DATA COLLECTION methods

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 Data collection 2

• The process of gathering raw facts or evidence about a subject of interest in

a systematic way, that enables one to answer stated research questions and
evaluate outcomes.

• It can also be defined as gathering of information (figures, words or

responses) that describes some situation from which conclusions can be
drawn.

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 Data collection methods
3

Data-collection methods allow us to systematically collect information

about our objects of study (people, objects) and about the settings in which
they occur.

Data collection tools are instruments that are used hand in hand with the
data collection methods to collect/retrieve data.

To avoid confusion in the use of terms, the following table points out the
distinction between techniques and tools applied in data collection.

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 Data collection techniques and tools

Method Tools
• Administering written • Questionnaire, pens
questionnaires.

• Interviewing • Interview guide, notebook,

pens, recorder.
• Observation • Eyes and other senses,
pen/paper, microscope, camera
• Using available information • Check lists, data compilation
forms.
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Approaches to data collection

• There are two major approaches to gathering information about a

situation, person, problem or phenomenon.

• Sometimes, information required is already available and need

only to be extracted.

• However, there are times when the information must be collected

fresh from field.

• Based upon these two broad approaches to information gathering,

data in scientific research are categorized as;

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Types of data

Secondary data
Primary data

Secondary data: Data that previously may have been collected for
other purposes but can be used in the immediate study.

Examples of secondary sources include the use of population

census data to obtain information on age-sex structure of a
population, use of organizations‘ records, use of hospitals records,
and collection of data from sources such as journals, magazines,
books and other periodicals.


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 Primary data
• Primary data: Raw data that has been originally collected by the
researcher specifically for the study at hand.

• Examples of information from primary sources include;

interviewing community inhabitants to find out their attitudes
towards health services, using questionnaires to determine the
level of job satisfaction of employees in an organization,
observing students behaviors in class etc

• In conclusion, primary sources provide first hand data and

secondary sources provide second hand data.

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 Personal reading

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of;

• Primary data
• Secondary data

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Data collection methods

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 The questionnaire
• A questionnaire is a written list of questions, the answers to which
are recorded by respondents.

• In questionnaire respondents read the question, interpret what is

expected and the write down the answers.

• Unlike an interview guide in which the researcher may explain the

meaning of some questions, in the case of questionnaire, there is
no one to explain the meaning of questions to respondents.

• Therefore questions in a questionnaire must be clear and easy to

understand.
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 Ways of administering a questionnaire
• A questionnaire can be administered in different ways..
• A mailed questionnaire – one approach to collecting information is
to send the questionnaire to prospective respondents by mail.
Obviously, this method presupposes that you have access to their
address. One of the major problem with this approach is the low
response rate.

• Collective administration – one of the best ways of administering

questionnaires is to obtain a captive audience such as students in a
class room, people attending a function, or people assembled in one
place. This ensures a high response rate as you will find very few
people refusing to participate in your study.

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 Contents of a questionnaire cover letter
• It is essential that you write a cover letter to accompany your
questionnaire. It should very briefly:
• Introduce you and the institution you are representing.
• Describe in two or three lines the main objective of the study.
• Convey any general instructions.
• Assure respondents of the anonymity of the information
provided by them.
• Provide a contact number incase they have questions.
• Thank them for their participation.

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 Questionnaires…

Advantages Disadvantages
•Less expensive to administer mostly •Limited application.
if the collective method is used.
•Able to collect information from a •Lack of opportunity to clarify issues.
larger sample.
• it offers greater anonymity. •Low response rate.

•It is not possible to consult others.

• Spontaneous responses may not be

possible mostly if it’s a mailed
questionnaire.

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 Forms of questions in a questionnaire
• In a questionnaires, questions may be formulated as;
• Closed ended or
• Open ended
• In a closed-ended question, the possible answers are set out in
the questionnaire and the respondent ticks the category that best
describes the respondents answer. E.g.
• Please tick the type of research you would love to undertake.
Applied research Basic Research descriptive research quantitative
• In open ended questions, the possible responses are not given.
The respondent writes down the answers in his/her words. E.g.
• Please explain why you opted for a Bachelors degree in Information
technology?

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 Considerations in formulating questions

• The wording and the tone of your question is important

because the information and its quality largely depend
upon these factors.

• It is therefore important to be careful about the way you

formulate questions.

• Some considerations to keep in mind when formulating

questions are as follows;

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Considerations in formulating questions

• Always use simple and everyday language. Take extra

care to use words that your respondents will
understand as you may no have the opportunity to
explain questions to them. Words like; “is anyone in
your family a dipsomaniac” may be hard for
respondents to interpret.

• Do not ask double barrelled questions. A double

barrelled question is a question within a question. E.g.
“How often and how much time do you spend in the
computer lab”?

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Considerations in formulating questions

• Do not ask leading questions – these are

questions in which, by their nature, contents,
structure or wording leads a respondent to
answer in a certain direction. E.g.
“unemployment is increasing at a very high
rate isn’t it” or “smoking is bad isn’t it?”

• The order of questions also matters. Questions

should follow a logical progression based upon
the objectives of the study.
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 When to use a questionnaire?
• When resources and money are limited.

• When it is necessary to protect the privacy of the participants.

• When you want to collect data from a relatively bigger population.

• Etc..

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