Data Collection Method

Dr. LUK LUK FUADAH. SE MBA Ak CA

 Interview
• An interview is a guided,
purposeful conversation
between two or more
people. There are many
different types of
interviews. Individual or
group interviews may be
unstructured or structured,
and conducted face to face,
by telephone, or online.
Unstructured interviews
• Unstructured interviews are so
labeled because the interviewer
does not enter the interview
setting with a
• planned sequence of questions to
be asked of the respondent. A
possible objective of an
unstructured interview
• is to bring some preliminary
issues to the surface so that the
researcher can determine what
factors need further
• in‐depth investigation.
 Structured interviews
Structured interviews are those conducted when it is known at the
outset what information is needed. The content of a structured interview
can be prepared in advance, and usually consists of:
 an introduction: the interviewer introduces him‐ or herself, the
purpose of the interview, assures confidentiality, asks permission to
record the interview;
 a set of topics (usually questions) in a logical order: first “warm‐up”
questions (which are easy to answer and non‐threatening) and then
the main questions covering the purpose of the interview;
 suggestions for probing questions (Box 7.2) : follow‐up questions
that are used when the first answer is unclear or incomplete, the
interviewer does not fully understand the answer, or in any other
case where the interviewer requires more specific or in‐depth
information.
 Face-to-face and telephone
interviews
• Telephone interviews are best suited when
information from a large number of
respondents spread over a wide geographic
area is to be obtained quickly, and the likely
duration of each interview is, say, ten minutes
or less. Many market surveys, for instance, are
conducted through structured telephone
interviews.
 Face-to-face interviews: advantages
and disadvantages
The main advantage of face‐to‐face or direct interviews is that the researcher
can adapt the questions as necessary, clarify doubts, and ensure that the
responses are properly understood, by repeating or rephrasing the questions.
The researcher can also pick up nonverbal cues from the respondent. Any
discomfort, stress, or problem that the respondent experiences can be
detected through frowns, nervous tapping, and other body language
unconsciously exhibited by her. This would be impossible to detect in a
telephone interview.
The main disadvantages of face‐to‐face interviews are the geographical
limitations they may impose on the surveys and the vast resources needed if
such surveys need to be done nationally or internationally. The costs of
training interviewers to minimize interviewer bias (e.g., differences in
questioning methods, interpretation of responses) are also high. Another
drawback is that respondents might feel uneasy about the anonymity of their
responses when they interact face to face with the interviewer.
 Telephone interviews: advantages
and disadvantages
The main advantage of telephone interviewing, from the researcher’s point of view, is
that a number of different people can be reached (if need be, across the country or
even internationally) in a relatively short period of time. From the respondents’
standpoint it eliminates any discomfort that some of them might feel in facing the
interviewer. It is also possible that most of them might feel less uncomfortable
disclosing personal information over the phone than face to face.
A main disadvantage of telephone interviewing is that the respondent could
unilaterally terminate the interview without warning or explanation, by hanging up
the phone. Caller ID might further aggravate the situation. This is understandable,
given the numerous telemarketing calls people are bombarded with on a daily basis.
To minimize this type of nonresponse problem, it is advisable to call the interviewee
ahead of time to request participation in the survey, giving an approximate idea of
how long the interview will last, and setting up a mutually convenient time.
Interviewees usually tend to appreciate this courtesy and are more likely to cooperate.
It is a good policy not to prolong the interview beyond the time originally stated. As
mentioned earlier, another disadvantage of the telephone interview is that the
researcher will not be able to see the respondent to read the nonverbal
communication.
 Additional sources of bias in
interview data

We have already discussed several sources of bias in data

collection. Biased data will be obtained when
respondents are interviewed while they are extremely
busy or are not in good humor. Responses to issues such
as strikes, layoffs, or the like could also be biased. The
personality of the interviewer, the introductory sentence,
inflection of the voice, and such other aspects could
introduce additional bias. Awareness of the many sources
of bias will enable interviewers to obtain relatively valid
information.
 Computer-assisted interviewing

