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Choosing the proper tool and preparing it for data collection

This article covers the process of choosing and preparing the appropriate tool for data collection, including survey methods, experiment, case study, and secondary data. It also discusses questionnaire design, sampling, and data analysis.

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Choosing the proper tool and preparing it for data collection

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  1. Choosing the proper tooland preparingit for data collection By: Awatif Ali Alam Professor aalam@ksu.edu.sa

  2. Research ProcessDefine Problem, Research Objectives • HOW? • Overall Method • Survey • Experiment • Case Study • Secondary Data • What? • Concepts • Variables • Measures • Who? • Population • Sampling Data Gathering Analysis Application

  3. STEPS IN A SURVEY • 1. Define study objectives • 2. Identify information needs & study population(s) • 3. Determine basic design/approach: • - a self-administered survey • - could be mailed or on-site survey • 4. Questionnaire design • 5. Choose sample (frame, size, sampling design) • 6. Estimate time, costs, manpower needs, etc.

  4. Questionnaire Design • 1. Preliminary Info • Information needed • Who are subjects • Method of communication • 2. Question Content • 3. Question Wording • 4. Response Format • 5. Question Sequencing/Layout

  5. Wording • 1. Will words be uniformly understood? Simple language. Avoid technical phrases, jargon and abbreviations. • 2. Does question adequately express the alternatives? • 3. Is the question misleading due to unstated assumption or unseen implications. • 4. Is wording biased, emotional, or unfair? • 5. Will wording be offensive to respondents? • 6. Should you use more or less personalized wording? • 7. Ask in a more direct or more indirect way?

  6. What Information? • Demographic, Socioeconomic, Physical • e.g. income, age, weight, hometown,… • Cognitive - Knowledge & beliefs • e.g. Aware of a program, believe in global warming • Affective - attitudes, feelings, preferences • Like or dislike program, satisfied, prefer this or that • Behaviors • Swimming last year, repeat experience, stay longer in program?

  7. Simple fill in the blank. • Obtaining a straightforward number or other easily understood response. • How old are you? • (years). • In what county is your permanent residence? • ( county) • How much money did you spend on this trip?

  8. 2. Open ended: • To avoid leading subject, • to obtain wide range of responses in subject’s own words, • or when you don’t know kinds of responses to expect. • What is your primary reason for visiting the park today? _______________________________________.

  9. 3. Partially closed ended. • List major response categories while leaving room for others. • Which of the following community recreation facilities do you most frequently use? (check one). •  neighborhood parks/playgrounds •  swimming pools •  community centers •  natural areas •  tennis courts •  other (please specify) _________________

  10. 4. Checklists: • Allow subjects to check multiple responses. • Categories exhaustive & mutually exclusive • Which of the following winter recreation activities have you participated in during the past month? • (check all that apply) •  Cross-country skiing •  Downhill skiing •  Snowmobiling •  Ice Skating •  Sledding

  11. 5. Likert Scales: • Versatile format for measuring attitudes. • Please check the box that best represents your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements about downhill skiing: • Strongly Strongly • Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree • Downhill skiing is... • exciting  • dangerous  • expensive • Can replace “agree” with “importance” “satisfaction”, “interest” “preference” and other descriptors to fit the attitude you wish to measure.

  12. 6. Rank Ordering: • To measure preferences or priorities. Limit to short lists. • Rank the following states in terms of your interest as possible travel destinations for a summer vacation trip. • (Place a 1 beside the city you would most like to visit, place a 2 besides your second choice, and a 3 beside your third choice.) • ______ Taief • ______ Abha • ______ Jeddah

  13. Filter Question. • To screen for eligibility or knowledge prior to asking other questions. Did you stay overnight on your most recent trip?  NO  YES If Yes, How many nights did you spend away from home? To next question

  14. Sequencing & layout • 1. Will this question influence responses to others? • 2. Is question led up to in a natural way? • 3. Placement to create interest, improve response rate. • 4. Branching, skipping, and transitions on questionnaires.

  15. Question Content • 1. Is this question necessary? useful? • 2. Are several questions needed on this subject? Avoid double barreled questions. • 3. Do respondents have information to answer the question? Use filter questions to screen. • 4. Does question need to be more concrete, specific and related to subject's personal experience? Is a time referent provided? • 5. Is question sufficiently general? Do you want recent behavior or "typical behavior"? • 6. Do replies express general attitudes or specific ones? • 7. Is content loaded or biased • 8. Are subjects willing to answer? • 9. Can responses be compared with existing information?

