits. This forms 1st
cluster.
– Random no.+ sampling interval = population of 2nd
cluster.
– Second cluster + sampling interval = 4th cluster.
– Last or 30th cluster = 29th cluster + sampling
interval
 CLUSTER SAMPLING…….
Two types of cluster sampling methods.
One-stage sampling. All of the elements
within selected clusters are included in
the sample.
Two-stage sampling. A subset of
elements within selected clusters are
randomly selected for inclusion in the
sample.
 CLUSTER SAMPLING…….
• Freq cf cluster • XVI 3500 52500 17
• I 2000 2000 1 • XVII 4000 56500 18,19
• II 3000 5000 2 • XVIII 4500 61000 20
• III 1500 6500 • XIX 4000 65000 21,22
• IV 4000 10500 3 • XX 4000 69000 23
• V 5000 15500 4, 5 • XXI 2000 71000 24
• VI 2500 18000 6 • XXII 2000 73000
• VII 2000 20000 7 • XXIII 3000 76000 25
• VIII 3000 23000 8 • XXIV 3000 79000 26
• IX 3500 26500 9 • XXV 5000 84000 27,28
• X 4500 31000 10 • XXVI 2000 86000 29
• XI 4000 35000 11, 12 • XXVII 1000 87000
• XII 4000 39000 13 • XXVIII 1000 88000
• XIII 3500 44000 14,15 • XXIX 1000 89000 30
• XIV 2000 46000 • XXX 1000 90000
• XV 3000 49000 16 • 90000/30 = 3000 sampling interval
Difference Between Strata and Clusters

• Although strata and clusters are both

non-overlapping subsets of the
population, they differ in several ways.
• All strata are represented in the
sample; but only a subset of clusters are
in the sample.
• With stratified sampling, the best
survey results occur when elements
within strata are internally
homogeneous. However, with cluster
sampling, the best results occur when
 MULTISTAGE SAMPLING

• Complex form of cluster sampling in which two or more levels of

units are embedded one in the other.

• First stage, random number of districts chosen in all

states.

• Followed by random number of talukas, villages.

• Then third stage units will be houses.

• All ultimate units (houses, for instance) selected at last step

are surveyed.
 MULTISTAGE SAMPLING……..

• This technique, is essentially the process of taking random

samples of preceding random samples.
• Not as effective as true random sampling, but probably
solves more of the problems inherent to random sampling.
• An effective strategy because it banks on multiple
randomizations. As such, extremely useful.
• Multistage sampling used frequently when a complete list of
all members of the population not exists and is inappropriate.
• Moreover, by avoiding the use of all sample units in all
selected clusters, multistage sampling avoids the large, and
perhaps unnecessary, costs associated with traditional
cluster sampling.
 MULTI PHASE SAMPLING

• Part of the information collected from whole sample & part from
subsample.

• In Tb survey MT in all cases – Phase I

• X –Ray chest in MT +ve cases – Phase II
• Sputum examination in X – Ray +ve cases - Phase III

• Survey by such procedure is less costly, less laborious & more

purposeful
 MATCHED RANDOM SAMPLING
A method of assigning participants to groups in which
pairs of participants are first matched on some
characteristic and then individually assigned randomly to
groups.
• The Procedure for Matched random sampling can be
briefed with the following contexts,
• Two samples in which the members are clearly paired, or
are matched explicitly by the researcher. For example,
IQ measurements or pairs of identical twins.
• Those samples in which the same attribute, or variable,
is measured twice on each subject, under different
circumstances. Commonly called repeated measures.
• Examples include the times of a group of athletes for
1500m before and after a week of special training; the
milk yields of cows before and after being fed a
particular diet.
 QUOTA SAMPLING

• The population is first segmented into

mutually exclusive sub-groups, just as in
stratified sampling.
• Then judgment used to select subjects or units from
each segment based on a specified proportion.
• For example, an interviewer may be told to sample 200
females and 300 males between the age of 45 and 60.
• It is this second step which makes the technique one of
non-probability sampling.
• In quota sampling the selection of the sample is non-
random.
• For example interviewers might be tempted to interview
those who look most helpful. The problem is that these
samples may be biased because not everyone gets a
chance of selection. This random element is its greatest
weakness and quota versus probability has been a matter
 CONVENIENCE SAMPLING
• Sometimes known as grab or opportunity sampling or accidental
or haphazard sampling.
• A type of nonprobability sampling which involves the sample being
drawn from that part of the population which is close to hand.
That is, readily available and convenient.
• The researcher using such a sample cannot scientifically make
generalizations about the total population from this sample
because it would not be representative enough.
• For example, if the interviewer was to conduct a survey at a
shopping center early in the morning on a given day, the people
that he/she could interview would be limited to those given there
at that given time, which would not represent the views of other
members of society in such an area, if the survey was to be
conducted at different times of day and several times per week.
• This type of sampling is most useful for pilot testing.
• In social science research, snowball sampling is a similar technique,
where existing study subjects are used to recruit more subjects
into the sample.
CONVENIENCE SAMPLING…….

