Sources of Data and Research Tools

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Identify the different kinds of data in terms of sources.

2. Identify the general criteria for a research tool.
3. Identify the different research tools.
4. Explain the importance of a questionnaire, interview and observation in a research
study.

KINDS OF DATA IN TERMS OF SOURCES:

There are two kinds of data needed in researches in terms of sources. These are:

a. Documentary data. This refers to information which the researcher does not have at
hand in their generation. These are secondary data obtained from offices, hospitals,
agencies, government offices or those which are not obtained directly.

b. Empirical data. It refers to those obtained directly by the researcher himself, through
the different techniques, using surveys and questionnaires, personal interviews and
observations.

GENERAL CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH TOOL:

The criteria for a good research technique, instrument or tool are the following:

1. Validity. This is defined as the extent of which the procedure actually accomplishes
what it seeks to accomplish or what it seeks to measure, especially for tests. It is cons
considered as the most important characteristic of a good tool for research

2. Reliability. It refers to the extent a research tool elicits the same or similar results
whenever it is given. It also refers to the degree of consistency it can give the same
results, or that characteristic which describes the tool as possessing internal consistency
in terms of results of data on repeated use. It means the accuracy of data, their stability,
repeatability or precision.
 3. Sensitivity. It refers to the ability of an instrument to make discriminations required
for the research problem. When a test manifests both validity and reliability in
measuring and discriminating differences, then it is said that it possesses sensitivity.
4. Specificity. This is the capacity of a tool used in medical research to differentiate
diseases which maybe found and labelled negative against those who do not have the
disease.

5. Positive Predictive. This refers to the ability of a toll in medical research to note the
change, and a positive result is indicative of the disease.

6. Appropriateness. This is of a particular concern in view of its relationship to the

generalizability of data. The instrument is appropriate if the respondent group can
meet the demands of the instrument.

7. Objectivity. This refers to the degree to which the measure is independent of the
personal opinions, subjective judgment, biases and beliefs of the individual test user.

RESEARCH TOOLS

Research is a mixture of quantitative and qualitative inquiry. This is the reason why the researcher
needs to employ different techniques and various research tools to arrive at answers to his problems. One
of the most important component of the research design is the tool used to generate data. According to
Adanza, et. al., (2009), they noted that most of social researches makes use of the three types of research
tools such as the questionnaire, interview and observation.

1. Questionnaire
This is the most commonly and frequently used tool to generate data and this is sometimes
called the survey form. It refers to paper and pencil data gathering method by letting the respondent
complete the questionnaire before the researcher or his representative, or it can be mailed. It is an
inventory of pieces of information which the researcher anticipate to gather from a respondent.
There are two kinds of questionnaire:

1-1. Open – ended Questionnaire

This is one whose options in the items are not given or are not arranged. The
respondent answers the questions in his own way. The answer is entirely left to the
discretion of the respondent. Example:

Directions: Please answer the following questions:

1. Why did you enroll in the College of Hospitality Management?

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
2. What benefits will you gain in enrolling this course?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
 1-2. Close – ended Questionnaire

This type of questionnaire has options or answers that are enumerated where the
respondent just simply chooses his answer, either checking or encircling it from among the
choices. This type of questionnaire uses the Likert Scale and constructed with three or five
options. Example:

Directions: Encircle the number with the best answer using the following options:

Strongly agree - 5
Agree - 4
Not sure - 3
Disagree - 2
Strongly disagree - 1

1. The College of Hospitality Industry Management have strong group of faculty.

5 4 3 2 1

2. The college have complete facilities for laboratory subjects.

5 4 3 2 1

The following are the advantages of using questionnaire:

1. The researcher is not influenced by the personal comments and emotions of the
respondents.
2. The data are written and easy for computer editing and assessing.
3. Easy preparation for statistical tables.
4. Makes interpretation easy and convenient.

Criteria of a Good Questionnaire

Empirical studies resort to the use of questionnaires. In order to be a good source of data,
Adanza, et. al. (2009) said that it must have the following characteristics:

1. The language must be clear.

The language of the questionnaire should be clear and appropriate and should lead
the respondent to give specific responses. The intent of the question and the nature of the
information sought is clear to the respondent. The vocabulary, language structure, and the
conceptual level of the question should be suited to the abilities, levels and background of
the student (Sevilla, 1990).