  16. Methods of data collection: 1.Observations: • simple visual observation • clinical examination, • x ray, • biochemical, etc.. 2.Interviews & self administered questionnaires: 3.The use of documentary sources: • clinical records, • death certificates, (SECONDARY DATA) • mortality statistics • census, • publications, etc.

  17. Basics for selection: 1. Accuracy and relevance of information. 2. The need for personnel, skill, equipment, etc. in relation to what is available, and the urgency with which results are needed. 3. The probability that the method will provide a good coverage, ie will supply the information about target subjects. 4.The investigator’s familiarity with a study procedure.

  18. The basic categories of information to be sought: 1.Attributes: • refer to personal or demographic characteristics. • Some of the most frequently requested attributes are age, sex, marital status, income, education, occupation,, etc. 2.Attitudes: • questions are evaluative and reflect respondent’s views about the desirability of something done in the past, • what they are currently doing, or • what they plan to do in the future.

  19. The basic categories of information to be sought: 3.Beliefs: • are assessments of what a person thinks is true or false. • These questions are designed to elicit people’s perceptions of past, present, or future reality. 4.Behavior: • questions elicit people’s beliefs about their behavior, and may be concerned with what they have.

  20. Usefulness of questionnaires: 1.Enables researcher to maintain uniformity in information collected during health surveys . 2.Ensures completeness of health records from each respondent . 3.Guarantees proper homework on the type of information required for a meaningful research. 4.Tests “K” of the investigator about the research. 5.Allows the investigator to prepare “dummy” tables for collected data.

  21. Qualities of the questions: 1. The number of questions should be determined in relevance to the proposed objectives. 2. Avoid irrelevant questions. 3. The questions must be simple, short, contain one idea. 4. Avoid sensitive questions or leave them to the end. 5. Avoid leading questions. 6. Arrange questions in an orderly manner . 7. Questions relating to the same issue must be put in close proximity. 8. Avoid technical terms. 9. Use local language of comm.

  22. Format of a questionnaire: The questionnaire contains 2 main parts: • The first part : • contains information for identifying the respondent’s house no., address, record no.,etc • The second part: • contains the relevant questions to the study objectives which may be subdivided such that questions in any section deal with specific themes.

  23. DECIDING QUESTION STRUCTURE: 1.CLOSE-ENDED with ordered choices: Answers • Choices are provided for these questions. • The respondent’s task is to find the most appropriate place on an implied continuum for his/her response. e.g. Subject may be asked to indicate the degree of agreement with choices 1.STRONGLY AGREE 2.AGREE 3.UNDECIDED 4. DISAGREE 5.Strongly Disagree

  24. DECIDING QUESTION STRUCTURE: 2.CLOSE-ENDED with unordered response choices : • Answer choices are provided • Respondents must choose from among discrete, unordered categories by independently evaluating each choice and selecting the one that best reflects his/her situation. e.g. Marital Status: 1. Single 2. Married 3. Widowed 4. Divorced

  25. DECIDING QUESTION STRUCTURE: 3. PARTIALLY CLOSE-ENDED: • These questions provide a compromise. • Although answer choices are provided, respondents have the option of creating their own responses. e.g. provide the option “OTHER (SPECIFY)”.

  26. DECIDING QUESTION STRUCTURE: 4.OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS: • These questions have no answer choices from which respondents select their response. • Respondents must “create” their own answers and state them in their own words. e.g. Why did you stop smoking?

  27. REQUIRMENTS OF QUESTIONS: • Must have face validity. • Respondents can be expected to know the answers. • Must be clear and unambiguous. • Must not be offensive. • Must be fair.

  28. Advantages & Disadvantages: • Close-ended questions: - Provide greater interrater reliability. - May be scored quickly. - Provide greater uniformity and simplify the analysis. “ HOWEVER” -They may be open to interpretive error due to guessing & they limit the variety and detail of responses.

  29. Advantages & Disadvantages: • Open-ended questions: - May be constructed more quickly. - Provide fewer stimulus cues for guessing. - Play an imp. role in exploratory surveys. - Provide interesting information which may be used to brighten up a dull report. “HOWEVER” -They may produce difficulty in interpreting and categorizing responses. - They may be more difficult to score accurately.

  30. Closed ended or Open ended questions? Which one to use?It is sometimes advisable to use an open-ended question first, in a pretest, in order to collect free responses which can be used as a basis for constructing “closed” categories.

  31. Objectives • Describe the population • Demographics, knowledge, attitudes, behavior • Test for differences between subgroups • Are men different than women in sports participation? (gender related to partic.) • Test for relationships between variables • Does boat ownership vary with income? • Evaluate a program (specify criteria as part of objective) • How satisfied are customers? What do they like or dislike about program? • Estimate benefits (costs, impacts) of a program

  32. Thank you

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