Limitation of the Data Collection Tools - Essay Example

The research in this case primarily used the Likert scale which the study revealed to have presented a number of challenges in obtaining facts that were desired. First, the use of the Likert scale on the population of 30 teachers, which is a vast variation and multidimensional continuum.

The nature of the Likert scale is one-dimensional and was only able to present between 5- 6 options to the respondents. To use the Likert scale on such a population would not provide accurate results considering that the views of the teachers in the Pacific Cascade Middle School were varied. This means that the scale would not be able to measure the honest attitude of the teachers. Further, this method of collecting data was must have presented the respondents with the opportunity to be influenced by the previous questions.

There was a tendency that the respondents were leaning towards one side of the scale just to avoid being extreme. Moreover, it was difficult to test whether the respondent was lying, even though the tools were tested for their reliability, it was still difficult to deal with the error that may have accompanied the responses. The law response rate by the respondents particularly on the free-response was a major setback to verify the findings that the teachers had provided. This highly reduced the sample size that could have been very significant in obtaining facts.

Mugenda & Mugenda (2010) reveal that in a population of 30, accuracy would be yielded with a turnout of over 90%. In this study, only 17 teachers returned their questionnaires. The law of research has not been able to discern how to deal with the problem with self-reporting. This makes such problems part of the research. This study was affected by self-reporting that presents issues like lying. Though the study attempted to place validity measures, controlling a huge number of students in shaping their attitudes towards the research was a hard task.