Research Methods Seminar Data Collection

Getting Started Research Methods Next Research Methods SeminarData Collection Choosing a Strategy Quantitative Data Qualitative Data

Choosing A Research Strategy Previous Next • The general principle is that the research strategy or strategies, and the methods or techniques employed must be appropriate for the questions you answer • Quantitative / Qualitative • Qualitative Methods: • “An array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world” (Van Maanen (1983)

3 Traditional Research Strategies Previous Next • Experimental • measuring the effects of manipulating one variable on another variable • Case Study • development of detailed, intensive knowledge about a single ‘case’, or of a small number of related ‘cases’ • Survey • collection of information in standardised form from groups of people • May also have a Hybrid Strategy or Action Research

Classification of the Purposes of Enquiry Previous Next • Exploratory: • to find out what is happening • to seek new insights • to ask questions • to assess phenomena in a new light • usually, but not necessarily, qualitative

Classification of the Purposes of Enquiry Previous Next • Descriptive: • to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations • requires extensive previous knowledge of the situation etc. to be researched or described, so that you know appropriate aspects on which to gather information. • May be qualitative and/or quantitative • Explanatory: • seeks an explanation of a situation or problem, usually in the form of causal relationships • May be qualitative and/or quantitative

Purpose & Strategy Previous Next Past use of the 3 main strategies has tended to make following links: • case studies as appropriate for exploratory work • surveys as appropriate for descriptive studies • experiments as appropriate for explanatory studies • NB: These links are not immutable & each strategy can be used for any or all of the three purposes (See Yin, 1981)

Experiment & Case Study Survey How Why Who What Where How much / how many Strategy & Question Previous Next Strategy Research Question

Getting Started Previous Next Research Methods Collecting Quantitative Data Samples Surveys Pitfalls etc...

Research Design Research Question Previous Next • Defining the Problem • What Data is needed to solve it

Typical Stages Previous Next • Problem Definition • Review of Secondary Sources • Select Appropriate Approach for the Collection of New (Primary) Information • Determine the Details of the Research Design • Data Collection • Analysis and Interpretation of the Data • Evaluation and Recommendations

Data Types Research Methods Previous Next • Secondary Data - Information that that is available from existing published sources • Internal to the Company • External to the Company • Primary Data - Information has been collected for the first time • Can come from internal sources • External sources - survey data etc..

Data Sources Cont. Previous Next • Primary Data is usually collected by the means of: • A Survey • Depth Interviews • Observation of behaviour • Establishing Motivations • etc..

Research Methods First Previous Next The Questionnaireand its Design The questionnaire is usually the common form of collection of survey data

Questions can either: Previous Next • Classify - organizations or people • Describe Behaviour • Discover Attitudes and Perceptions

Types of Questions Previous Next • Open Ended- Some sort of free form and expression on the part of the respondent • Closed( Structured) • Yes/No • Multiple Choice • Rankings • Check Lists

Wording the Questions Previous Next • Avoid Ambiguity • Consider the Respondent’s ability to answer • Consider the Respondent’s willingness to answer • Avoid Influencing the Answer

Question Sequence Previous Next • Initial questions to provide motivation • Logical order - general to the specific. This is known as funnelling. • Rotating the questions to reduce bias • Difficult questions - where do you place these in the questionnaire ? • Routing and Excluding - be careful of the logic of your questionnaire.

Some Standard Questions Previous Next • Have you ever? • Do you ever ? • How Often ? • When did you last ? • Who does it ? • In what way do you do it ? • Which do you do more ? • In the future will you ?

Some Points to Consider Previous Next • Is your questionnaire too long ? • Do you need cards for your respondents ? • Do you need to aid recall ? • What is going to happen after the survey ? • Avoid multi punch data - this leads to coding problems and data analysis problems • How are you going to administer the survey?

Measuring Attitudes Previous Next • Attitudes influence preferences and are related to behaviour. They usually contain three components: • Beliefs • Emotions and • Behaviour

Measuring Attitudes Previous Next • Two Stages: • Pilot - some form of depth interview with a small group to ascertain the key characteristics • Survey to measure the attitudes and perceptions • Use: • Adjective check lists • Multiple choice questions • Rating scales: Monopolar vs Bipolar Scales, Likert Scales - 5 point or 7 point scales

Some Problems with Scales Previous Next • Are the chosen adjectives ambiguous ? • Can meaning differ between respondents ? • Scale length - short scales may not be sensitive enough, long scales may be unmanageable. • What about the ‘don’t know’ • Respondents often tend to choose the mid point.

How do you Reach your Respondent ? Previous Next • Mail • Telephone • Personal Interview All have different advantages and disadvantages for the researcher - Follow up to obtain a better response rate.

Research Methods First Previous Next Sampling Why do we sample ? Types of Sample Issues about Samples Sample Size Calculator Market Research Glossary of sampling and quantitative research

Basic Premise of Sampling Previous Next • The researcher is looking to generate data has is representative of the population from which the sample is drawn. • Samples are practical as resources are finite • Samples can give an accurate view of a phenomenon.

Sampling Process Decisions Previous Next • Who is to be surveyed ? The sampling unit. • How many to be sampled ? The sample size. • How can they be selected ? The sampling procedure.

