Sabrina 9810002MZooey 9810003M

Data Collection

I. The use of dataTo know what certain people are thinking

or doing by asking them or observing

them.

Quantitative data collection: Use

questionnaires to show numbers .

Qualitative data collection: Use personal

interview to show detail information.

II. The focus of enquiryPrimary data: Data researchers collect by themselves

is to serve researchers’ specific purpose.

Secondary data: Data collected by others comes from

a variety of sources.

The group of interest is defined as the population.

A sample is a selection from the population of

interest.

More different population larger sample

III. Asking questionsA questionnaire is a tool used to ask questions

which is in a variety of ways, like email, postal

and telephone surveys and structured and

semi-structured interviews.

Structured interview = closed questions =

answer predetermined items.

Semi-structured interview = open-ended

questions = answer in own words.

Questions

Open Closed

Classifica-tional Lists Ranking Scale

Classificational questions: The inquirer may be interested in gender, age, marital status and occupation (personal information).

Ex: Age last birthday? □ Under 18 □ 18-25 □ 26-30 □ 31-40 □ 41-50

List questions: To ask the participant to select one or more from a given list of alternatives.

Ex: Which are your favorite games in class? □ Simon Says □ Mime □ Dodge ball □ Car Racing □ Snake

Ranking questions: To ask a respondent to give an order or preference.

Ex: Rank the following factors in order of level when deciding the source of pressure.

(from 5 the highest to 1 the lowest) □ peer pressure □ exams □ parents’ expectation □ pressure from teacher □ homework

Scale (rating) questions: To determine the strength of

views or opinions.

Ex: How likely do you like (agree) to play games?

□ Very likely (Agree strongly) 5

□ Quite likely (Agree slightly) 4

□ Neither likely (Agree) nor unlikely (Disagree) 3

□ Quite unlikely (Disagree slightly) 2

□ Very unlikely (Disagree strongly) 1

IV. Framing questionsAvoid bias and leading questions.

Ex: “ Would you agree that…”

Avoid jargon or shorthand.

Ex: “Would you like to use CALL…”

Avoid ambiguous words.

Ex: usually, recently, frequently…

Keep questions short and simple.

Avoid long questions.

Ex: “Given the recent change in price and the

fall in demand usually experienced at this

time of year, do you think a 20 pence

promotional voucher would…”

Avoid questions with negatives.

Ex: “ Do you never…”

Avoid hypothetical questions.

Ex: “ If you were a millionaire, would you…”

Use filters to avoid irrelevant questions.

Ex: “ If a smoker jump to question 3…”

Make it easy for respondent to answer the

questions.

Ex: “ What did you buy in the last week?”

※ In general it’s easier to use or improve

existing questions.

V. Qualitative Data Collection: Collect data by interviewing and conducted individually or in a group.

1. Focus group interviews: Fewer than 10 questions

2. Open-ended questions: Allow more self-reflections

3. Avoid using “why” questions: Use “how come” or “ what”

4. Carefully develop the questions by doing pilot testing

5. Provide enough information for understanding

6. Arrange questions from general to specific

7. Listen more, talk less, and ask ”real questions” (the interviewer doesn’t already know or anticipate the response)

8. Try to get “ inner voice” instead of “ superficial” information

9. Take notes and bring tape-recording: Easy to transcribe

10. Ask questions when you do not understand: Ask for examples or concrete details

11. Explore laughter, pauses, facial expressions

12. Ask participants to tell a story: To get a complete picture (transcription mode1 and model 2)

13. Follow your instincts : Try to feel participants’ feelings

VI. Benefits of using a questionnaire in interviewing:

A. To ensure covering all of the questions

B. Can explore more in- depth information within each of the questions

C. Collect both quantitative and qualitative data altogether

Thanks for your attention!