Methods for

Collecting Data

AEC 23
SID 21-1

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Learning Outcomes

 Describe the 3 main methods of gathering

data including its advantages and
disadvantages
 Gather data using a simple questionnaire in
Google Form
 Write in textual form the result of the data
gathered

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Three Major Techniques for Collecting
Data:
1. Questionnaires
2. Interviews
3. Observation

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Using these data gathering methods

 Each method has advantages and problems. No single

method can fully measure the variable important to your
study
 Examples:
 Questionnaires and surveys are open to self-report
biases, such as respondents’ tendency to give socially
desirable answers rather than honest opinions.
 Observations are susceptible to observer biases, such
as seeing what one wants to see rather than what is
actually there.

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Use more than one

 Because of the biases inherent in any data-collection

method, it is best to use more than one method when
collecting diagnostic data.
 The data from the different methods can be compared,
and if consistent, it is likely the variables are being validly
measured.

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Demographics

 Information about the people you are gathering data

from is important.
 Collect the specific demographics (profile)
necessary. Some examples
 Age
 Gender
 Income level
 Ethnic background
 Status (student, teacher, visitor)
 Be careful not to collect demographics that are not
specific to your data collection purpose.
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Questionnaires:

 Questionnaires are one of the most efficient ways to

collect data.
 They contain fixed-response questions about various
features of an organization.
 These on-line or paper-and pencil measures can be
administered to large numbers of people simultaneously.
 They can be analyzed quickly.
 They can be easily be fed back to respondents
 Questionnaires can be standard based on common
research or they can be customized to meet the specific
data gathering need.

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Questionnaires; there are drawbacks;

 Responses are limited to the questions asked in the

instrument.
 They provide little opportunity to probe for additional data
or ask for points of clarification.
 They tend to be impersonal.
 Often elicit response biases – tend to answer in a
socially acceptable manner.

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 Sample Employee / Management Relationship Survey

Team Goals and Objectives

Unclear; diverse; conflicting 1 2 3 4 5 Clear; understood; shared by
all.
Role Clarity
Employees are unclear about 1 2 3 4 5 Employees are clear about
their roles; responsibilities and what is expected of them;
authority are ambiguous. they know their
responsibilities and authority.
Communications
Employees are guarded and 1 2 3 4 5 Employees are open and
cautious when communicating authentic when
with management communicating with
management
Decision Making
Little opportunity for input; 1 2 3 4 5 Decisions made jointly
uninvolved; decisions made through group participation;
autonomously. plenty of opportunity for
input; persons affected
asked for their opinion. 9
Interviews

 Interviews are probably the most widely used technique

for collecting data in qualitative research
 They permit the interviewer to ask the respondent direct
questions.
 Further probing and clarification is possible as the
interview proceeds.
 This flexibility is invaluable for gaining private views and
feelings about the organization and exploring new issues
that emerge during the interview.

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Interviews

 Interviews may be highly structured, resembling

questionnaires, or highly unstructured, starting with
general questions that allow the respondent to lead the
way.
 Interviews are usually conducted one-to-one but can be
carried out in a group.
 Group interviews save time and allow people to build on
other’s responses.
 Group interviews may, however, inhibit respondent’s
answers if trust is an issue.

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Interviews / Focus Groups

 Another unstructured group meeting

conducted by a manager or a consultant.
 A small group of 10-15 people is selected
representing a larger group of people
 Group discussion is started by asking general
questions and group members are
encouraged to discuss their answers in some
depth.
 The richness and validity of this information
will depend on the extent that trust exists.
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 Drawback to interviews
 They can consume a great deal of time if interviewers
take full advantage of the opportunity to hear respondents
out and change their questions accordingly.
 Personal biases can also distort the data.
 The nature of the question and the interactions between
the interviewer and the respondent may discourage or
encourage certain kinds of responses.
 It take considerable skill to gather valid data.
 It is expensive if face-to-face. If over the phone, you
could not tell if the person is giving the right
information

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Sample Interview Questions

1. How do students learn in this new normal?

2. How do you know when you have done an excellent
job in your assignment?
3. What are the problems you encounter in the use of
SIAS-LMS?
4. If you could change one or two things about the way
your instructor prepare her instructional materials,
what would you change?

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Observations

 Observing students behaviors in their new learning

environment (at home) is one of the most direct ways to
collect data.
 Observation can range from complete participant
observation, where the researcher becomes a member
of the group under study to a more detached observation
using a casually observing and noting occurrences of
specific kinds of behaviors.

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Advantages to Observation:

 They are free of the biases inherent in the self-report

data.
 They put the practitioner directly in touch with the
behaviors in question.
 They involved real-time data, describing behavior
occurring in the present rather than the past.
 They are adapting in that they can be modified
depending on what is being observed.

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Problems with Observation

 Difficulties interpreting the meaning underlying the

observations.
 Observers must decide which people to observe; choose
time periods, territory and events
 Failure to attend to these sampling issues can result in a
biased sample of data.
 It is expensive
 Time consuming
 Unforeseen factors may interfere with observation task

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Observation Protocol

 A decision needs to be made on what to observe.

 Example:
 Observe how students behave during zoom classes

 Observe how students prepare for their online classes

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Using technology to collect data

 The world has become increasingly digital with

time—technology has now pervaded our daily
lives.
 There are several useful data collection methods
now available to practitioners:
1. Mobile data collection is the use of digital
devices such as mobile phones, tablets, or
laptops for data collection.

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Using technology to collect data

2. Crowdsourcing and crowdseeding are real-

time data collection methods that involve different
technologies. Information is directly obtained from
technology users who volunteer their own data
(crowdsourcing), or from trained informants in the
field (crowdseeding). The most-well known
example of crowdsourcing is Ushahidi, an open-
source software program for collecting information
and undertaking interactive mapping, first used
after the 2007 presidential election in Kenya.

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Using technology to collect data

3. Social media monitoring extracts information

from social media networks such as Twitter,
Facebook, Google Plus, and so on.

4.Geospatial technology refers to global

positioning systems (GPS), geographical
information systems (GIS), and remote sensing
(RS). These tools can be used to do a geo-located
mapping of violent incidents, for example.

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Example 1
If you go to the site of Our World in Data, the information
for Covid-19 cases is always updated. That’s because
technology helps in gathering data all over the world.

Source: Our world in Data

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Example 2

Source:https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=covid+cases+philippines+today
Your Task (due on or before Monday,
Sept 6)
 View the video about creating Google Form
 Create a simple questionnaire (10 items)
to know more about me. (Yes, I am allowing you to
know me better but please be tactful)
 Send the link of the form to my email account
doyaoensi@gmail.com and use your full name as
Subject
 Construct a paragraph (based on the result ) to
introduce your instructor. Upload the result of survey
(raw data) and the textual result in the SIAS LMS.

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Credits:
 https://www.google.com/search?q=methods+of+collecting+data+ppt&rlz=1C1OKWM_enPH913P
H913&oq=methods+of+co&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i57j0l5.7414j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF
-8 retrieved Sept. 6, 2020
 Exploiting the full potential of new technologies for data collection, monitoring, and conflict
prevention CATHERINE DEFONTAINE|MAY 30, 2018

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