DESIGN OF DATA COLLECTION TOOLS

1. TYPES OF DATA COLLECTION TOOLS

1.1 Interview Schedule – a tool used by

the interviewer to ask questions and
record responses during the conduct
of personal interviews.

1.2 Questionnaire – a data collection tool

which is self-administered or
completed without the assistance of
an interviewer.

1.3 Form – a concise data collection tool.

It contains only labels or names of
variables (ex., age) instead of the
items being phrased in question form
(How old are you?)

1.4 Guide questions – a listing of

questions which serve as discussion
or observation guides to be used for
qualitative modes of data collection
like focus group discussions, nominal
group techniques, participant
observation, etc.)
2. GOALS IN DESIGNING DATA COLLECTION
TOOLS

2.1 RELEVANCE

 What specific kinds of data are needed

by the researcher?

 The inclusion of each item in the data

collection tool must be justified in
relation to:

 why the item or question will be

asked (RESEARCH OBJECTIVES)

 what will be done with the

information (DATA ANALYSIS)

2.2 ACCURACY

 enhanced when the wording and the

sequence of the items/questions are
designed to facilitate recall or to
motivate the respondent to answer
accurately
3. CONSIDERATIONS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF DATA COLLECTION
TOOLS

a. Who will make the entries?

b. Wording of questions
c. Sequence and flow of questions
d. Number of questions or items asked
e. Purpose and relevance
f. Is the questionnaire or interview
schedule to be used repeatedly?
g. What type of data processing will be
used?

4. GUIDELINES TO QUESTION
DEVELOPMENT AND FORMATTING

4.1 General Guidelines

a. Remember that the aim of designing

data collection tools is to obtain
complete and accurate information
which is relevant to the objectives of
the data collection activity
b. Remember that the respondent is
doing the data collector a favor by
providing the necessary information.

c. Justify the relevance of each

question or item in the data
collection tool.

 Avoid extraneous or irrelevant

questions

 Avoid “back-rider” questions to

the extent possible.

d. Be sensitive to concerns the

respondent may have to his/her
privacy

 Empathy – think as a respondent

when developing the data
collection tool
4.2 Question Wording

a. Be careful about questions which

require respondents to recall events
or facts which occurred sometime in
the past

 need to minimize recall or

memory bias

 the respondent can be helped

in recalling events by tying-up
dates with significant events

b. Use simple, generally familiar words

which respondents might use in a
conversation. Avoid technical
jargon, formal language and
colloquialism

c. Avoid questions which are

ambiguous because of a generally
inadequate frame of reference
e.x., “How many times were you
sick?”
d. Avoid “multi-barrelled” questions.
.These are questions which are ask
for more than one item at the same
time.

e. Avoid “leading” questions. These

are questions which are phrased in
such a way that the respondent
gets a clue on what the desired
response is, and will be encouraged
to provide it.

f. Avoid emotionally charged words in

questions which arouse positive or
negative feelings which might
overshadow the specific content of
the question.

g. Avoid threats or appeals to the

respondent’s “self-esteem” – i.e.,
questions which overtly flatter the
respondent or hurt his pride.

h. Be wary of the implications of

personalized questions as
compared to impersonalized
questions
4.3 Format

a. When arranging the sequence of the

questions or items in the data
collection tool, start with those which
are easy to administer or to answer.
The first questions should be an
attempt to:

 create the respondent’s

interest and motivation

 build the respondent’s

confidence in the data
collection activity

b. Items or questions should be

grouped according to subject areas
to avoid an unnatural flow

c. Respondents should be eased into

embarrassing or sensitive questions
by a series of lead-in questions
d. A good data collection tool must be:

d1. easy to understand

 important words and phrases
are underlined or printed in
italics

 use of all capital letters for

instructions to interviewers

d2. easy to follow

 use of instructions

 sequential numbering

 indentation

e. Consider data processing when

developing the format and listing of
response options to closed response
questions
5. PRE-TESTING A DATA COLLECTION
TOOL

5.1 General Guidelines

a. If the data collection tool was

developed using a language/dialect
which is different from the one which
will be used during the actual data
collection, it should be translated first
before it is pre-tested. The translated
version should be the one used for
pre-testing.

b. Select a sample of individuals who are

representative of the population
towards which the data collection tool
is eventually intended

c. Administer the pre-test under

conditions comparable to those
anticipated in the actual data
collection activity
d. Examine the returned trial forms or
questionnaires for trouble signs –
items left blank or yielding no useful
information, ambiguous answers, etc.

e. Analyze the results to assess the

effectiveness of the draft of the data
collection tool to yield the desired
information.

f. Make appropriate deletions, additions

and modifications to the data
collection tool

5.2 Evidence for the Need for Revision

a. High incidence of “don’t know”

responses, or items left blank

b. High incidence of incomplete

interviews

c. Responses to one or more

questions fall into only one category

d. Too many ambiguous or qualified

(e.g., “It depends”) responses
e. Responses elicited are irrelevant to
the objectives of the data collection
activity