Chapter Three

Data Collection Methods

 Data refers to facts, figures, or information that can be

collected, analyzed, and used for various purposes.
There two types of data collection methods.
Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.
 Quantitative data: The data gathered in quantitative
research designs are quantifiable and statistical, using
counts and measures.
 Qualitative data: Data gathered in qualitative
designs are descriptive and deal with qualities. They
may consist of field notes, artifacts, peoples own
words, personal documents, or official documents.
 Data Types and Sources
1. Primary Data
• Primary Data refers to original data collected directly
from a source for a specific research purpose.
• This type of data is gathered first-hand and is often made
to meet the specific needs of the research project.
• It is most reliable data types.
• Primary data is crucial for researchers who need specific,
accurate, and relevant information.
• It is more relevance and directly addresses the research
question.
• Potentially higher quality as it is collected under
controlled conditions.
• Data is current and reflects the latest information.
 Cont.

Characteristics of Primary Data

• Originality: It is new and has not been previously published.
• Specificity: Collected for a specific research question or
hypothesis.
• Control: Researchers have control over the data collection
process.
• Accuracy: Typically more accurate and reliable as it is
collected directly from the source.
Disadvantages of Primary Data
• Cost: Can be expensive to collect due to the resources required.
• Time-Consuming: Requires significant time to design, collect,
and analyze.
• Complexity: May involve complex methodologies that require
expertise.
 Cont.
2. Secondary Data
 It refers to data that has been collected by someone other than the researcher for a
purpose different from the current research project.
 It used to supplement primary data or to provide context and background information.
 It is less expensive than collecting primary data and time-saving.
 but it has limitations regarding relevance and quality
• Characteristics of Secondary Data
 Pre-existing: Data has already been collected and published.
 Broad Scope: May cover a wide range of topics, often allowing for comparative
analyses.
 Less Control: Researchers have limited control over how the data was collected and
what methods were used.
• Sources of Secondary Data
 Published Research: Academic journals, books, and like that report on original
research.
 Government Reports: Official statistics and surveys published by government
agencies,
 analyses and reports from market research firms and trade associations,
 media Sources, articles, news reports, and other media that compile information on
various topics etc.
 Instruments of Primary Data Collection

Questionnaires
 Questionnaires are structured tools used to gather information
from respondents through a series of questions.
 They are widely utilized in research across various fields,
including social sciences, marketing, health studies, and more.
Types of Questionnaires
 Close end Questionnaires: These contain closed-ended
questions with predefined response options (e.g., multiple
choice, Likert scale).
 Open ended Questionnaires: Primarily open-ended questions
that allow respondents to answer in their own words.
 but it may restrict the richness of data.
 Respondents may misinterpret questions or provide socially
desirable answers.
 Interview
 is a qualitative data collection method that involves direct, face-to-face,
telephone or mail interaction between a researcher and a participant.
 This approach allows for in-depth exploration of topics and can provide rich,
nuanced insights into individual experiences, opinions, and motivations.
Types of Interviews
 Structured Interviews
• Follow a strict script with predetermined questions and a specific format.
• Standardized questions, closed questions and set order of questions.
 Semi-Structured Interviews
• It combines fixed questions (interview guideline) with the flexibility to
explore topics in more depth through follow-up questions.
• It also allows the interviewer to review interesting responses.
• Unstructured Interviews
• It is open-ended conversations that allow participants to guide the discussion.
It provides rich, qualitative data and deep insights and encourages
participants to share their thoughts freely.
 Focus Group Discussion

 are a qualitative research method where a small group of participants engages in a

guided conversation about specific topics.
 It used to gather diverse perspectives, generate ideas, and explore attitudes and
opinions in a collaborative environment.
 FGD are used as a research method to find out what groups of people think and how
they discuss ideas together.
 is not used to find out what each individual thinks or has experienced, but rather how
the group discusses the topic being researched. It used to get;
• Rich Data: The dynamic interaction among participants can lead to deeper insights
and a variety of perspectives.
• Idea Generation: Discussions can spark new ideas and solutions that may not emerge
in one-on-one settings.
• Social Interaction: Participants may feel more easy sharing their views in a group
context, leading to more candid responses. But its limitation are
• Dominance Issues: Some participants may dominate the conversation, leading to
imbalanced contributions.
• Groupthink: There is a risk that participants may conform to dominant opinions,
limiting the diversity of viewpoints.
• Data Analysis Complexity: Analyzing qualitative data from group discussions can be
more complex due to the rich and varied nature of the responses.
 Observation