2. The content of the question and the period involved must be specific.
An item in the questionnaire should elicit a single piece of information or a single
response. Asking the respondent to give multiple responses discourages him because of
 the complexity and this may lead him to give inaccurate information. Example: consider
the question: “What has been your most interesting experience in school?” This question
is clearly stated but the respondent will think even of his elementary school days. It will
be easier to answer if the question runs this way:
“What is your most interesting experience in your fourth year of schooling in
college?” (in this question, the content and the time period are specific).

3. The question should show singleness or purpose.

The questionnaire as a whole should bring pieces of information that are relevant
to the purpose of the study. Questions that do not serve the purpose should be eliminated.
This characteristic is intended to assure that each question is independent of the other items
and seeks one and only piece of information or fact. An option should not lead to a dual
answer or an ambiguous answer.

Example: “Do you favor adding food color to your food products?”

4. The questions must be free from assumptions.

Sometimes in a question we can find an unasked question.

Example: consider this question: “Do you think that the use of herbs is perfect
for the soup that you are cooking?” Instead of asking, “Do you use herbs when you are
cooking soup?”

The next question perhaps should be:

“What herbs do you use when you cook a soup?”

Making the assumption that the respondent uses herbs when he cooks soup is an
error in questioning.

5. The question should be free from suggestions.

Questions such as the following may have the power of suggestions for the
respondents:

“Many countries have become progressive due to industrialization. Do you agree

that the Philippines can also be progressive if it becomes industrialized?”

6. The question should have linguistic completeness and grammatical consistency.

The question should be formed according to the rules of correct grammar to avoid
embarrassment on the part of the researcher. Hence, it is important that prior to the survey,
at least have the questionnaire be edited by an English teacher and pre-test the
questionnaire.

2. The Research Interview

An interview is different from a casual conversation. It is a formal meeting to gather
information which requires careful preparation from the interviewer. This is a research method
that involves the collection of data through direct verbal interaction between the interviewer and
the respondent.

There are three steps to follow in interviewing respondents: first, set up a goal, know the
purpose of your interview; second, carefully plan the interview. The aim should be to learn
something specific and that the easiest way to find out what you want to know is to ask questions.
This is always conducted with a question and answer format. Lastly, have a list of interview
questions that are well thought of, save time and keep the interview on focus. Use questions that
look into explanations and specific details.

There are two types of research interview, they are as follows:

a. Structured Interview.
Martinez (1994) says that this type of interview is sometimes called a
focused interview. In here, questions are stated specifically in a fixed list called
the interview guide where the interviewer asks the questions as verbatim or in the
order in which they are listed. He cannot repeat a question and asks additional
questions.

b. Unstructured Interview.
In this type of interview, the interviewer has a list of questions he does not
need to follow the order in which they come. He is free to repeat a question, to ask
additional questions and to move to other points which he thinks are useful to the
interview.

3. Observation Method.
This involves the researcher watching the research situation. It can be used in descriptive
or experimental investigation, but cannot be used in historical studies. In here, the researcher is
concerned with the direct description of the research situation and the best way to achieve this
objective is to watch it.

4. Measurement or Objective Method.

This method involves a four – step process as follows:
a. The delineation of what needs to be measured in terms of the research problem
b. The selection of the appropriate techniques for measurement
c. The selection or development of an instrument
d. The collection and analysis of data

Other measuring techniques include the following:

1. Testing Technique.
This is a technique where a respondent answers queries to a question, problem or
task.

2. Projection Technique.
 This functions at the conscious level where a stimulus is presented to the
respondent and his association to that stimulus is received and interpreted in terms of some
psychological dynamics.

3. Sociometric Technique.
This measures social interactions.

4. Rating Scale.
This constitutes verbal and numeric scale. A verbal scale is illustrated by a Likert
scale, which has assigned points with a continuum of 4 or five points as exemplified below:
Options Assigned Points
Very Adequate (VA) 5
Adequate (A) 4
Doubtful (D) 3
Inadequate (I) 2
Very Inadequate (VI) 1

5. Inventory Technique.
This is an application of the checklist to measurement.

6. Scaling Technique.
It is a technique where a finite sample of concepts is ordered along a continuum
with other instances, without quantitative measurement of the variable represented by the
continuum.