Data Collection Methods - Essay Example

DATA COLLECTION METHODS For any research effective data collections methods are essential to study and solve the research question. Below are the common data collection methodologies. FOCUS GROUP Focus group discussion is an informal group discussion technique. In a focus group people are brought together to discuss an issue. In-group discussion the researcher collects data by group interaction on a topic determined by the researcher. The group discussion lasts for two hours or less and is run by a moderator to maintain the groups focus (Hamel, 2001s). Focus group Advantages and Dis-advantages According to Morgan (1996) focus group is a research method devoted to data collection to gather data through group discussion. It is an easy way to listen to diverse views of the research issue. Group discussion deals with real life issues and helps in gathering real time data. However there are several disadvantages of focus group. It is quite expensive and time-consuming research methodology. In focus group that some of the participants are mistaken by the group discussion and they jump to conclusion. It is hard for the moderator to keep group of people focused on one topic for long time. Group discussions are not planned. People can go in wrong direction and lot of time is wasted to come back to the original topic. In-group discussion, people take sides, and the mentality of follow the crowd exists. INTERVIEW The research interview is defined as “a two-person conversation initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose” to find research relevant information and focusing on the interviewee to gather the essential data (Cohen, 2000). The interview involves gathering data through direct verbal interaction between the individuals. Veal (2000) has described interview as a strategy to find out from people about the things, which cannot be observed directly. The interviews are meant to collect data from each respondent face to face. In interview each respondent contributes a different perspective of the same question. Personal interviewing provides face-to-face contact with respondents, which permits audible and visual communication with respondents in real time (Joann, 1990). Interview allows the researcher to understand the meanings and the reasons which an interviewee associate certain way of behaviour, allowing to understand, why a particular habit or behaviour is exhibited, which in ordinary life is not possible to understand. John (1985) argues that interview is special mode of interaction and understanding people’s knowledge, norms, and cultural values in an impartial way giving an understanding, how people make sense of their culture, religion and social behaviour. In plain words, interview allows to reach inside people’s head rather than keep on guessing, what means what. The research interview normally has two main purposes (Cohen, 2000). (a) It may be used as principal means of gathering data (b) It can also be used to test hypothesis to check variables and relationships coupled with other methods, such as validating the outcome of an observation study. Types of Interview (John, 1985). • Semi-structured or unstructured interviews (informal interview) are useful when researchers want in-depth understanding of a topic. It is easy to interview people than to develop a written survey and capture all the possible variations. In informal interview, normally its trust between the researcher and the interviewer and is less stressful as the interviewer does not feel himself in a stressed situation and the communication takes place in a friendly atmosphere. The development of trust allows the researcher to explore beyond the personal ego allowing the researcher to satisfy his curiosity and explore the understudy question in depth without any obstacle. • Structured in-person interviews can be useful when participants have difficulty with a written survey or when a researcher wants to clarify (qualitative) questions in addition to structured questions. A structured interview is appropriate for most diagnostic purposes. Structured interviews can be subjected to validity. A good verbal delivery by the interviewer is essential to the respondents ability to understand questions. Telephone Interview Telephone interviews usually have to be completed more quickly than personal interviews. Over the telephone the interviewer cannot be seen; interviewer bias can be less with telephone interviewing. The interviewers ordinarily require less training and instruction compared to other methods OBSERVATION Garvey (1998) has mentioned that observational research method provides understanding of interaction between marketers and users, exploring members interaction in an organisation and understanding norms in a community. During observation researcher is immersed in the subject being studied. It is assumed that observation provides in depth understanding compared to other methodologies. The researcher being observer can observe things much more closely without distracting the normal course of an event. The researcher needs not to control the situation like a laboratory experiment, where bias can enter and desired outcome can be generated. In observational research the events follow its natural flow without any external interruptions. The observation research methodology offers insights about the social issues which other kind of research cannot provide. During the observational study researcher records relations of people in their physical environment as they perceive and not as the researcher visualises it. JUSTIFICATION FOR INTERVIEW The reason for selecting interview for this study is interview can easily recognize the theory of motivation and understand the range of factors related to human behaviour such as emotions, unconscious needs and interpersonal influences (Cohen, 2000). As this study is related to human behaviour; interview can easily deal with every bias, prejudice and attitudes, which is not possible to measure in other data gathering techniques such as survey, case study and observation. Cross mentions (1996), that the advantage of questionnaire is that it tends to be more reliable as it is anonymous and encourages honesty and it can also cut the cost of study by sending it via mail. Interview cannot be mailed and the researcher personally has to involve himself personally, no matter what. However the problem with mailing is that there is normally low percentage of return and even if returned, all questions may not be answered. In the case of interview, all interviews are conducted and there is no chance of option of questions, unless the question is too personal. In other problem with the questionnaire is that people interpret questions in their own ways and it often happens, the researcher asks one thing and the respondent reply some thing else, which makes the study more complex. An interview has no chance of confusion, as researcher is always there to clarify any confusion related to the questions. The interviewee can always ask if he/she does not comprehend the question, thus making interview more clear and transparent way of gathering data. It often happens that questionnaires are filled up in hurry without understanding the content and meaning of the questionnaire (Hara, 1995). CONCLUSION The researcher in interview can easily explain the purpose of the study and can convince the interviewee, how much he/she can contribute in the study. Normally interview does not have a specific time limit, and the researcher have greater chance to extend if the subject is interesting and can provide greater insight into the topic, thus relieving the time constrain with which questionnaire are normally associate. Similarly observation is more time consuming is more focused in observing a person external behaviour and leaves the researcher guessing, what does he/she really mean, interview has no such issues, it directly gains information from the person who is in the situation and gives the insight to researcher from the interviewee point of view. Thus from the discussion it is clear that interview is the ideal mode of gathering data for this study. Reference Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion, Keith Morrison . Research Methods in Education: Routledge Morgan,Georage. (2000). Research Methods in Applied Settings: An Integrated Approach to Design and Analysis: Mahwah, NJ. John,David. (1985). The Art and Science of Effective Interviewing. Journal of Management Consulting, Vol.2. Key,James. (2005). Research Design in Occupational Education: [Electronic version] http://www.okstate.edu/ag/agedcm4h/academic/aged5980a/5980/ Veal,A.J. (2000). Business Research Methods: a managerial approach. University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Hamel.J. (2001). The Focus Group Method and Contemporary French Sociology. Journal of Sociology, Vol. 37. Cross.G, David.C & Graham.B. (1996) .Thinking and Rethinking Research Methodology. Business Communication, Vol.59. Hara.K. (1995). Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches in Education Vol. 115. Joann.P. (1990). Managing the Interview. Applied Marketing Research, Chicago.Vol.30, Read More