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Lesson 1.1: Features and Purposes of a Position Paper  It is a good idea to have at least three main
points that defend your position.
What Is a Position Paper?
 Each paragraph should contain a main point,
 A position paper is another form of academic your educated and informed opinion on the
writing that is written after reading about and issue given this point, and support or proof from
discussing a particular issue. various sources that help defend your point.
 It uses formal academic language and has an  A paragraph on counterarguments could help
introduction, body, and conclusion. prove your point.
 Standard rules for citing sources, paraphrasing,  It should first summarize the counterclaims and
quoting, and avoiding plagiarism apply. provide information on them as well.
 A position paper is not simply a reporting of the  Then, refute the counterclaims and provide
issue at hand. It involves actively choosing a side evidence for your counterarguments, much like
and supporting it, even if it means encountering supporting one of your main points.
resistance and opposition.
Conclusion
Purposes of a Position Paper
 The conclusion of your position paper
 to generate support for a particular side on an should be brief, and it should mostly contain
issue. a restatement of your thesis statement.
 to describe the side you have taken on an issue  It should also give a plan of action given
and the rationale for that position. your position, but it should not introduce
 Should be based on facts and evidence that any new information.
provide a solid foundation for your arguments.
Lesson 1.2: Making a Stand on an Issue
 a critical examination of a side using relevant
evidence and inductive reasoning. Choosing an Issue and a Position

Features of a Position Paper  You must first ensure that the topic you choose
is something that can be argued.
Introduction
 The issue you choose should be arguable
The introduction of your position paper should enough that sides are formed to debate about
accomplish the following: it.
 You can ask the following questions to check if
 Introduce the topic or issue. you have a good topic:
 Provide background information on the issue to -Is it a real issue, with genuine controversy and
explain its importance. uncertainty?
 Give and assert your thesis statement, which is -Can you identify at least two distinctive
your view or take on the issue. positions?
Body -Are you personally interested in advocating one
of these positions?
 The body of your position paper contains your -Is the scope of the issue narrow enough to be
arguments in support of your chosen position. manageable?
 This is also where the evidence supporting your  It is usually still up to you to develop the stands
arguments can be found. regarding an issue.
 It can also have a section or paragraph talking  Make sure you understand the issue well
about counterarguments, where you address enough to know which sides to flesh out.
the point or points of the opposite side and  Misunderstandings could cause holes in your
then refute them. research and reasoning.
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 One strategy is to first do research on the issue  Ask yourself the following questions in
as a whole and list down the pros and cons of order to guide your planning and research:
both sides.  Is your take on the stand interesting and
 Once you see the pros and cons of the two sides original? Readers tend to be more
listed side by side, you’ll be able to confidently compelled to read an argument that they
choose a side to defend. have not yet heard before. On the other
 The topic you have and the sides you have hand, they are more likely to ignore
defined for that issue should be narrow or arguments they have encountered a
specific enough to be manageable. hundred times before.
 Broad topics have too many ideas and evidence  Can your stand assert something specific,
to consider. prove it, and if applicable, suggest a plan of
 Too specific and evidence will be hard to find. action? Defending your side must be
 There are too many projects proposed because concrete and plausible and you must be
of the broad main idea. able to suggest a plan of action in your
 Trying to explain all of these in your position conclusion, if it is applicable. Analyze the
paper would make it too broad and scattered. information you have gathered to confirm if
 Your position will be open to attack from many you can build a proper case for your stand.
different angles.  Do you have enough material or proof to
support your opinion? One or two good
Analyzing an Issue and Developing a Stand
sources usually are not enough to prove
 It’s best to do further research on your topic your side is the superior one in the issue. A
and side. good position paper can make use of many
 It is important to conduct additional research in sources to defend their points and refute
order to fully develop your stands and counterpoints. If you are having difficulty
arguments for your position paper. finding credible sources that support your
 Many kinds of sources can be used to find side, you should consider revising your
evidence for your position paper. stand. A lack of sources could mean that
your side is still weak, as not many people
have studied or supported it in the past.
 Who is my audience? How do they think?
While it is impossible to become a mind
reader and predict how your readers might
react to your position paper, it is best to try
and get an idea of what kind of people
would be interested in your issue or side.
Based on what you have researched, what
kind of people would also be more willing to
take the same side as yours? On the other
 A position paper, much like most other hand, what kind of people would need extra
academic papers, requires you to provide convincing?
in-text citations whenever you use  Tip: Because of the amount of research
information from your research and to add required to write a good position paper, it
a bibliography at the end of your paper. can take some time to accomplish. It is best
Correctly following the rules on citing to start early and pace yourself well when
sources adds credibility to your arguments. conducting research.

