Data Collection Strategy

Data and statistics is able to be collected through a number of different ways to gather information, the majority of people have taken part

Once the researcher knows what information to collect and where to find it, the first step in the data collection process is to organize the data on a constructed collection data form. This process allows the researcher to make

4. What are the limitations of the survey method, and how would you overcome the limitations of this research method, or any research approach?

Researchers often times are faced with the decision of choosing a methodology of research; either Quantitative or Qualitative that they think best fits their study and objectives. This choice is guarded by the topic of study, the advantages and disadvantages, and the strengths and weaknesses of using either one or the other type of the methodologies.

A questionnaire is a list of a research or survey questions asked to respondents, and designed to extract quantitative date. Questionnaires are easily distributed to the community and can be completed and collected on the spot or be emailed or posted back to the researcher. Self completed questionnaires are the most common survey as they are cheap and can be passed to a lot of people. Some sociologists tend not to use questionnaires because of their low response rate and lack of validity. Also, some people may give false information so some researchers like to stick to interviews and experiments for increased accuracy. I will explore why sociologists shy away from using questionnaires.

A research team leader will randomly select eligible participants and divided them into two equal groups, A and B. Group A pre-intervention and Group B post intervention. There are multiple delivery methods available for collection data such as interview (one-on-one, via telephone or in person), focus groups, and observation. The traditional method paper-and-pencil survey whose results are subsequently entered into a software program will be used as well as an online based collection to reducing the cost of data collection and encouraging voluntary participants. The data will be electronically downloaded directly to an Excel spreadsheet for analysis and minimizing data entry error or bias. There will be four different types

A questionnaire is research which involves a number of different questions to gather information from the people who are filling it in. Questionnaires are designed as a way to find out what people are thinking. An advantage of questionnaires is that it is very practical because it is quick to collect information from the people filling out the questionnaire. Another advantage of questionnaires is that the same questions is asked to everyone filling the questionnaire out so easy to sum up. The final advantage to questionnaires is that large information can be collected. There are also some disadvantages to questionnaires which is that there is no way of telling how much though someone who is filling the questionnaire out has put it. Another disadvantage is that the person filling it out may forget what has happened to fill it out so it won’t be reliable. The final disadvantage to questionnaires is that there is no way to tell how truthful a respondent is being.

Data collection methods are the third process.  Data can be collected in many ways such as: observation, surveys, focus groups, and reanalysis of existing data, questionnaires, and interviews (Hagan, 2010, p. 19).  Data collection is a vital portion of any kind of research.  Inaccurate data collection will affect the results of a study and inevitably lead to invalid results.

“Research in health and social care usually relies on obtaining information from individuals using social research methodologies”. (Whitehouse, M, 2010:428). Questionnaires are suitable for obtaining important information from many individuals in a survey who are answering the questions this is known as ‘respondents’. Questionnaires gives us the opportunity to ask questions of participants but also allows answers to be given according to the options constructed by the researcher using a response frame. A response frame allows a limited choice of different responses. Also there are self-completion questions this allows respondents to fill in the answers themselves. The questionnaire may be delivered to individuals directly by hand or by post or even online the researcher may contact through an email address. They may be asked to complete a customer satisfaction questionnaire. For example at college we are sent online questionnaires through are student email, questionnaires

Quantitative research deals with numbers and is measurable. Some examples of quantitative data are cost, number of participants and time. This type of research is systematic and uses the more traditional scientific method of data collection and presentation. Qualitative research has data that is nonnumeric in nature and it is difficult to measure. As the root of the same suggests, it gives a quality description of the data being viewed. It can include descriptions or verbal responses. Qualitative data is subjective in the sense that the answer can be different amongst various people.

There are a number of methods of collecting data, some of them are – questionnaire, surveys, checklists, interviews, observations, focus group etc (Cordray, 1986; Einhorn and Hogarth, 1986).

Also cost effective, the mail surveys specifically targeted the members and their spouses. Postal surveys can target specific people (necessary for the member and spouse data collection), and allow respondents the ability to answer the survey at their leisure. On the other hand, mail questionnaires are a slower data gathering method as compared to internet surveys (Hoonakker & Carayon, 2009, p. 359). Similarly, the possibility of response-based error may occur if respondents do not correctly

Describe the data collection method you are using and the frequency with which you collect the data for your research project. Include a description of your assessments and your guidelines for analyzing the collected data.

The strength of questionnaires is it can give an insight into respondent’s thoughts and opinions and also cost efficient as it is inexpensive.

Quantitative data collection involves the use of numbers to assess information. This information can then be evaluated using statistical analysis which offers researchers the opportunity to dig deeper into the data and look for greater meaning. The Quantitative data collection methods rely on random sampling and structured data collection instruments that fit varied experiences