Interviews and Questionnaires - Term Paper Example

Introduction Interviews and questionnaires are mostly used in mixed study that investigates any educational study. While interview method gathers a more depth imminent on thoughts, actions and attitude of a participant, however, questionnaires give facts of patterns among huge populations. This essay analyses circumstances under which one would use a questionnaire as opposed to an interview during data collection process. It also provides the pros and cons of various data collection methods. Furthermore, the essay will outline the advantages of field research, components, and approaches to field research, strengths and weaknesses of field research. The essay concludes by identifying the types of sampling designs and techniques. This essay ends by describing the analysis of secondary data and also enumerates issues to be addressed with evaluability assessment (Creswell, 2003). Discussions Circumstances where questionnaire are preferred to an interview during data collection There are several instances when questionnaires are considered more than the interviews, for instance, when a researcher wants to include a large number of respondents during the research. This can be achieved by mailing or posting questionnaires to many respondents at a lower cost. The amount of time and costs involved is relatively cheaper as compared to that of the interviews. When the respondents are literate, questionnaires are mostly preferred since the respondents can understand what it is required of them. This method does not require the physical presence of the researcher (D., 2004). Therefore, the questionnaire can only be sent to the respondents provided they are literate. In addition, use of the questionnaire is preferred when the researcher wants to limit the respondents from words like I do not know and I do not understand answers. The answers provided are relevant especially if the questionnaires are closed ended. It also assists the researcher in soliciting the exact responses from the respondents and also makes it easy to follow the answers. Questionnaires These are structured or unstructured instruments used as a means of obtaining beliefs, experiences, feelings, attitudes and perceptions of some respondents. They are mostly very brief and well planned questions intended to solicit some information about a certain topic in a research. Some of the advantages of this method include: There is uniformity of questions where every respondent gets the same questions framed in the same manner. Therefore, this allows the questionnaire to yield more comparable data as compared to data collected through the interview method. Questionnaires are also cheap to administer since there is no training costs for the interviews. The researcher does not need to travel but can mail or post the questionnaires. There is also standardization where the questions are structured, and the answering of questions is controlled. Use of questionnaires also saves a lot of time as compared to the interviews. Nevertheless, uses of questionnaires have its shortcomings. To start with, questionnaires are hard to construct, and the researcher may not have any control over question answering process. Some of the questionnaires may also be returned half filled which may not provide the exact information (Creswell, 2003). Some of the questionnaires may not be returned at all thus limiting the researcher from soliciting the intended information. It is also difficult to assess the motivation of the respondent thus having an effect on the validity of the respondents. The returned questionnaires may be biased unless random sampling is obtained. Interview This is an oral administration of the questionnaire that involve face-face encounter and aims at soliciting reliable and accurate information through interviews. It involves a conversation between an interviewer and the interviewee with their roles changing continually (Strosberg, 2008). One of the merits of interview method is that in provide an opportunity to the person interviewing to clarify some questions which might not have been well understood. It is also a means of acquiring personal information, beliefs, attitudes and perception. Interviews also provide a chance to respondents to give their response in the manner they see it fit for them. Both the young and the illiterate can have a chance to respond unlike the questionnaire which only favors the literate. On the other hand, use of interviews has come under criticism since it is too costly to administer. Training those who are going to administer the interview, sending them to interviews and evaluating their efficiency increases the cost of the research study thus making it expensive. Furthermore, the unstructured interviews results to data that is too difficult to evaluate and analyze. Factors considered when conducting survey research Identify the purpose of the survey. The purpose of carrying out the research should be clearly identified i.e. what one needs to know and how the results can be used (D., 2004). Identifying the targeted respondents- After the purpose of the survey has been identified; the targeted respondents should be identified. For instance, one has to identify the respondents who can provide the needed information and those who are more likely to respond. Choosing a method of delivery- Surveys can be distributed by mail, given out online, by phone or can be carried out on site. Each method has different advantages and disadvantages in relation to cost, personnel and time. The questions to be asked will determine the method of delivery which suits the purpose of the survey Sample selection- if one needs to make a generalization of the entire population based on the results of the survey, good sampling needs choosing a representative and a random sample. A survey result, which does not have a representative of a random sample, cannot give a general overview of the whole population (Pope, 2009). Developing design and content- several factors should be considered when developing the design and content. Time taken by the respondents, their characteristics i.e. their education, age and other demographic factors should be considered since it assists in formulating and wording of questions to be asked. The survey should be as simple as possible, and questions should be well understood and interpreted by the targeted respondents. Developing the questions-The questions that give the needed information should be asked. For instance, the questions should relate to the objectives of the