Lesson 1.3: Analyzing a Position Paper

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Analyzing Content accidents. The World Health Organization has stated
that drivers who are talking on the phone or using any
 Analyzing content means looking closely
kind of gadget while driving are four times more likely to
at the details of an argument.
get into an accident because they tend to have longer
 Look at things like claims, evidence to
reaction times and have more difficulty staying in the
support those claims, and if that
same lane.
evidence makes sense.
 An argument consists of two major -The claim is the need for more laws on texting and
parts: driving.
1. A claim or statement that summarizes the main
-The grounds for this claim are the statement by WHO
idea.
that talks about a statistic concerning distracted driving.
2. Reasons or evidence that supports why the
claim is true. -The grounds normally immediately follow the claim so
 Analyze the content of an argument more that it is evident how they strengthen the claim.
deeply by applying the Toulmin method.
 The method was devised by philosopher Remember: Grounds are, of course, more credible if
Stephen Toulmin for the purpose of studying they are backed by reliable information and trustworthy
arguments. sources. Part of analyzing the argument is checking how
 An argument can be analyzed deeper by reliable their information is.
dividing the parts of an argument even further. Thinking Rhetorically
 With the Toulmin method, we can look at the
following elements of an argument:  Rhetorical analysis is about exploring the
1. The claim is a statement of opinion that the strategies and writing techniques applied in a
author is defending as true. particular piece.
2. The grounds are the facts, data, or reasoning  It helps you think about the strategies other
that try to make the case for the claim. authors have made and how or why these
3. The warrant is what connects the grounds to strategies work or don’t work.
the claim for the readers. The author must think  Analyze these aspects when reading another
about how clearly they want the warrant to be, person’s position paper: audience, purpose,
and this depends on how much they think the voice, ethos, pathos, and logos.
readers already know about the issue or side. Audience
4. The backing provides additional support for the
claim by addressing different questions related  Academic papers should be written with the
to their claim. intended audience in mind.
5. The qualifier is essentially what sets limitations  The audience should have an impact on
or conditions for the claim to be true. Qualifiers people’s writing.
add strength to claims because they let the  It’s important to remember that the audience
audience know that the author does not expect affects both how a paper is written and what a
their opinion to be true all of the time. paper is written about.
6. The rebuttal is when the author addresses the  Knowing more about them in analysis can tell
opposing views. The author can use a rebuttal you what information is relevant or effective in
to pre-empt counter arguments, making the the paper depending on who the audience is.
original argument stronger.
Purpose
Example 1
 A position paper’s purpose is often to
More laws on texting and driving should be persuade readers to take their side.
implemented so that we can reduce the number of car
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 Their thesis statement should always be one Lesson 1. 4: Writing a Position Paper
that claims something that they’ll have to
Outlining Your Position Paper
defend with reliable sources.
 Analyze arguments based on how well they  You can’t just start writing your introduction and
can be convincing. continuing on.
 Organize your thoughts and ideas by writing an
Voice
outline of your paper first.
 You can analyze the voice of the paper  Your outline should follow the structure that
based on the effectiveness and your position paper will have.
appropriateness it has on the topic of  Start with the introduction, followed by the
the paper. body, and then the conclusion.
 As a position paper is an academic I. Introduction
paper, its voice will often be formal. A. Statement of the topic or issue
 There are times when a topic, audience, B. Background on the issue
or purpose might be more effective if C. Your position on the issue
the voice is semi-formal.
Example 1
Ethos
Introduction
 Appealing to ethos is about using credibility in
-The use of mother tongue in teaching non-English
order to be persuasive.
subjects.
 In analyzing a paper, check how they build
credibility. -Schools tend to teach other subjects in English on top
 More often than not, they’ll use legitimate of teaching English classes.
sources to do so.
 Sometimes, you can also check who the author -Students’ mother tongue should be used to teach non-
is to verify their credibility. English subjects.

