Best Method Of Data Collection

QUESTIONNAIRE IS THE BEST METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the
purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires can be
thought of as a kind of written interview. They can be carried out face to face, by
telephone, computer or post.
It is the best method because, Questionnaires provide a relatively cheap, quick
and efficient way of obtaining large amounts of information from a large sample
of people. Data can be collected relatively quickly because the researcher would
not need to be present when the questionnaires were completed. This is useful
for large populations when interviews would be impractical. Questionnaires can
be an effective means of measuring the behavior, attitudes, preferences, opinions
and, intentions of relatively large numbers of subjects more cheaply and quickly
than other methods. Often a questionnaire uses both open and closed questions
to collect data. This is beneficial as it means both quantitative and qualitative
data can be obtained. Further points why questionnaire is chose to be the best
method is as follows:
 It is also said that they can be economical. This means they can provide
large amounts of research data for relatively low costs. Therefore, a large
sample size can be obtained which should be representative of the
population, which a researcher can then generalize from.

 The respondent provides information which can be easily converted into

quantitative data (e.g., count the number of 'yes' or 'no' answers), allowing
statistical analysis of the responses.

 The questions are standardized. All respondents are asked exactly the same
questions in the same order. This means a questionnaire can be replicated
easily to check for reliability. Therefore, a second researcher can use the
questionnaire to check that the results are consistent.
 Rich qualitative data is obtained as open questions allow the respondent to
elaborate on their answer. This means the research can find out why a
person holds a certain attitude.

The fact of considering questionnaire over other methods is because other

methods have more disadvantages than questionnaire, some of the
reasons why other methods of data collection are not the best ones is
because the following points are absent in the other methods:
 Large amounts of information can be collected from a large number
of people in a short period of time and in a relatively cost effective
way.

 Can be carried out by the researcher or by any number of people

with limited affect to its validity and reliability.

 The results of the questionnaires can usually be quickly and easily

quantified by either a researcher or through the use of a software
package.

 Can be analyzed more scientifically and objectively than other forms

of research.

 When data has been quantified, it can be used to compare and

contrast other research and may be used to measure change.

 Positivists believe that quantitative data can be used to create new

theories and / or test existing hypotheses.
Best Method Of Sampling

STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING IS THE BEST METHOD OF SAMPLING

The population is first split into groups. The overall sample consists of some
members from every group. The members from each group are chosen randomly.

Example—A student council surveys 100100100 students by getting random

samples of 252525 freshmen, 252525 sophomores, 252525 juniors,
and 252525 seniors.

Why it's good: A stratified sample guarantees that members from each group will
be represented in the sample, so this sampling method is good when we want
some members from every group.

Stratified sampling is used to highlight differences between groups in a

population, as opposed to simple random sampling, which treats all members of
a population as equal, with an equal likelihood of being sampled which is not
accurate and precise like stratified sampling method.

The main points why stratified sampling method is used is as follows:

 The main advantage of stratified random sampling is that it captures key

population characteristics in the sample. Similar to a weighted average,
this method of sampling produces characteristics in the sample that are
proportional to the overall population. Stratified random sampling works
well for populations with a variety of attributes but is otherwise ineffective
if subgroups cannot be formed.

 Stratification gives a smaller error in estimation and greater precision than

the simple random sampling method. The greater the differences between
the strata, the greater the gain in precision.
 Stratified random sampling is superior to simple random sampling because
the process of stratifying reduces sampling error and ensures a greater
level of representation.

 When there is homogeneity within strata and heterogeneity between

strata, the estimates can be as precise with the use of stratified sampling
method.

The fact of considering stratified sampling method over other methods is

because other methods have more disadvantages than stratified sampling,
some of the reasons why other methods of data sampling are not the best
ones is because the following points are absent in the other methods:
 Stratified
random sampling is used when the researcher wants to highlight
a specific subgroup within the population. This technique is useful in such
researches because it ensures the presence of the key subgroup within
the sample.
 Researchers also employ stratified random sampling when they want to
observe existing relationships between two or more subgroups. With
a simple random sampling technique, the researcher is not sure whether
the subgroups that he wants to observe are represented equally or
proportionately within the sample.

 With stratified
sampling, the researcher can representatively sample even
the smallest and most inaccessible subgroups in the population. This
allows the researcher to sample the rare extremes of the given
population.

 Withthis technique, you have a higher statistical precision compared to

simple random sampling. This is because the variability within the
subgroups is lower compared to the variations when dealing with the
entire population.
Because this technique has high statistical precision, it also means that it
requires a small sample size which can save a lot of time, money and
effort of the researchers.