Selection and Development of Tools

Data Collection

Rejeena subedi / M.Sc Nursing 2017 1

 Objectives
At the end of this session participants will be able to:
• Explain the tips for developing questionnaire.
• Explain the rating scale.
• Explain checklist.

Rejeena subedi / M.Sc Nursing 2017 2

 Developing Questionnaire
• Tips for wording questions
• Tips for Preparing Response Alternatives
• Tips for Formatting an Instrument

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Tips for Wording Questions
Four important considerations
Clarity: . Questions should be worded clearly and unambiguously.

Ability of the respondents to give information: Consider whether

respondents can be expected to understand the question.

Bias: worded in a manner that will minimize the risk of response

biases.

Sensitivity: Especially when asking questions of a private nature.

Tips for Wording questions cont…
Clarify in your own mind the information you are trying to
obtain.
The question, "When do you usually eat your evening meal?”
might elicit such responses as “around 6 PM,” or “when my
son gets home from soccer practice,” or “when I feel like
cooking.”
State questions in the positive rather than the negative words.
Negative words such as never, except can be overlooked and
the respondent will answer the exact opposite of an intended
response.
Tips for Wording questions cont…
Avoid long sentences and technical terms (e.g., parity) if
more common terms (e.g., number of children) are equally
appropriate.

Use words that are simple enough for the least educated
respondents. Don’t assume that even nurses have extensive
knowledge on all aspects of nursing and medical terminology.
Tips for Wording questions cont…
Avoid “double-barreled” questions that contain two distinct
ideas.

- "How satisfied are you with your pay and job conditions?“

- "How often and how much time do you spend on each visit to a
hospital?"
Tips for Wording questions cont…
Do not assume that respondents will be aware of, or
informed about, issues or questions in which you are
interested.
(e.g., ―Many people don’t have chance to learn much about
factors that increase the risk of asthma. Do you know any
contributing factors?‖).

Another approach is to preface a question by a short

statement of explanation about terminology or issues.
Tips for Wording questions cont…

For questions that deal with controversial opinions or socially

unacceptable behavior, closed-ended questions may be preferred.

e.g., excessive drinking habits, homosexuality.

Tips for Wording questions cont…
Avoid impersonal wording of a question to minimize
embarrassment and encourage honesty.

a. ―I am personally dissatisfied with the nursing care I

received during my hospitalization,‖.
b. ―The quality of nursing care in this hospital is
unsatisfactory.‖

- Here a respondent might feel more comfortable admitting

dissatisfaction with nursing care in the less personally worded
second question.
Tips for Preparing Response Alternatives
• If closed-ended questions are used, researchers also need to
develop response alternatives.

Responses options should cover all significant alternatives. As a

precaution, researchers often have one response option, a phrase
such as ―other—please specify.‖
Tips for Preparing Response Alternatives
Alternatives should be mutually exclusive.

- Eg. 30 years or younger, 30–40 years, 40–50, or 50 years or

older is not mutually exclusive.

Response alternatives should be brief.

Response alternatives should be about equal in length.

Tips for Formatting an Instrument
• The appearance and layout of an instrument may seem a matter
of minor administrative importance.

• The format is especially important in questionnaires because

respondents typically do not have a chance to seek assistance.
 Tips for Formatting an Instrument cont…

Try not to compress too many questions into too small space. The
spacing of questions influences the appearance of the instrument.
Adequate margin and spacing is needed. An extra page of questions
is better than a form that appears cluttered and confusing.

However, if the questionnaire seems too long, potential respondents

may become discouraged and either discard or fail to answer all of the
questions.
Tips for Formatting an Instrument cont…

Questionnaire should be neat in appearance, grammatically

correct with no typing or spelling errors.

Response alternative are usually aligned vertically.

In questionnaires, respondents can be asked either to circle

their answer or to place a check in the appropriate box.

Rejeena subedi / M.Sc Nursing 2017 15

Tips for Formatting an Instrument cont…
Avoid forcing all respondents to go through inapplicable questions
in an SAQ.

- ―If you are a member of the American Nurses Association, for how
long have you been a member?‖ Nonmembers may not be sure how
to handle this question and may be annoyed at having to read through
irrelevant material.
Checklist
 Checklist

• A check list is a two dimensional matrix in which a

series of questions is listed on one dimension and
response option are listed on the other.

• It is one of the most commonly used instruments for

performance evaluation.
Checklist cont…
• Checklist can be self reported or observed one .

• In self reported checklist participant has to fill the absence or

presence of trait.