 is a qualitative research method that involves systematically watching

and recording behaviors, events, or interactions in their natural settings.
 it allows researchers to gather data in real time and gain insights into
how subjects behave in context.
 Observation of behaviors, actions, activities and interactions is a tool
for understanding.
Types of Observation
• Participant Observation
The r/cher becomes part of the group or context being studied, actively
engaging with participants while observing their behaviors.
• It is a qualitative observational technique, which involves the observer
(researcher) in the activities of the group being observed.
• It provides in-depth understanding of the social context and dynamics.
• Allows for firsthand experience and insights that might not be
accessible through other methods.
 Cont.
Non-Participant Observation
• The researcher observes the subjects without participating in the
activities or interactions.
• It reduces the risk of influencing the behaviors of those being
observed.
• observation used to
 Rich Contextual Data
 Non-Interference
 Immediate Data
 Its limitation also
 Observer Bias
 interpretations may be influenced by their perspectives or
expectations.
 It may not capture underlying motivations or reasons for
behaviors without additional methods
 Collecting Secondary data

 involves gathering information that has already been collected, analyzed, and
published by other researchers or organizations. It collect from;
Published Research
• Include academic journals, articles, books, theses, and dissertations that report
on original research findings.
• Government Reports: Data and statistics published by government agencies.
• Media Sources: news reports, and other media that compile relevant
information.
• Conference Proceedings: Papers and presentations from academic or industry
conferences that provide insights into current research trends.
• it is less expensive
• Accessible immediately
• it enable historical data
But its limitation are:
 The data may not perfectly match the specific research question or objectives.
 Data may be outdated
 have no control over methodology
 Selection of appropriate method for data collection
• The choice depends on various factors, including;
 Research Objectives
• Define what you aim to achieve with your research. Are you exploring a new
phenomenon, testing a hypothesis, or evaluating a program?
• Determine if you need qualitative data (rich, detailed insights) or quantitative data
(numerical data for statistical analysis).
 Nature of the Research Question
• It also determines based on research question that are raised from specific
objectives. For descriptive questions, surveys or observational methods may be
appropriate.
 Target Population
• Researcher considers the demographics, location, and characteristics of the
population you want to study.
• Assess how easily you can access the target group.
 Resources Available
• Researchers evaluate how much time you have for data collection.
• Consider the financial resources available.
• Assess the skills of the research team. Some methods may require specific
expertise, such as statistical analysis or qualitative coding.
 Methods of data analysis
• There are two main types of data analysis methods. These
are qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis
methods.
1. Qualitative data analysis
 Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) is the range of processes
and procedures whereby we move from the qualitative data
that have been collected into form of explanation,
understanding or interpretation of the people and situations
we are investigating.
 It is process of arranging, understanding, presenting and
become meaningful of data that collected through different
methods and interpret in word.
 QDA is usually based on an interpretative philosophy. The
idea is to examine the meaningful and symbolic content of
qualitative data.
 Cont.
• There 15 (fifteen) types of qualitative data analysis methods. From these all the
five are widely used methods. Theses;
• A thematic analysis: is a process of segmentation, categorization and relinking
of aspects of the data prior to final interpretation. Classify(group) in to themes.
• Narrative Analysis: Narrative analysis could involve study of literature or
diaries or folklore. It used to analysis past trends, events and stories.
• Content Analysis (not very good with video and only qualitative in
development of categories. Originated with analyzing newspaper articles for
bias - counting things in print. Look at documents, text, or speech to see what
themes emerge.
• Discourse analysis (linguistic analysis of ongoing flow of communication):
used to analyze the video, different speeches and discourses.
• Ground theory: Theory arises from the data. It used to formulate new theory.
• steps and techniques are include;
- Data Collection - Interpretation
- Data Preparation - Themes Analysis (in to group
- Coding the Data - Reporting Findings
 Analyzing quantitative data
 Analyzing quantitative data involves systematic approaches to
extract meaningful insights from numerical information.
 It is a systematic process of both collecting and evaluating
measurable and verifiable data.
 It contains a statistical mechanism of assessing or analyzing
quantitative data
• There are two types of data analysis which are;
1. Descriptive Statistics:
• is a type of quantitative data analysis, is used to describe or
present data in an easily accessible, quantitative form.
• In other words, this analytical process is researcher analysis the
data by using simple mathematical tools like frequency, standard
deviation, tables, graphs and percentages.
• The statistical measurement is a preliminary phase of the
quantitative research, as it converts observations into numerical
figures.
 Cont.