Pathos Remember: Don’t worry if your outline sections don’t

seem convincing enough to prove your argument. The
 Appealing to pathos is about appealing to the main purpose of the outline is to help you organize your
audience’s emotions. thoughts.
 People can be easily moved by their emotions.
 However, you can also check if an argument  Under the body, the major points should be
uses pathos too much. your three main arguments.
 Reasoning that is more reliant on emotion  Under a major point, the sub-points are for the
rather than research is usually considered discussion of the evidence you have collected
weaker. that backs up your main arguments.
II. Body
Logos A. Argument #1
1. Supporting evidence #1
 Logos is about appealing to the audience’s
2. Supporting evidence #2
logical side.
3. Supporting evidence #3
 The authors have to think about what makes
B. Argument #2 . . .
sense to their audience and use that to build
 If you do decide to add a paragraph on talking
their argument.
about possible counterarguments, then you
 Writers appeal to logos by using a line of
should include it in your outline as well.
reasoning in their arguments that is logical and
clear. D. Statement of counterclaim
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1. Supporting evidence for counterclaim It is a common occurrence in many schools in the
Philippines that most of their subjects are taught in
2. Rebuttal against the counterclaim
English. Subjects like Mathematics, Science, World
3. Supporting evidence for the rebuttal History, and more are taught in English. On top of that, a
subject dedicated to English is also taught.
Tips: If possible, try and have a reliable matching
source for each of the sub-points you have in your Presumably, it is in their English classes that students
main arguments. You need not cite them in your are taught how to become better at using the English
outline right away, but make sure that when you language. Yet many students continue to struggle with
write a sub-point, it is coming from a reliable source learning about subjects like Math and Science in a
you already have. language that they are also currently still trying to
master.
 The conclusion is the shortest and most
straightforward part of your position paper, and So, students should be given the option to take non-
so its outline is also the easiest to write. English subjects in their mother tongue.
 The conclusion restates your thesis or position
Body
and then provides a plan of action without
offering new information.  It is best to start your paragraphs with good
III. Conclusion topic sentences.
A. Restatement of your position  The topic sentence is a short introduction to an
B. Propose a plan of action idea that you will be discussing in that
paragraph.
Tips on Writing a Position Paper
 A good topic sentence is one that can explain to
 Once you have an outline ready, you may now the reader what arguments and evidence they
begin writing your position paper. can expect from the rest of the paragraph.
 When writing a position paper, there are a
Remember: You are free to use quotations in your
number of things that would be useful to keep
position paper. However, remember that quotations can
in mind.
never stand on their own. You still have to explain its
Introduction significance to the paper you are writing.

 The introduction will most likely be the first Conclusion

thing that readers will read.
 Your conclusion should contain a restatement of
 Your introduction will determine if your readers
your thesis statement and a plan of action.
will continue to the next parts of your paper or
 You can also add a summary of your main points
if they will stop and dismiss it entirely.
after restating your thesis.
Remember: It is important to write an introduction that  This can help readers check if they were able to
is attractive to readers as this serves as your position fully grasp all of the arguments in your paper.
paper’s attention step.

 Make use of suspense so that your readers will

want to continue to the body.
 It will serve as a hook for your reader.
 Try to build suspense in your introduction and
then top it off by stating your thesis statement.

Example
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 Also aims to analyze the observation of data and
categorize them into themes in relation to the
research study

The following are the steps in creating a field report:

1. Decide on the aspects that need to be observed.

2. Take note of the observations in a systematic
way.
3. Analyze the data using themes.
4. Use a theoretical framework in order to fit all
observations into a research study.

A researcher can make use of the following to take field

notes:

 Written/typed notes
 Photos
 Video and audio recordings
 Illustrations and drawings
Lesson 2.1: Kinds of Reports Since interviews can be used as a reference for a field
report, some factors have to be considered in recording
Survey Report
and presenting these, especially when using a
 Aims to collect data from a group of transcription. For example, if there is a grammar or
respondents to gain information and insights word usage error that may affect the meaning of the
about a topic statement, you may correct this after the transcription.
 Steps for survey report:
Also, since transcriptions are exact statements, make
1. Decide on the content of the survey.
sure to include all of the words said by the interviewee,
2. Confirm the target audience.
even if it contains verbal fillers, to ensure the accuracy
3. Send out the survey through a channel.
of the recorded interview.
4. Analyze the survey results.
 Different channels for survey report: Laboratory/Scientific Technical Report
-Online
-Pen and paper  Two major aims: document findings and
-Phone interview communicate their significance