With computer‐assisted interviews (CAI) questions are

flashed onto the computer screen and interviewers can
enter the answers of the respondents directly into the
computer. The accuracy of data collection is considerably
enhanced since the software can be programmed to flag
the “off base” or “out‐of‐range” responses. CAI software
also prevents interviewers from asking the wrong
questions or in the wrong sequence since the questions
are automatically flashed to the respondent in an ordered
sequence. This, to some extent, eliminates
interviewer‐induced bias.
 Computer-assisted interviewing
CATI (computer‐assisted
telephone interviewing)
• CATI, used in research organizations, is
useful inasmuch as responses to
surveys can be obtained from people all
over the world. The computer prompts
the questions with the help of software
and the respondent provides the
answers. The computer selects the
telephone number, dials, and places the
responses in a file. The data are
analyzed later. Computerized,
voice‐activated telephone interviews
are also possible for short surveys. Data
can also be gathered during field
surveys through handheld computers
that record and analyze responses.
CAPI (computer‐assisted personal
interviewing).
• CAPI involves rather big
investments in hardware and
software. CAPI has an advantage
in that it can be elf‐administered;
that is, respondents can use their
own computers to run the
program by themselves once they
receive the software and enter
their responses, thereby reducing
errors in recording. However, not
everyone is comfortable using a
personal computer and some
may not have access to one.
 Group interviews

• Interviews may be conducted on an individual

basis, but also on a group basis, where the
interviewer puts open
• questions to a group of participants. The term
“focus group” is used for a particular type of
group interview,
• where the topic is clearly defined and there is a
focus on facilitating discussion between
participants.
 Group interviews
• Focus groups consist typically of eight to ten members with a
moderator leading the discussions on a particular topic, concept, or
product. Members are generally chosen on the basis of their
familiarity with the topic on which information is sought. For
example, women with children may compose a focus group to
identify how organizations can help working mothers.

