Data Collection And Research Methodology

Qualitative and quantitative research methods are two alternative applications for research methods. Both are very different in how data is collected, what data is collected, and how data is measured. Both of these research methods are utilized amongst the major areas of psychology and the social sciences. This paper will provide a brief description of qualitative and quantitative methods, provide the differences between the two approaches along with the terminology used for both; I will also refer to my article of choice from week one and specify which research method is used in that particular study; and finally, I will determine whether that same research study is non-experimental or experimental.

The methodology was described with the data collection method. Quantitative and qualitative questionnaire which consisted of closed questions with a choice of fixed answers and free text to enhance qualitative data were sent out in the form of mailshot, followed by telephone call to non-respondents and it was repeated for more wider sample results to gain more evidence to reduce bias (Parahoo, 2006).

Although the class has not had input into the methodology used to collect the data for this report it is still important for us to know why these methods were used. Questionnaires can be useful in order to get opinions and views from a large groups of people (McLeod 2014), such like conditions for the research for this reports. This can be useful as this can be an easier way of targeting a larger audience other than in interview purposes. This will also be more time consuming as everyone is answering the same questions.

“Problems researched with the use of appropriate methods greatly enhance the value of the research.” (Sekaran, 2003) Data can be collected through interviews, questionnaires, observations, and through other techniques, like projective tests. In even more detail, interviews can be conducted in a variety of different ways such as over the phone, through the computer, interviews through the electronic media, and face-to-face. Questionnaires can be conducted personally or administered electronically. “Interviewing, administering questionnaires, and observing people and phenomena are the three main data collection methods in survey research.” (Sekaran, 2003) As stated before, data can be collected in many different ways; however the value of the research is only greatly enhanced when personal opinions and bias is left out of the collection of data.

The survey is the most familiar and ever-present method used to collect demographic information, feelings, and opinions, and to learn about a defined population (Graziano & Raulin, 2010). Also, use of a web-based survey will allow for immediate distribution of data (Greenlaw & Brown-Welty, 2009). In addition, to get a feel for the type of question to best use on the questionnaire, a focus group will also be used. Questions will on the survey will be related to the following information needed, i.e., 1)

The procedure used to collect information for the research study is a survey and the techniques used were interview and questionnaire. An interview is when questions are posed to an individual to obtain information (What Is Survey Research? - Definition, Methods & Types, n.d.). A questionnaire is a series of written questions a participant answers (What Is Survey Research? - Definition, Methods & Types, n.d.). Follow- up questionnaires were administered to participant face- to- face and participants who were living long distance were interviewed by telephone.

There are multiple types of survey methods utilized in research. Three of the main survey methods include interviews, electronic surveys, and written surveys. In interviews, the assessor works directly with the respondent to obtain responses to the survey. Utilizing interviews allow researchers to obtain comprehensive and thorough responses. Moreover, the interviewer is able to follow-up on certain responses if more information is needed. Despite these benefits, interviews have some potential disadvantages. It is difficult to obtain a representative sample of a population willing to participate in an interview. Additionally, this type of survey is often costly in time and money. Furthermore, there is potential for interviewer bias to affect

Share your approach to synthesizing the evidence. What were the variables of interest you identified?

There is five different methods for survey research. The first one is national censuses, this surveys are used in market research, election polling, opinion polling, television ratings. This method is the most used in sociological surveys. The second method is sample surveys, in this sample researchers gather demographic and ecological facts about people they are researching. The third method is opinion polls, this method has marketing polls that help corporations to make decisions about their products. The fourth method is sampling error , this is part of the opinions palls. This important information for someone who reads and interprets the data, which it is a statistical analysis. The fifth method is questionnaire design. This method requires a lot of attention and many details at the same

In conclusion, there are many different data collection methods that are used for research. Many arguments in

When carrying out research it is possible that more than one data collection method may be used in carrying out the research in order to obtain relevant and reliable conclusions and this is the approach that was used by the researcher and the research gurus call this triangulation. The data collected on the project is thus a blend of primary and secondary data. According to Blaxter et al. (2001) primary data is original data that is collected at source, such as, survey data or experimental data whereas secondary data is existing data set that presents interpretations, conclusions or knowledge additional to, or different from that presented in the original data source. In this section we look at the detailed procedures which were used by the researcher to gather the data.

The survey is the most familiar and ever-present method used to learn about a defined population (Graziano & Raulin, 2010). Also, use of a web-based survey allow for an immediate collection of data to tabulate and study (Greenlaw & Brown-Welty, 2009).

Application of appropriate data collection method is important to avoid invalid evaluation results after implementation. As the data collection method plays an important role in impacting evaluation, a qualitative data collection method was chosen for this particular study. It is because; qualitative data provides useful information to understand the process behind the observed process and also helps in understanding nurses and patients perception towards the change management. Qualitative data will also help in generating evaluation hypothesis by strengthening the survey questionnaire and other evaluation findings (University of Wisconsin, n.d). In addition to this, as the evaluation method includes interview, observation and documentation,

Type or survey used: Commonly used methods for collecting quantitative data include telephone and face-to-face interviews, self-completion questionnaires (such as web-based, mail, email, or SMS) or combinations of these. Each has advantages and disadvantages in terms of the cost, time, response rate and the type of information that can be collected.

The method of data collection I’ve chosen to proceed in this investigation is interview. The reason for choosing this method is because of the features of a semi-structured interview, it includes a list of predetermined questions that will be use to refine the topic of the interview for which it will also helps to provide the interviewee with some guidance of what to talk about, enabling the interviewers and the respondent to diverge and elaborate in order to pursue an idea or response in greater depth and details beside of answering directly to what they are required to answer by the predetermined questions.(Britten N, 1999)