Why would a survey report need to be accurate in Steps:

reporting data? 1. Determine what is being observed.
 When writing survey questions, take note of the 2. Create and control the experiment.
language use and brevity. Respondents will find 3. Conduct the experiment in the laboratory.
it easier to answer a survey that is short but 4. Observe results.
understandable. Use terms that the target 5. Report the findings.
respondents can relate to and easily
comprehend.  The environment is controlled.
 Researchers control and measure the data.
Field Report  IMRaD format is used for final report.
 Aims to describe the observations of people,
places, and/or events.
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Laboratory reports are specific and technical. Always Since listening is as important as the other language
include legends or labels for tables or figures with skills (Brown, 2000), there is a need to modify
results and a list of terms that are relevant to the details instruction so that students will learn how to listen.
of the report. Thus, the researchers intend to conduct a survey to
identify the students’ perceptions on how listening
Lesson 2.2 : The Structure of Reports
competencies are practiced in the classroom.
Sections of Research Reports
Remember: The interpretation of the results in the
Discussion part does not need to reiterate all
information reflected in the graphic representation of
the findings. One common fallacy in writing Discussions
is stating the obvious or repeating statements of
information.

 In the Introduction, highlight the explanation of

the phenomenon being studied and the
purpose of the report.
 In the Methods section, describe the research
environment and subjects clearly since the
 Preliminaries include the Title page, Abstract, nature of the report requires field observation.
and Table of Contents.  Since the results of a field report may be
 Main Body covers the Introduction, Related lengthy, ensure that the presentation of the
Literature and Studies, Methodology, results is still comprehensive, coherent, logical,
Discussion, and Conclusion. and complete.
 References section includes the list of sources  Provide direct quotations or statements from
presented according to a specific referencing interviewed respondents to explain or justify
format. interpretations of significant results.
 Appendices section contains the transcriptions,
Tips: Categorize common responses or observations
observation or field notes, questionnaires, and
under general topics or themes. This will help in
other pertinent information gathered or used by
synthesizing lengthy notes or data from field
the researchers.
observations or interviews. Do not forget to include the
What is the difference between the Abstract and the complete transcription of each interview and the record
Introduction? of field notes in the Appendices.

Structure of a Survey Report  In the Introduction, define relevant terms that

will be used in the study.
 Explanation of the nature of respondents and
 Specify in the Methods section all necessary
why they are chosen in the report
techniques and procedures that will be included
 Introduction of what is being studied and how
in the report. The data gathering procedure
significant is the use of survey in this situation
should be comprehensive.
 Description of relevant terms in the report
 The contents of the results and discussion
Example 1 should be considerate of the target readers of
the report.
Malanday (2017) says that the only caveat in acquiring
listening skills is the actual teaching strategies used. This To ensure that you will carefully follow the structure and
shows a gap in the curriculum implementation, which guidelines of report writing, you can make a research
focuses on teaching other language skills, and disregards timeline where you can write a section of the report
the value of listening instructions.
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concurrent with the actual research practice (e.g. data-
gathering).

Research ethics should be practiced during the

conduction of research and the writing of the report.
Researchers should not just follow the prescribed
structure for report writing but should also adhere to
the standards of research, which includes the
confidentiality of personal data from the respondents
and accuracy of findings presented.

Guidelines in Report Writing

Cohesion - Use transitional words to relate an idea,

word, sentence, or paragraph, to another idea, word,
sentence, or paragraph.

Citation - The format for citation should be the same

with the format for the References section.

Content - Do not just focus on following the guidelines;

make sure that the content is meaty and is based on
reliable sources.

Clarity - Use the same tense and point of view

depending on what is necessary for the section of the
report. Do not jump from a general topic to another
general idea without further elaboration

Take note that the research problem/questions and

objectives in the Introduction of the report should be
reflected or related to all the other sections.