• An expert panel is a group of people specifically convened by the

researcher to elicit expert knowledge and opinion about a certain
issue. The criteria for qualification as an expert are many and
varied, but the expert panel usually comprises independent
specialists, recognized in at least one of the fields addressed during
the panel sessions. Expert panels may thus bring together a wide
variety of experts, including scientists, policy makers, and
community stakeholders.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF INTERVIEWS
Interviews are one method of obtaining data; they can be either
unstructured or structured, and can be conducted face to face, over
the telephone, or via the computer. Interviews may be conducted on
an individual basis, but also on a group basis. Unstructured interviews
are usually conducted to obtain definite ideas about what is, and is
not, important and relevant to particular problem situations.
Structured interviews give more in‐depth information about specific
variables of interest. To minimize bias in responses, the interviewer
must establish rapport with the respondents and ask unbiased
questions. The face‐to‐face interview and that conducted over the
telephone have their advantages and disadvantages, and both have
their uses in different circumstances. Computer‐assisted interviewing,
which entails heavy initial investment, is an asset for interviewing and
for the analysis of qualitative, spontaneous responses. Computer
interactive interviews have become an increasingly important mode of
data collection in recent years.
Data collection methods:
Observation
 Observation
Observation concerns the planned watching, recording, analysis, and
interpretation of behavior, actions, or events. Various approaches of
observation have been used in business research. These may be
distinguished by four key dimensions that characterize the way
observation is conducted:
(1) control (are the observations conducted in an artificial or in a
natural setting?),
(2) whether the observer is a member of the group that is observed
or not (participant versus nonparticipant observation),
(3) structure (to what extent the observation is focused,
predetermined, systematic, and quantitative in nature), and
(4) concealment of observation (are the members of the social group
under study told that they are being studied or not?).
 FOUR KEY DIMENSIONS
• Controlled observation occurs when observational research is
carried out under carefully arranged conditions.
• Uncontrolled observation is an observational technique that makes
no attempt to control, manipulate, or influence the situation.
• In the case of nonparticipant observation, the researcher is never
directly involved in the actions of the actors, but observes them
from outside the actors’ visual horizon, for instance via a one‐way
mirror or a camera.
• Participant observation is an approach that has frequently been
used in case studies, ethnographic studies, and grounded theory
studies. In participant observation the researcher gathers data by
participating in the daily life of the group or organization under
study
 FOUR KEY DIMENSIONS
• Formats for recording the observations can be specifically designed and
tailored to each study to suit the goal of that research. Structured
observation is generally quantitative in nature.
• Unstructured observation may eventually lead to a set of tentative
hypotheses that are tested in subsequent research that is deductive in
nature. Hence, inductive discovery via observation can pave the way for
subsequent theory building and hypotheses testing.
• Concealment of observation relates to whether the members of the social
group under study are told that they are being investigated. A primary
advantage of concealed observation is that the research subjects are not
influenced by the awareness that they are being observed. Indeed,
reactivity or the extent to which the observer affects the situation under
observation could be a major threat to the validity of the results of
observational studies.
• Unconcealed observation is more obtrusive, perhaps upsetting the
authenticity of the behavior under study.
 TWO IMPORTANT APPROACHES TO
OBSERVATION
Participant observation: introduction
• Earlier in this chapter we have explained that the researcher can
play one of two roles while gathering observational data: that of a
nonparticipant or a participant observer. A key characteristic of
participant observation is that the researcher gathers data by
participating in the daily life of the group or organization under
study.
The participatory aspect of participant observation
• Participant observation combines the processes of participation and
observation. Nonetheless, participant observation should be
distinguished from both pure observation and pure participation
(Bernard, 1994). Pure observation seeks to remove the researcher
from the observed actions and behavior; the researcher is never
directly involved in the actions and behavior of the group under
study. Pure participation has been described as “going native”;
 Where do data come from?
• We’ve seen our data for this lab, all nice and
collated in a database – from:
– Insurance companies (claims, medications,
procedures, diagnoses, etc.)
– Firms (demographic data, productivity data, etc.)
 Where do data come from?
• Take a step back – if we’re starting from
scratch, how do we collect / find data?
– Secondary data
– Primary data
 Secondary Data
• Secondary data – data someone else has
collected
– This is what you were looking for in your
assignment.
Secondary Data – Examples of Sources
• County health departments
• Vital Statistics – birth, death certificates
• Hospital, clinic, school nurse records
• Private and foundation databases
• City and county governments
• Surveillance data from state government programs
• Federal agency statistics - Census, NIH, etc.
 Secondary Data – Limitations
• What did you find on the frustrating side as
you looked for data on the state’s websites?
 Secondary Data – Limitations
• When was it collected? For how long?
– May be out of date for what you want to analyze.
– May not have been collected long enough for
detecting trends.
– E.g. Have new anticorruption laws impacted
Russia’s government accountability ratings?
 Secondary Data – Limitations
• Is the data set complete?
– There may be missing information on some
observations
– Unless such missing information is caught and
corrected for, analysis will be biased.
 Secondary Data – Limitations
• Are there confounding problems?
– Sample selection bias?
– Source choice bias?
– In time series, did some observations drop out
over time?
 Secondary Data – Limitations
• Are the data consistent/reliable?
– Did variables drop out over time?
– Did variables change in definition over time?
• E.g. number of years of education versus highest
degree obtained.
 Secondary Data – Limitations
• Is the information exactly what you need?
– In some cases, may have to use “proxy variables” –
variables that may approximate something you really
wanted to measure. Are they reliable? Is there correlation
to what you actually want to measure?
– E.g. gauging student interest in U.W. by their ranking on
FAFSA – subject to gamesmanship.
 Secondary Data – Advantages
• No need to reinvent the wheel.
– If someone has already found the data, take
advantage of it.
 Secondary Data – Advantages
• It will save you money.
– Even if you have to pay for access, often it is
cheaper in terms of money than collecting your
own data. (more on this later.)
 Secondary Data – Advantages
• It will save you time.
– Primary data collection is very time consuming.
(More on this later, too!)
 Secondary Data – Advantages
• It may be very accurate.
– When especially a government agency has
collected the data, incredible amounts of time and
money went into it. It’s probably highly accurate.
 Secondary Data – Advantages
• It has great exploratory value
– Exploring research questions and formulating
hypothesis to test.
 Primary Data
• Primary data – data you collect
 Primary Data - Examples
• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Questionnaires
• Personal interviews
• Experiments and observational study
 Primary Data - Limitations
• Do you have the time and money for:
– Designing your collection instrument?
– Selecting your population or sample?
– Pretesting/piloting the instrument to work out
sources of bias?
– Administration of the instrument?
– Entry/collation of data?
 Primary Data - Limitations
• Uniqueness
– May not be able to compare to other populations
 Primary Data - Limitations
• Researcher error
– Sample bias
– Other confounding factors
 Data collection choice
• What you must ask yourself:
– Will the data answer my research question?
 Data collection choice
• To answer that
– You much first decide what your research question
is
– Then you need to decide what data/variables are
needed to scientifically answer the question
 Data collection choice
• If that data exist in secondary form, then use
them to the extent you can, keeping in mind
limitations.
• But if it does not, and you are able to fund
primary collection, then it is the method of
choice.