survey. The respondents should answer all the questions with ease, and they should be framed in a manner that can be easily interpreted. Designing alternative ways of responding- One need to develop choices of answering the questions, for instance one should decide whether to choose open-ended or closed ended questions. Layout formatting- One requires opening statement or a cover letter, that informs the respondents the purpose and the use of the information solicited from them. It is important to express respect and courtesy to the intended respondents. The cover letter should include what the respondents will benefit by participating in the survey (Pope, 2009). Carrying out the survey Distribute the questionnaire depending on the chosen method. Follow-up should be made so as to get a good percentage of respondents. Data collection and processing- One require to collect answers acquired either by phone, mail, online or paper and process it. Data analysis- This is a process of adding the numbers and calculating the percentages to ascertain how close the respondents represents the whole population. Data presentation- The data is data is reported to relevant authorities in percentages or numbers. Simple pie or bar graphs can used to convey the intended results Advantage of field research The greatest advantage of field research is that it is the main tool in collecting comprehensive data on the social scene and produces certain behavior. The information obtained is up to date and specific to some problem under the study. Components of field research Observation This is a logical description of behaviors, events and objects in a chosen social scene under a study. It assists the researcher in describing the situations by use of five common senses, giving a written picture of the state of affairs under an investigation (Rossi, 2004). It enables the researcher to learn people’s activities in natural scenery through observation and participation of the activities. It offers the opportunity to develop interview and sampling and interviews guides. It is also a learning process through involvement or exposure to daily activities of those participating in the research process. It offers an opportunity to the researcher to determine the level of interaction, get to know how participants communicate with one other, and make an observation on events that participants may not be willing or unable to share. Interviews This involves administration of oral questionnaire or interview schedule. It involves face to face encounters between the interviewer and the interviewee. During the interview process, the researcher asks some questions from the respondents and notes down the information. Interviews may be face-face communication or may be telephone interviews (D., 2004). Approaches to field research Participant In this role, both the participant and the researcher are aware that there is a research being done. The activities of the participant are not hidden are played down during the research process. Role pretense is reduced, and the researcher makes friendship with a participant who can offer a lot of support for the research process Participant observer It is a technique where the observer takes part in current activities and records the observations. According to Filho (2000), the observer in this case is a player during the participation process. The researcher undertakes the role under the study for instance, taking part in a mental hospital, enrolling in a fight-training school, or being a waitress. Observer Participant It always associated with studies that involve only one visit interviews especially where it is possible to carry out some observation. This role minimizes problems that might arise as a result of continuous involvement and carries the risk of producing apparent understanding. Complete observer The motives and the identity of the researcher are not known to the participants who are observed during the research process Strengths and weaknesses of field research Field research consists of a variety of well-defined methods: direct observation, group discussions, informal interviews, self-analysis and life histories. One of the advantages is that field research gives one the ability to look smaller segments in an in depth manner since it is based on broad strokes and samples. Furthermore, difficult issues can be studied more effectively using qualitative methods (Rossi, 2004). This method allows information to be broken down and deeply examine on an individual basis. In addition, the researcher should be able to examine the behaviors and the attitudes of the respondents. It is less expensive and also provides high validity of results. On the contrary, one of the weaknesses of field research is that it gives soft data, which can only be interpreted by the researcher alone, thus leading to biases and inaccuracy. Therefore, it is difficult to provide concrete answers to create and recommend change basing on vague data. This method rarely gives descriptive statements concerning huge population since it adopts qualitative approach instead of quantitative approach. Another weakness of field research is that it cannot be heavily relied upon due to its qualitative nature (Strosberg, 2008). Sampling designs There are two types of sampling techniques Probability sampling-according to this technique, each population sample has a definite probability to be selected under a given sampling scheme. The researcher uses this technique so as to eliminate biases. Non-probability sampling- this is a technique where the researcher has no interest in sample selection that represent the entire population. It is subjective, and the probability of selecting the elements of the entire population is known. Types of probability sampling Simple random sampling-this involves a simple way of sampling and the probability of selection is the same for the entire population. Everyone in the population stands a chance of being selected i.e. a blind fold so as to choose a number from a container. Stratified sampling-this technique assumes that the population is stratified into strata and subgroups e.g. geographical location, income, age, ranks cadre etc. This technique allows the cases in the smaller population to be included in adequate numbers to enhance comparison thus making it easy to understand. Systematic sampling- according to this technique, every Kth case in the entire population is picked so as to be included in the sample so as to get a true random sample. The list of the entire members in the sampling frame has to be