Consistency - This should be applied in terms of

formatting, formality of language use, style of
presentation of results, and citations and referencing.
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 You must make sure that your questionnaire can
bring out the data you need from your
respondents.
 You should develop a set of objectives for your
research and a list of your target information.
 This list of objectives and research goals will
serve as your plan for the survey questionnaire.
 A survey can be given in different ways: postal
survey, telephone interviews, face-to-face
interviews, and internet surveys.
 Each type of survey requires a slightly different
design, although they all tend to use the same
types of questions.
 A self-administered questionnaire should have
clear instructions and questions, follow a logical
order, and avoid complex filtering.
 In an interviewer-administered questionnaire,
the questions can be more complex as the
interviewers can clarify them.
 Structured questions offer the respondent a
closed set of responses to choose from.
 Data gathering and analysis through structured
questions are much simpler and take less time
to answer.

Structured questions are best used in the following

situations:

1. When you already have a deep understanding of

the responses.
2. When you don’t have to capture new ideas or
thoughts from the respondent.

Data Collection

Lesson 3. 1: Features and Structure of Surveys

What Is a Survey?
Example 1
 It is a method of data collection where the
How much time do you spend on homework in a day?
researcher provides people with a questionnaire
and the respondents’ answers give data to the
researcher towards answering a research
question. [ ] One hour or less
 The purpose of a survey is to gather information [ ] Two to three hours
from a large number of people in a set amount
of time. [ ] Four to five hours

[ ] More than five hours

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Rating and Ranking Questions  Non-structured or open-ended questions are
items where there is no list of choices to
 Sometimes, you will be more interested in
answer.
getting a person's opinion on a subject.
 Respondents are simply asked to write their
 To capture varying degrees of emotion or
own response to a question.
satisfaction on a subject, it is best to use either
 Non-structured questions are ideally used when
a rating or a ranking question.
you are exploring new ideas and are not really
 A rating question asks respondents to explain
sure what to expect from the respondents.
the degree in which they feel about a certain
topic. Example 1
 A ranking question asks respondents to explain
What did you like best about the school fair that was
how they feel about something by comparing it
held last week?
to other items in a list.
______________________________________________
Example 2
______________________________________________
Please describe how you felt about the most recent ______________________________________________
school field trip: ______________________________________________
____________________
[ ] 1: Unsatisfied

[ ] 2: Somewhat satisfied
Example 2
[ ] 3: Satisfied
Which part of the school fair did you enjoy the most and
[ ] 4: Very satisfied
why?
[ ] 5: Extremely satisfied

Example 3
______________________________________________
Example of a ranking question: ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Please rank the following school activities in order of ______________________________________________
preference, with 1 being your most favorite event and 4 ____________________
being your least favorite:

 A partially structured question can also be

[ ] Field Trip formatted in a way that there are set responses
[ ] Pep Rally but the respondents are expected to explain
their choice.
[ ] Intramurals
Partially Structured Questions
[ ] School Dance
 In some situations, you may have a partial list of
Tips: A survey questionnaire doesn’t have to have only answer choices, but you may still have some
one type of question. Feel free to add as many of the doubt or uncertainty about other possible
different types as necessary, including the non- responses and are open to new ones.
structured questions we’re about to cover.
Example 3
Non-Structured or Open-Ended Questions
Why did you decide to sign up for a school fair
committee?
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 An interesting questionnaire is more likely to be
completed by the respondent, thus providing a
[ ] I wanted to be involved in preparing for the fair.
higher response rate.
[ ] I was asked by my teacher to sign up.  The researcher should put some thought into
making sure that the questions are relevant to
[ ] I signed up with my friends. the respondent and are arranged in a logical
[ ] I thought it would be a learning experience. sequence.