There are four types of measurement scale:

• Nominal scales: It helps to organizing observation into restricted
groups.
 Data are measured by assigning a name to identify specific
categories.
• Ordinal scales: The ordinal scales are employed to arrange
research variables in accordance with their respective position in a
group.
 Data are measured according to rank.
 Data are compared and contrasted to determine those that are
greater than(>) compared to less than (<) within the data set.
• Interval scales: These scales through balanced intervals not only
measure but also signify the stage of a quality that a variable, an
individual or an object possesses.
• Ratio scales: The ratio scales also make use of the balanced
intervals to register measurements from a well-defined zero spot.
 Graphs and Tables

• Frequency tables with percentages give a numerical description of the

cases on a variable.
• A graph is actually a diagram that displays data.
• The graphs in quantitative research usually show the relationship
between two or more quantities, measurements or indicative numbers
 The Mean
• The Mean of a distribution is the arithmetic average. It is perhaps the
most familiar; most frequently used and well understood average. It is
computed by dividing the sum of all the observations by the total
number of observation. If x1 x2, x3, x4, ......... xn are the N
observations, the formula for computing the Mean (X) is given XI
+X2 +X3 +....... Xn
N
• If suppose 10, 12, 7, 6, 4, 10, 15 are the marks obtained by 7 students
in a test of Hindi, the Mean is Mean = M = 10+ 12+7+6+4+10+5 =64
M= 64/7 = 9.14
 The Median

• The Median is a point in an ordered arrangement of

observations, above and below which one-half of the
observations fall.
• It is a measure of a position rather than one of magnitude.
• When the number of observations (N) is odd, the mid-
observation is the Median.
• For example, 45 is the median of the marks 30, 31, 45,
48, 52 obtained by 5 students in a test of Mathematics.
• When the number of observations is even, the Median is
the mid-point between two middle observations.
• When the number of observations is even, the Median is
the mid-point between two middle observations.
• Eg 23,30, 45,50 md= 30+45/2= 37.5
 The Mode

• The mode is defined as the most frequently occurring observation in

a distribution. It is located by inspection rather than by computation.
• If there is only one value which occurs a maximum number of times,
then the distribution is said to have one mode or to be unimodal.
• In some distributions there may be more than one mode. A two mode
distribution is bimodal; more than two, multimodal.
• For example, in the series 19, 20, 21, 26, 28, 28, 29 and 31, the most
often recurring measure, namely, 28, is the crude or empirical mode.
• In grouped data distributions, the mode is assumed to be the mid
score of the interval in which the greatest frequency occurs.
The Range
• The range is the simplest measure of variability. It is the difference
between the highest and lowest observation and score. For example,
suppose the marks obtained by a group of 10 students in a test of
mathematics are: 90, 80, 72, 71, 70, 70, 69, 68, 60, and 50
• The range for this distribution will be (90 -50) + 1 = 41
 Inferential Statistics

• The inferential statistics is inductive in its approach and technique. It

allows researchers to generalize the findings drawn through a sample
to the whole of population.
• In other words, the researchers can generalize their findings related
to a specific faction to the entire population. The generalizations are
said to be reliable if the samples under investigation truly represent
the population from which they are taken.
• When we use the term advanced statistics we are referring to a
branch of statistics called inferential statistics.
• The type of inferential statistics, called parametric statistics,
involves estimating (or drawing inferences about), the parameters of
a distribution
• Parametric statistics requires that our dependent variable be
measured on an interval or ratio scale.
• Analysis of Variance, or ANOVA, ANCOVA, SPSS, Regression etc
are types of inferential statistics.
 The processes quantitative data analyses
1. Data Collection: Collect data through different instruments.
2. Data Preparation: Identify and correct errors, such as missing values, outliers, and
inconsistencies.
3. Descriptive Statistics: Calculate the mean, median, and mode to summarize data.
• Create frequency tables and histograms to visualize data distributions.
4. Inferential Statistics: testing the hypothesis and formulate null and alternative
hypotheses and use statistical tests
• Explore relationships between variables, using linear or logistic regression models.
5. Data Visualization
• Use bar charts, line graphs, scatter plots, and box plots to represent data visually and
identify trends.
6. Multivariate Analysis
• Compare means across multiple groups to identify significant differences.
• Group data points based on similarities to identify patterns.
7. Reporting Results
• Present by using tables, graphs, and concise summaries to present findings effectively
and discuss the implications of the results in relation to the research questions and
hypotheses.
• 8. Software Tools: Statistical Software: Utilize tools like SPSS, R, SAS etc.
 Chapter four
Research Report Writing
The structure and style of research reports
• The structure and style of research reports are essential for
effectively communicating findings.
• This final section focuses on reporting the research, after
the research proposal and plan has been implemented and
the research has been conducted.
• Research report is a condensed form or a brief description
of the research work done by the researcher.
• It involves several steps to present the report in the form
of thesis or dissertation.
• It entails describing and explaining how the research
results were obtained (i.e. the research process) and
explaining the results.