• In observed checklist observer has to fill the presence or

absence of incident.
Checklist cont…

• It enables the observer to note only whether or not a trait is

present.

• It consists of a listing of steps, activities and behaviours .

• The observer has to judge whether certain behaviour has

taken place.
Example of Checklist
Yes No
Has someone ever yelled at you ?
Has someone ever tried to control your every
move?
Has someone ever threatened with physical
harm?
Has anyone ever hit, slapped, kicked or
physically harmed you?
Example of participant checklist
Tips for constructing a good checklist
• Select clear and unambiguous statement.

• Divide the items on the basis of dimensions for better

understanding and comprehensiveness, ie. attributes related to
sign and symptoms of HIV/AIDS, treatment and health
education should be put under their related domains.
• Avoid double negative and double barred statements.
• Try to avoid technical term and jargon and abbreviation.
• Items must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive in nature.
Rating Scale
Rating Scale

• It not only states the absence and presence of certain trait or

behavior but also describes the quality and quantity of such
characteristics in some extent.

Rejeena subedi / M.Sc Nursing 2017 25

Rating Scale
• Rating scale refers to a scale with a set of opinion, which
describes varying degree of the dimensions of an attitude
being observed.

• It is a tool that requires the observer to rate some phenomena

in terms of point along a descriptive continuum.

Rejeena subedi / M.Sc Nursing 2017 26

Example of Rating Scale

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Types of Rating scale

1) Numeric rating scale

2) Descriptive scale
3) Graphic rating scale
Numeric Rating Scale

• This is the one of the simplest types of scale where the rater
has to simply mark the number representing some qualitative
judgments.
Descriptive Rating Scale
• This type of scale is generally the most desirable type of scale
to use.

• It describes the observed attribute to some extent.

• Such specific descriptions contribute to a greater objectivity

of rating process.
Graphic Rating Scale
• In graphic rating scale, a variable is described on a continum
from one extreme to another such as low to high or most to
least.

• The points of the continum are ordered in equal intervals, and

are assigned numbers.

• Most points have description to help respondents locate their

correct position on the scale.
Example of Graphic Rating Scale
Selection and Development of Tools
Data Collection

Rejeena subedi / M.Sc Nursing 2017 35

Objectives
At the end of this session participants will be able to:
• Explain the anecdotal record.
• Explain the attitude scale.
• Explain the visual analog scale
Anecdotal record
• An anecdotal record is an observation that is written like a
short story.

• They are descriptions of incidents or events that are important

to the person observing.

• They should contain a factual descriptions of what happened,

when it happened, and under what circumstances the
behavior occurred.
Anecdotal record cont…

• Anecdotal records should be short, objective and as accurate

as possible.

• The interpretations and recommended action should be noted

separately from the description.

• Each anecdotal record should contain a record of a single

incident.
Attitude scales
• Attitude scales are self report data collection instruments that
ask respondents to report their attitudes or feelings on a
continuum.

• They show the person’s positive or negative attitude towards

any concept.
Attitude scales cont…
• Attitude scales are measurements directed towards
quantifying the qualitative attributes, such as feeling, attitude,
self concept, perceptions, beliefs, etc.

• Scales are used to discriminate quantitatively among people

with different attitudes, symptoms, conditions and needs.
Attitude scales cont…
• The attitude scale that are commonly used are :

1) Likert scale
2) Semantic differential scale.
Likert Scale

 Likert scale was named after a psychologist Rensis Likert, who

developed it in 1932 as a psychologic concept measurement
scale.

 A Likert scale consists of several declarative items that express

a viewpoint on a topic.

It is a method for measuring positive or negative response to

statement.
Likert scale cont…
• Scale usually contain odd numbers of options, usually 5 or 7
points.

• One end is labled as most positive and other end is labled as

most negative with the lable of neutral in middle of scale.

• Likert scale is used to measure attitude, values, and feelings

of the people that involve summation of scores on the set of
positive and negative declarative statements.
Likert scale…

Likert used five categories of agreement/disagreement

1) Strongly disagree
2) Disagree
3) Neither agree nor disagree
4) Agree
5) Strongly agree
Likert scale cont…
• Some researcher prefers seven-point scales, adding the
alternatives ―slightly agree‖ and ―slightly disagree.‖

• There are also diverse opinions about including an explicit

―uncertain‖ category.

• Some argue that this option makes the task more acceptable
to people who cannot make up their minds or have no strong
feelings about an issue.
Semantic differential scale
• The semantic differential scale measures the connotative
meaning of things.