[]Other: Succinct
_____________________________________  A succinct questionnaire asks questions that are
straight to the point and only answer the
research objectives.
 Note that it is partially structured because it is  Any questions that are beyond the scope of the
an open-ended question that has some set research should be excluded.
answers.
 These act more as suggestions or hypotheses, Dependent and Independent Factors
and that the “other” option is provided in case  Setting the objectives of your survey is always
the respondent has a more specific answer to the first thing you do when you are preparing a
the question. survey questionnaire.
Remember that ideally, you should have already set  Then, you also have to make sure that these are
objectives for your survey and already know what you aligned with your research question.
are looking for. Since non-structured or open-ended  You must also take note of the “dependent” and
questions are for exploring new ideas, it is best not to “independent” factors you intend to investigate.
use too many of these in your questionnaire.  The importance of these is to ensure that the
research covers all relevant variables and any
Lesson 3. 2: Designing a Survey irrelevant variables are excluded.
Valid  This will answer the commonly asked questions,
like: “Did I miss any important questions in the
 A valid questionnaire should ask for precisely questionnaire?” or “Should I include/exclude
what it intends to learn. this particular question?”
 The questions should be written in a way that
the respondent will understand what the Asking the “Right” Questions
objective of the question is.  Once you have established your question,
 The questionnaire should be reviewed by an objectives, and factors, it is time for you to
expert on the topic during a pilot test. design the questions in such a way that it is valid
Reliable and reliable.
 The researchers have to brainstorm and come
 A reliable questionnaire should yield generally up with the preliminary questions.
the same answer if the same question is
repeatedly posed to the same respondent Structured or Non-structured Questions
within a short amount of time.  Decide using your objectives and factors if you’ll
 This can be achieved by administering the same be using structured questions, non-structured
questionnaire to a respondent more than once questions, or a combination of both.
and checking the consistency of their answers.  The answers to open-ended questions should
Interesting be grouped together for analysis.
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Remember: Choose structured questions if you are
already confident that your range of answers is well-
Order of Questions
known and you’d like to focus on those answers. Choose
non-structured questions if you are still unsure of the  The order of the questions should follow a
information you have and would still like to explore logical sequence.
more options through the survey.  A common rule is to start with simple questions
before moving on to more complicated
Designing a Questionnaire
questions.
Options  Generally, you can start with the socio-
demography of the respondents, but if you will
 When using structured questions, the options
include more personal questions then you can
given to the respondents for each question
opt to leave these questions for last.
should be as exhaustive as possible.
 This will ensure that they can pick an option Double-barrelled Questions
that best suits their answer.
 One mistake to avoid is asking a double-
 When asking a factual question instead of a
barrelled question.
subjective question, it is important to include
 Avoid asking two things in one question.
“Don’t know” as one of the answers.
 This will make it more difficult for you to
 Do not force respondents to take a guess, as it
interpret and analyze the data you’ve collected.
would not be an accurate representation of
what they know. Ambiguous Questions
 Options on survey questions should also
observe parallelism.  Avoid ambiguous questions and be as specific as
 Make sure that the options all follow a format possible when asking a question.
so that it is easier for respondents to read and  For example, terms such as “seldom,”
understand. “sometimes,” and “often” may mean different
things to different people.
Filtering  Keep questionnaire items short, preferably less
than 20 words.
 Some questions in a survey questionnaire don’t
have to be answered by the respondents, Keep Analysis in Mind
depending on previous responses.
 In these cases, filtering is used to guide the  Remember that the data you collect here will
respondents to answer only the questions that have to be analyzed afterward.
are relevant to them.  For example, if your objective for asking the age
is to find out the average age of your
Example respondents, then your question should ask the
exact age.
1. During the last time that you had a fever, did you
 But if part of your objective is to categorize your
consult a doctor?
respondents by age group, then specify options
that give different age groups.

[ ] Yes Tips: If you are still not sure of what analysis you will be
performing, it is always advisable to collect raw data,
[ ] No
rather than to immediately categorize them from the
start. This will help avoid problems with analysis after
data collection and ensure that all data collected are
If No, proceed to question 4. relevant and usable.
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Pilot Test  In telephone administration, the entire
survey has to be read to participants.
 Holding a pilot test is a crucial step in the design
 There must also be a standardized script
of a questionnaire before you start using it to
used by the administrators as they talk to
collect data.
the respondents while still trying to
 This can help find any flaws in the questionnaire
establish a sense of rapport with them.
in terms of content, grammar, and format.
 It’s one advantage over one-on-one
 First, ask your teachers, classmates, family, or
interviews is that anonymity is easier to
friends to comment on the questionnaire.
maintain over the phone.
 This will pick up any mistakes in terms of
content, grammar, and format. Postal Mail
 If possible, this should then be followed by
 This is when the researchers send the survey
asking a number of potential respondents to
questionnaires through mail.
answer the questionnaire and provide their
 This lets them interact directly with the
feedback.
questionnaire.
 For those questions that you feel may be
 However, researchers put a lot of faith in the
confusing or sensitive, it is important to ask the
respondents that they will send the survey
respondents to comment specifically during the
questionnaire back.
pilot test.
Electronic

