Methods and Challenges in Data Collection

4. The key methods of collecting primary data (1.1). Justify the choice and application of data collection methods and research instruments to explore an area under investigation (2.3). Evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses (2.4)

nature of the research approach calls for a means of data collection and analysis of findings

The research topic is selected, the testable research question is developed, research on the topic is found, the literature review is completed, and a decision is made on the research design. Now, one of the most important steps in the research process to accomplish is the collection of data. Notwithstanding the research project and whether the method of research is whether qualitative or quantitative, data must be collected. Data collection is essential whether the method of choice is a mail survey, a telephone survey, an interview, an experiment, field research, or secondary data analysis. Data collection is an important aspect of any research study. Inaccurate data can impact the results of a study and ultimately lead to invalid results. During the data collection step, a significant amount of time, energy and attention are required. In order to ensure the data collection process is valid and successful, one should adhere to the four steps involved: (1) the construction of a collection data form which is used to organize all data that is collected; (2) the designation of the coding strategy used to represent data on a data collection form; (3) the collection of the actual data; and (4) entry into the data collection form (Salkind, 2012).

The main purpose of the most researchers in conducting a research study is to achieve a statistically significant result. When we say statistically significant, it means that the result in a research study was not attributed to chance. In addition, it also means

In this assignment I will be explaining the reasons for selecting the particular method of data collection for a selected product/service.

The data collection and recording procedures were adequately described within the article, but as far as the data collection it was not appropriate due to the use of one single data collection,

This section will provide the rationale of the methods employed and highlight how the study will be performed. The study will examine the population with the sample size identified, data collection method and its analysis will be offered.

Encountering problems: It is possible that the researcher will encounter minor to major issues during the data collection. The first issue is failure to establish operational definitions such as handling multiple possible defects and which unit of measure one will use in collecting the data. The second issue is adding bias to the data collection process. These issues are errors of procedure, missing data and the change in pace of the process being studied.

Quantitative research involves collection of data using a survey technique from human participants. Major benefit of human participants is that a researcher will be able to collect valid and reliable

The researcher will look at different methods and decide which should use to gather the information required to answer the hypothesis questions. These methods may both include quantitative and qualitative approach such as interviews, questionnaires, conducting experiments or gathering data through statistic. After choosing appropriate methods, the researcher will investigate possible ethical implications, validity and reliability of the data collected.

1.The techniques used for rigorous methods that are used for the collection of data.The analysis and the attention to the various issues like validity, reliability and triangulation

Quantitative research is concerned with objectivity, tight controls over the research situation, and the ability to generalized findings (Nieswiadomy, 2008, p.

In general, there are several methods for data collection and the different data collection methods provided its own advantages and disadvantages (Sekaran 2003, p. 223). For carrying out the data collection, the appropriate methods should be applied. In the research, the data collection could be done through the interview, for example, face-to-face and telephone interview. To collect the data by using interview technique, the questionnaire is commonly employed as the instrument for gathering data, the questionnaire could be able to distribute by mail or electronic mail. In addition, the data collection could be conducted by observation of individuals with or without audio or video recording. Before choosing the methods for data collection the expertise of the researcher, the degree of accuracy required, time and resources must be taken into consideration. Thus,

The sources of information from which the author has obtained required data and descriptions of methods used to collect the information

The purpose of this chapter is to set out the approaches adopted during data collection and data analysis.