put in random. Arrangement of cases may follow a pattern e.g. color, size etc. Furthermore, interval sampling also follows a systematic manner i.e. the distance between the cases. Cluster sampling- this consists of a cluster or a group of smaller subunits or elements. For any sample of a given size, smaller units usually provide precise results more than the larger units. Types of none-probability sampling There are four types of non-probability sampling Availability sampling- it is a method used to choose subjects which are easy or available to find. The samples are not restricted, and it is mostly a cheaper and easier method to conduct although it is unreliable. The researcher can stand in a certain corner of the street and choose whoever he finds. Purposive sampling-this method is confined to some criteria. The elements to be studied are chosen depending on the objectives of the study; therefore, the subjects of the case are handpicked and posses certain required characteristics. The method does not provide a sample that represent the entire population, but that can assist in the study. Snowball sampling-it is a method where the researcher picks one member of the targeted population, speaks to her/him, and then requests that individual to identify other persons in the entire population that can assist the researcher. The person picked is requested to refer the researcher to others thus making it look like a referral system. Quota sampling-this is designed to improve the representativeness. The researcher sets a quota that ensures that the sample got represents the characteristics of the entire population. One should specify control dimension that has a distribution that can estimate issues under a study e.g. class level- undergraduate/graduate, gender-male/female, religion-catholic Muslim etc. Advantages of probability sampling The main advantage of probability sampling is that it is fair where several names are being selected from a box that is full of forms. According to this method, every participant has an equal chance of being selected. Disadvantages The disadvantage of probability sampling is that there may be a lot of flaws whereby people may interfere with the fairness of the sampling process. For instance, during a contest, duplicate or illegal ballots may be put into a box which may add weight against the favor of an individual. Advantages of Non-probability sampling One of the advantages of this method is that it is cheap, convenient and less expensive to administer. It can be of great use when descriptive a comment concerning certain sample is needed. Disadvantages According to this method, there is no exact way of estimating the probability of an element being picked from a sample since the elements are arbitrarily chosen. Furthermore, there is no assurance that each item will be included in the sample therefore making it difficult to identify the biases or estimation of variability. There is no exact measurement of reliability in non-probability sampling, since the only of addressing the quality of data is a comparison of survey results with the population data. This makes it difficult to estimate acceptable error level. Secondary data analysis This is the data which was collected by somebody else other than the researcher for the purpose of other studies. Sources of this secondary data include data obtained through qualitative research or methodologies. Secondary data analysis involves location of data, evaluation of data and data verification. Re-use of qualitative data offers a distinctive opportunity to have a look at the raw materials of the more distant or recent past. This allows one to get a deeper understanding for both theoretical and methodological purposes. During the analysis of secondary data, proper documentation cannot be overlooked since it provides required baseline where the results from the primary data can be evaluated. It is always recommended to commence every research work by reviewing the secondary data. Issues addressed with evaluability assessments. Evaluability assessment is an investigation done before any program is evaluated and it provides information on whether a program should be evaluated or not. The assessment is used to explain the activities and objectives of a program so as to ascertain its feasibility, credibility, acceptability and sustainability. The evaluability should address the following issues: It should identify the objectives of the program Identify the activities to be done so as to achieve the objectives Identify incongruence that might exist between the objectives and the anticipated activities Providing evaluation and management options Comparison of actual field activities to the intended program activities Feasibility study questions that would be relevant for a racial profiling evaluation When conducting the feasibility study, the following questions could be relevant. How much is expected to be used during the feasibility study? What are the causes of social profiling? What are the perceptions that people have towards traffic stops and racial profiling? What are some of the hindrances that can affect traffic stops and racial profiling campaign? Conclusion For any effective field research, various methods have to be followed so as to obtain intended outcome. There should be a best choice of sampling technique that represents the entire population. The research problem should be empirically verifiable i.e. the facts of the outcome can be tested under the controlled observation. It should also be logical and rational thus going beyond the common sense. In most cases, the common knowledge may require rational verification before it can be tested as a fact. Furthermore, the research should be open to modification in light of new theories and methods. The research should be carried out to fulfill particular purpose, for a particular consumer, and for an intended course of action Reference list Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. London: Sage. D., S. (2004). Doing Qualitative Research. London: Sage. Filho, W. L. (2000). Research methodology . Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Pope, C. L. (2009). Title: Voices From the Field: Readings in Criminal Justice Research. London: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Rossi, P. L. (2004). Expressing and assessing program theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Strosberg, M. A. (2008). Evaluability assessment: from theory to practice in the department of health and human services. Public Administration Review , 66-71. Read More