![]() Unlike an interview, where a researcher can react to the direction of a respondent’s answers, a poorly designed questionnaire will lead the study nowhere quickly. To be meaningful, surveys and questionnaires need to be carefully planned. This can be useful if you’re collecting a large amount of data from a large population. You can assign numerical values to the data to speed up the analysis. Questionnaires and surveys can be used to ask questions that have closed-ended answers.ĭata gathered from questionnaires and surveys can be analyzed in many different ways. The hotter the weather, the more likely people will eat ice cream and spend time outside, resulting in higher rates of sunburn. Hot weather is a confounding variable to both ice cream consumption and sunburn. However, there’s a possibility that an additional variable - temperature - affects both of these occurrences. If both figures rise together, an unscientific conclusion may be that ice cream is the source of sunburns. A confounding variable is an extra, unintended variable that can skew your results by introducing bias and suggesting a correlation where there isn’t one.Ĭonsider, as an example, the correlation between sunburn and ice cream consumption. It’s a holistic approach to evaluation that uses a variety of techniques.Īs in interviewing, the researcher can become a confounding variable. An oral history can shed light on exactly what transpired. For example, a researcher may be interested in studying the effect of a flood on a community. Unlike interviews and surveys, oral histories are linked to a single phenomenon. But an oral history is more precisely defined as the recording, preservation, and interpretation of historical information based on the opinions and personal experiences of people who were involved in the events. Both data collection methods involve asking questions. Open-ended questions ground the research in a particular state of mind, eliminating external interference. Īt first glance, an oral history might sound like an interview. The purpose of a focus group is to add a collective element to individual data collection.Ī focus group study can ask participants to watch a presentation, for example, then discuss the content before answering survey or interview-style questions.įocus groups often use open-ended questions such as, “How did you feel about the presentation?” or “What did you like best about the product?” The focus group moderator can ask the group to think back to the shared experience, rather than forward to the future. However, since the researcher has less control over the results, documents and records can be an incomplete data source.Ī combination of interviewing, surveying, and observing, a focus group is a data collection method that involves several individuals who have something in common. Using documents and records can be efficient and inexpensive because you’re predominantly using research that has already been completed. Attendance records, meeting minutes, and financial records are just a few examples of this type of research. Document- and records-based research uses existing data for a study. Sometimes you can collect a considerable amount of data without asking anyone anything. Observation also can be combined with additional information, such as video. In general, observation can determine the dynamics of a situation, which generally cannot be measured through other data collection techniques. Variables that require the observer to make distinctions, such as how many millennials visit a restaurant in a given period, can introduce potential problems. But in some circumstances, the risk of bias is minimal.įor example, if a study involves the number of people in a restaurant at a given time, unless the observer counts incorrectly, the data should be reasonably reliable. This method is more subjective, as it requires the researcher, or observer, to add their judgment to the data. Observation involves collecting information without asking questions. Compared to other primary data collection methods, such as surveys, interviews are more customizable and responsive. ![]() Interviews also allow for open-ended questions. But sometimes an in-person interview can be worth the cost, as the interviewer can tailor follow-up questions based on responses in a real-time exchange. There are ways to limit the cost of interviews, such as conducting them over the phone or through a web chat interface.
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