 This type of survey administration has become

Lesson 3.3: Preparing and Administering Data
the more reliable mode of administration for
Collection
researchers who are conducting studies that
Methods of Survey Administration involve larger populations.
 There are many online applications that allow
One-on-one
researchers to publish their survey
 The respondent answers questions from the questionnaires online.
interviewer either orally or through a
Ensure Confidentiality
questionnaire.
 This method is feasible when giving tests or  Methods of gathering data that require the
surveys that require other instruments for participation of other people should be
data gathering. confidential.
 It is time-intensive but can provide rich and  Names should be kept private and they should
in-depth qualitative data. also not be associated with their answers.
 This usually puts respondents at ease and allows
Group
them to be more honest with their answers.
 This often used in situations like college
Tips: If you feel that you need to show or publicize the
entrance tests, SATs, guidance testing, etc.
names or any kind of personal information about the
 The researcher gives a group of people
respondents for your research, always ask for their
questionnaires to answer.
permission first.
 This method has the benefit of an
immediate response rate and a large sample Aim for Easy and Widespread Participation
size.
 Ensure that participating in your survey is
convenient for your respondents.
 If it will be done in a venue, make sure it is
Telephone
easily accessible.
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 Limit the length of the survey so that it does not  Then, go back and observe how your event of
take up too much time. interest occurs in the two groups in the past.
 Respondents are more likely to participate f  This method is cheaper and requires less time as
answering it does not heavily inconvenience compared to the cohort method.
them.
Example 1
Remember: Knowing and understanding the good
Suppose a medical researcher suspects a certain
qualities of a questionnaire helps encourage
brand of canned food is causing stomach problems.
participation because it makes your questionnaire
You recruit people who have eaten from that brand,
easier to understand and more convenient to
the cases, and those who have not, the controls.
answer.
You request participants to remember the type of
Consider Providing Incentives canned goods they have eaten and how often they
ate each one. In this example, recall bias would
 Promising incentives upon completion of
occur if participants cannot accurately remember
the survey can also help encourage
the type of canned goods from that brand and
participation.
number of times they’ve consumed the product.
 It can be something as simple as a small
token, a snack or any kind of food, or in Cohort
professional workplaces, it can even be
 You follow a group of people with similar
additional pay for taking the time to answer
characteristics over a period of time.
the survey.
 This method is ideal when you are trying to
 The only time incentives could be
collect data on occurrences and phenomena
counterproductive if it is through the postal
that happen over a long period of time.
mail method, and you mail the incentive
 However, it is more costly and, of course,
with the survey.
requires more time.
 This could cause the respondent stress as
they could feel rushed or pressured to Example 2
complete the survey because of the
supposed incentive. You want to study the advantages and disadvantages of
commuting to school versus taking a private vehicle to
Data Collection through Observation school. One group of students commutes more often
while the other takes private vehicles more often.
Cross-sectional
Observe their behavior, feelings, cognitions, and more
 You only collect data on observed relationships over a school year.
at a single point in time.
Ecological
 You can observe several characteristics at once
and it does not involve manipulating any  The three methods that were discussed
variables. previously collect data on individuals or small
 This method has the advantage of being groups of people.
cheaper and taking less time as compared to  When you are interested in studying a
case-control and cohort. population, you use an ecological method.
Case-control Example 3
 You set up a “case” scenario and a “control” For example, say you are interested in lung cancer rates
scenario and then observe and compare them. in Quezon City and Makati. You should obtain the
 A case has been exposed to a phenomenon of number of cancer cases per 1000 people for each city
interest while a control has not. and compare them. You can then hypothesize possible
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causes of differences between the two cities. When
using this method, you can save time and money
because data is already available. However the data
collected may cause you to infer population
relationships that do not exist.

 The five ways to administer surveys are one-on-

one, group, telephone, postal mail, and
electronic.
 When administering surveys, remember to
ensure confidentiality, make the experience as
convenient as possible for respondents, and
consider providing incentives for respondents.
 The four observational methods for data
collection are cross-sectional, case-control,
cohort, and ecological.