Sampling Procedures Previous Next • Two broad categories: • Probability Samples • Random - everyone in the population has an equal change of being chosen. • Stratified Random Sample - to account for a variable in the population • Sequential Sample • Cluster Sample

Sampling Procedures Previous Next • The opposite of Probability Samples is the Non Probability Sample: • Quota Samples • Judgmental Samples

Sampling Procedures Previous Next • In Selecting samples and sample size allow for non response. This can reduce the validity of your results • Also be aware of bias in your survey. • Bias in non response • Bias by the interviewer • Bias through the questions asked • Sample bias • Bias from the respondents

Sample Frame Previous Next • Adequacy - in coverage of the population • Completeness - missing units cannot be selected introducing bias • No duplication - double counting • Accuracy - is the sample frame up to date ? • Convenience - Can the sample units be accessed at reasonable cost ?

Finally Previous Next • Editing • Has each relevant questions been answered ? • Accuracy - some inaccuracies can be spotted by eye. • Uniformity - have interviewers interpreted the questions and instructions in a uniform way ? • Coding - think about your coding for data input • Tabulating - think about your tables and cross tabulations. This is useful for the next stage on analysis

Research Methods Previous Next Qualitative Data Techniques

Research Methods Previous Next Planning Qualitative Research Qualitative design involves articulating compelling & researchable questions salient to target respondents

Qualitative Research Previous Next • Qualitative inquiry demands an ever-present curiosity on the one hand and an ever-present suspicion on the other. The curiosity is manifested in the uneasiness with existing answers. This uneasiness generates new questions (Hawes,1975) • Works at many levels... In the early stages the researcher asks questions about a problem that grows increasingly subtle, pertinent and penetrating.

Qualitative Research Previous Next • In the field questions used as navigational tools - simple, naive, wise or purposely contradictory ones; asking the same question of a number of people; mutating it to fit different segments, expertise, etc.

Qualitative Research Previous Next Qualitative researchers develop unique design solutions for every project • Need for understanding drives the qualitative researcher to take time to understand culture or research segment. • Not just a language issue, social/cultural taboos as well.

Some issues of importance Previous Next Uncertain control qualitative researcher can expect to exercise in the field • Researcher must be able to fit-in with events or people, that operate by their own rules of conduct. Must learn when to watch, when to listen, when to go with the action, when to reflect on pieces of info, and when to intervene tactically (& tactfully). This is totally alien to quantitative research which strives to be in control.

Summary of Qualitative Design Process Previous Next 1.Question formulation in myriad forms is the core feature of designing and starting a study. 2. Every scene & situation presents a unique, never-before encountered configuration of features, requiring strategic flexibility on the part of the investigator. 3. The researcher willingly shares control in the research scene in the interest of learning the rules and meanings of social life from the inside.

Phenomenology Previous Next • This kind of inquiry recognises that the phenomena being studied are sentient. • Ambiguity is anticipated and planned for. • The best preparation consists of a sense of purpose, some researchable questions, an understanding of resources available and an idea of the overall features and dynamics of the setting to be entered. • Link with presentation on Research Approach

Research Methods Previous Next Qualitative Data Collection Depth Interviews (Individual & Group) Allows access to a different level of reality, ...deeper than in quantitative research. Interviews are dominant method in qualitative research.

Depth Interviews – individual and group Previous Next Totally different from structured, rigid quantitative interviews, qualitative interviews referred to as “conversation with a purpose”! The interview is loose, informal, flexible, interactive. But interviewing is not just conversation, it is informed by its purpose .... conversation occurs within this remit.

Depth Interviews – individual and group Previous Next Process is also dynamic ... “What distinguishes in-depth interviewing is that the answers given continually inform the evolving conversation. Knowledge thus accumulates with many turns at talk. It collects in stories, asides, hesitations, expressions of feeling and spontaneous associations ... The specific person interviewing the “I” that I am, personally contributes to the creation of the interview’s content because I follow my own perplexities as they arise in our discourse.” (Paget 1983)

Observation Research Methods Previous Next • Guidelines: • Best conducted in relationships with respondents. • Characterised by a difficult and often ambiguous course of study. • Analyst must be disciplined. • Requires attention to detail. • Invaluable for ethnography and case study research. • Observation allows the subtleties of responses to be noted and placed within the overall spectrum of data collected for the study.

Observation Research Methods Previous Next Participant observation preferred ... “The participant observer gathers data by participating in the daily life of the group or organisation he studies. He watches the people he is studying to see what situations they ordinarily meet and how they behave in them. He enters into conversation with some or all of the participants in these situations and discovers their interpretations of the events he has observed.” (Backer 1970)

Case Study Methodology Research Methods Previous Next • Resources • Case Study Method • Typical features: • selection of a single case (or a small number of related cases) of a situation, individual or group of interest or concern • study of the case in its context • collection of information via a range of data • collection techniques including observation, interview and documentary analysis

Case Study Methodology Previous Next • Case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence (Robson, 1993)

Characteristics of Qualitative Research Previous Next • DIAGNOSTIC • DEEPER UNDERSTANDING • IMPRESSIONISTIC • PROBING • OBSERVES & REFLECTS • SUBJECTIVE

Focus of Qualitative Research Previous Next • WHAT? • WHY? • HOW? • NOT HOW MANY

Qualitative Approach Used in Research Requiring: Previous Next • EXPLORATION OF CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS, ATTITUDES & BEHAVIOUR • IDENTIFICATION OF DISTINCT BEHAVIOURAL GROUPS

Qualitative Research Techniques Previous Next • DEPTH INTERVIEWS • FOCUS GROUPS • PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

Research Methods Seminar Data Collection