• For example, while the word “heart” is defined as the organ

that pumps blood around the body, it’s connotative meaning
is love or heartache.

• The scale is used in surveys to gauge people’s feelings

towards a particular subject.
 Denotation vs. Connotation
• Denotation is the exact meaning of a word. It’s what you would
find if you looked in a dictionary. Examples :
- Diamond: a precious, clear and colorless stone made from pure
carbon.
- Lion: a large, fawn-colored cat that lives in prides.
• Connotation is an idea or a feeling that the word invokes . The
above words have many implied meanings in pop culture and
literature, including:
- Diamond: anyone who stands out and ―shines.‖
- Lion: bravery.
Semantic differential scale cont…

• The scale consists polar adjectives ( opposite meaning terms) at

each end with a 5- 7 point scale between them.

• The subject are asked to indicate their attitude about some

concept along a continuum between two adjectives.
 Example of semantic differential scale
• Each item below concerns characteristics of nurse. Please place
(√) at the place which you believe the closest to describing your
evaluation.
very somewhat Neither Somewhat Very

1.Friendly 1.Unkind

2.Sensitive 2.Insensitive

3.Caring 3.Uncaring

4.Flexible 4.Inflexible

5.Helpful 5.Unhelpful

6.Fair 6.Unfair
Semantic differential scale…
• Seven point scales are usually preferred, providing a neutral
mid-point.

• Neutral answers can indicate apathy, indecisiveness,

irrelevance (or lack of clarity), and the intensity of the
judgement is reflected in the distance from this mid-point.
Visual analogous scale
• Visual analogue scales (VAS) are used to measure subjective
experiences such as pain, fatigue, nausea, and dyspnea.

• The VAS is a straight line, the end anchors of which are

labeled as the extreme limits of the sensation or feeling being
measured.
Visual analogous scale…

• Subjects are asked to mark a point on the line corresponding

to the amount of sensation experienced.

• Visual analogous is a tool that is used to assist a person in

rating the intensity of certain feelings and sensations.
Visual analogous scale…
Q- sorts

• In a Q-sort study, participants are presented with a set of

cards on which words, statements, or other messages are
written.

• Participants are asked to sort the cards along a particular

dimension, such as approve/disapprove, or highest
priority/lowest priority.
Q- sorts
• The number of cards is typically between 60 and 100. Those
cards are sorted out in 9 – 11 piles with few numbers of cards
placed in each pile.

• Some critics argue that the forced distribution of the cards

according to researchers’ specification is artificial and
excludes information about how participants would ordinarily
distribute their responses.
Q- sorts…
Q- sorts…
Vignettes

• Vignettes rely on self-reports by participants, but involve a

stimulus.

• Vignettes are brief descriptions of events or situations to

which respondents are asked to react.
Vignettes…
• The descriptions, which can either be fictitious or based on
fact, are structured to elicit information about respondents’
perceptions, opinions, or knowledge about some
phenomenon.

• The number of vignettes included in a study normally ranges

from 4 to 10.
Vignettes…

• Finch (1987) describes vignettes as short stories about

hypothetical characters in specified circumstances to whose
situation the interviewee is invited to respond.

• The vignettes are usually written narrative descriptions, but

researchers have also used videotaped vignettes.
Vignettes…
• Sometimes the underlying purpose of vignette studies is not
revealed to participants, especially if the technique is used as
an indirect measure of attitudes, prejudices.
Example…
• In the first week of April, before Lavender died, Lieutenant
Jimmy Cross received a good-luck charm from Martha. It was a
simple pebble, an ounce at most. Smooth to the touch, it was a
milky white color with flecks of orange and violet, oval-shaped,
like a miniature egg. In the accompanying letter, Martha wrote
that she had found the pebble on the Jersey shoreline, precisely
where the land touched water at high tide, where things came
together but also separated. It was this separate-but-together
quality, she wrote, that had inspired her to pick up the pebble and
to carry it in her breast pocket for several days, where it seemed
weightless, and then to send it through the mail, by air, as a token
of her truest feelings for him. Lieutenant Cross found this
romantic. But he wondered what her truest feelings were, exactly,
and what she meant by separate-but-together.
Examples…
References
• Polit,D.F,Beck ,C.T (2012) Nursing research, 9th edition, Wolters
Kluwer.
• Basavanthappa BT.(2010) Nursing Research,2nd edition, jaypee.
• Sharma S.k.(2014) Nursing research and statistics, 2nd edition,
Elsevier.
• eqavet.eu/...data/Types_of_data_collection
• www.who.int/.../tools_data_collection/en