– Use results that are easy to get

72
 Judgmental sampling or Purposive
sampling
• - The researcher chooses the sample
based on who they think would be
appropriate for the study. This is used
primarily when there is a limited number
of people that have expertise in the
area being researched
 PANEL SAMPLING

• Method of first selecting a group of participants through a

random sampling method and then asking that group for the same
information again several times over a period of time.
• Therefore, each participant is given same survey or interview at
two or more time points; each period of data collection called a
"wave".
• This sampling methodology often chosen for large scale or
nation-wide studies in order to gauge changes in the population
with regard to any number of variables from chronic illness to job
stress to weekly food expenditures.
• Panel sampling can also be used to inform researchers about
within-person health changes due to age or help explain changes
in continuous dependent variables such as spousal interaction.
• There have been several proposed methods of analyzing panel
sample data, including growth curves.
Questions???
 What sampling method u recommend?
• Determining proportion of undernourished
five year olds in a village.
• Investigating nutritional status of
preschool children.
• Selecting maternity records for the study
of previous abortions or duration of
postnatal stay.
• In estimation of immunization coverage in a
province, data on seven children aged 12-23
months in 30 clusters are used to
determine proportion of fully immunized
 Probability proportional to size sampling
• In some cases the sample designer has access to an "auxiliary
variable" or "size measure", believed to be correlated to the
variable of interest, for each element in the population. This
data can be used to improve accuracy in sample design. One
option is to use the auxiliary variable as a basis for
stratification, as discussed above.
• Another option is probability-proportional-to-size ('PPS')
sampling, in which the selection probability for each element
is set to be proportional to its size measure, up to a
maximum of 1. In a simple PPS design, these selection
probabilities can then be used as the basis for
Poisson sampling. However, this has the drawbacks of
variable sample size, and different portions of the population
may still be over- or under-represented due to chance
variation in selections. To address this problem, PPS may be
combined with a systematic approach.
•
Contd.
Example: Suppose we have six schools with populations of
150, 180, 200, 220, 260, and 490 students respectively
(total 1500 students), and we want to use student
population as the basis for a PPS sample of size three. To do
this, we could allocate the first school numbers 1 to 150,
the second school 151 to 330 (= 150 + 180), the third school
331 to 530, and so on to the last school (1011 to 1500). We
then generate a random start between 1 and 500 (equal
to 1500/3) and count through the school populations by
multiples of 500. If our random start was 137, we would
select the schools which have been allocated numbers 137,
637, and 1137, i.e. the first, fourth, and sixth schools.
• The PPS approach can improve accuracy for a given sample
size by concentrating sample on large elements that have
the greatest impact on population estimates. PPS sampling
is commonly used for surveys of businesses, where element
size varies greatly and auxiliary information is often
available - for instance, a survey attempting to measure the
number of guest-nights spent in hotels might use each
hotel's number of rooms as an auxiliary variable. In some
cases, an older measurement of the variable of interest can
 Event sampling
• Event Sampling Methodology (ESM) is a new form of
sampling method that allows researchers to study ongoing
experiences and events that vary across and within days in its
naturally-occurring environment. Because of the frequent
sampling of events inherent in ESM, it enables researchers to
measure the typology of activity and detect the temporal and
dynamic fluctuations of work experiences. Popularity of ESM
as a new form of research design increased over the recent
years because it addresses the shortcomings of cross-
sectional research, where once unable to, researchers can
now detect intra-individual variances across time. In ESM,
participants are asked to record their experiences and
perceptions in a paper or electronic diary.
• There are three types of ESM:# Signal contingent – random
beeping notifies participants to record data. The advantage of
this type of ESM is minimization of recall bias.
• Event contingent – records data when certain events occur
 Contd.
• Event contingent – records data when certain events occur
• Interval contingent – records data according to the passing of
a certain period of time
• ESM has several disadvantages. One of the disadvantages of
ESM is it can sometimes be perceived as invasive and intrusive
by participants. ESM also leads to possible self-selection bias.
It may be that only certain types of individuals are willing to
participate in this type of study creating a non-random
sample. Another concern is related to participant
cooperation. Participants may not be actually fill out their
diaries at the specified times. Furthermore, ESM may
substantively change the phenomenon being studied.
Reactivity or priming effects may occur, such that repeated
measurement may cause changes in the participants'
experiences. This method of sampling data is also highly
vulnerable to common method variance.[6]
 contd.
• Further, it is important to think about whether or not an
appropriate dependent variable is being used in an ESM
design. For example, it might be logical to use ESM in order to
answer research questions which involve dependent variables
with a great deal of variation throughout the day. Thus,
variables such as change in mood, change in stress level, or
the immediate impact of particular events may be best
studied using ESM methodology. However, it is not likely that
utilizing ESM will yield meaningful predictions when
measuring someone performing a repetitive task throughout
the day or when dependent variables are long-term in nature
(coronary heart problems).