Methods on Collecting Data

1. Interview
- It is one of the major techniques in gathering data or information.
- It is defined as a purposeful face to face relationship between two persons, one of whom called
interviewer who asks questions to gather information and the other called the interviewee or the
respondent who supplies the information.

Purposes and uses of Interview

1. The researcher may approach and interview knowledgeable people to enable him to gain insights
into his problems.
2. The researcher may also interview knowledgeable people about the proper construction and
validation of questionnaire, or who can make any contribution to the enrichment of his study.
3. In cases when the subject of the study is a person with some signs of abnormality, the interviewer
may wish to gain information from overt, oral , physical , and emotional reactions of the subject
towards certain questions to be used for possible remedy of the abnormality.
4. The researcher may also use the interview as the principal tool in gathering data for his study or
just to supplement data collected by other techniques.

Advantages of Interview

1. It yields a more complete and valid information. The respondent is usually pressed for an answer
to question which the interviewer can validate at once. He can probe into the veracity of the reply
immediately.
2. The interview can be used with all kinds of people, whether literate or illiterate, rich or poor,
laborer or capitalist.
3. The interviewer can always clarify points or questions which are vague to the interviewee.
4. Only the interviewee respondent can make the replies to questions of the interviewer, unlike in
the case of questionnaire in which filling up a questionnaire may be delegated to another person
or the respondent may be aided by another person in making replies.
5. The interviewer can observe the nonverbal reactions or behavior of the respondents which may
reveal rich pertinent information. These are called subliminal cues which are “behavioral or
attitudes that are not specifically stated but are covertly displayed”.
6. Greater complex questions can be asked with the interviewer around to explain things greater
complex data which are vital to the study can be acquired.
7. There is flexibility. The interviewer can effect a modification of the interview or any question if
there is a need so that the desired information can be gathered.

Disadvantages of Interview

1. Sometimes, selected respondents are hard to contact or cannot be contacted at all because of the
distance of their place or due to some other reasons.
2. It is expensive if many interviewers have to be employed to meet a target date. The cost of
training them and their salaries would entail too much expense.
3. The responses may be inaccurate if the interviewee has no time to consult his records especially if
the needed data involve numerals.
4. It is time consuming if only the researcher conducts the interviews.
 5. It is inconvenient for both the interviewee and the interviewer in terms of time and sometimes in
terms of place. The interviewer has to travel distances.
6. There is no anonymity and so the interviewee may withhold some confidential but vital
information, especially if the information may possibly invite trouble. This is true if the
information is about the morality of an individual or the commission of graft and corruption.
7. There is the tendency of interviewers to introduce bias because they may influence the
interviewees to give replies that would favor their researcher-employers.
8. If the interviewer modifies a question, the standardized construction of the questions is lessened
and, categorization and tabulation become a problem.

Steps in the Interview

1. Planning
o Selection of the universe and the locale of the study.
o Selection of the respondents by any valid sampling method.
o Selection of the type of interview whether standardized, none standardized, focused ,
non-directive and etc.
o Preparation of the instrument, whether interview schedule or interview guide and
validating the same.
2. Selecting place for the interview.
- For guidance and counseling, the interviewer can select a very ideal place for the interview
specifically the place should be quiet and convenient as possible.
3. Establishing Report.
- A cordial and friendly atmosphere must be established. There must have an assurance that no
harm may befall on him and the information supplied by the interviewee will be kept as
confidential as possible.
4. Carrying out the interview
- The interviewer must be polite and friendly in carrying out the interview. He should have a sense
of gratitude in thanking his interviewee for the time and information that he gave and must learn
to maintain objectivity in the time of interview.
5. Recording the Interview.
- Record exactly and objectively what has been said by the respondents or any his nonverbal
expression overtly but do not write the interpretation.
6. Closing the Interview.
- Close the interview with an expression of gratitude and thankfulness for the information obtained
and the time sacrifice by the interviewee.

2. Questionnaire
- It is simply a set of questions which, when answered properly by a required number of properly
selected respondents, will supply the necessary information to complete a research study. This is
commonly used in behavioral research or social research.

Advantages of Questionnaire

1. The questionnaire is easy to construct.

- The rules an principles of construction is easy to follow.
2. Distribution is easy and inexpensive.
 - Many respondents can be reached by copies of the questionnaire either by mail or personal
distribution.
3. Responses are easy to tabulate.
- Responses on the questionnaire are objectified and standardized and these make tabulation easy.
4. The respondent’s replies are free.
- Respondent’s replies of his own free will because there is no interviewer to influence him.
5. Confidential information may be given freely.
- Confidential information which the respondent may not reveal to an interviewer may be given
freely if the respondent can be made anonymous.
6. The respondents can fill out the questionnaire at will.
- The respondent can accomplished the questionnaire at anywhere and anytime because there is no
pressing him to answer.
7. The respondents can give more accurate replies.
- There has a time for the respondents to think reflectively of his replies making them more
accurate that the results of the interviews.

Disadvantages of Questionnaire

1. The questionnaire cannot be used with those who cannot read nor wriete well, especially those
who are totally illiterate.
2. If many respondents may not return the filled out copies of the questionnaire purposely or
forgetfully, considerable follow ups are necessary.
3. The respondents gives wrong information, it cannot be corrected at once.
4. A respondent may leave some or many questions unanswered because nobody urges him to do so
or he may not understand the significance of the information he gives.
5. Some questions may be vague and so the respondent may not answer them or if he does, he may
give wrong replies.
6. The number of choices may be so limited that the respondents may be forced to select responses
that are not his actual choices. This especially true with the yes or no questions.

3. Case Study
- Is a kind of research wherein the researcher could reflect on the problems and perceived the
situation based on the perspective of the participant in the study. This kind of study is
characterized by the holistic approach wherein all the parts are needed in the analysis.

Importance of the Case Study

1. Case study could give literature in understanding a particular case, person or group.
2. It could effectively describe an event or process within the system.
3. The study could carry out investigations about a specific area.
4. This study could explore the complexities beyond the scope of the controlled boundaries.
5. This study could investigate further simce the researcher will use the perception of those who are
involved in the study.
6. This study could offer analysis from the inside of view.

Methods in Case Study

 1. Interview
2. Observation
3. Document Analysis
4. Record Analysis
5. Analysis of Work samples

Kinds of Evidence in the Case Study

A. Documents.
- This will provide a framework for your study.
B. Records
- This could provide background information about the study.
C. Interviews
D. Participant Observation
- The researcher will need to make a narrative on the behavior of a particular person or group.
E. Physical Artifacts
F. Research Log

Steps in Writing Case Study

1. Choose your topic. It could be person, a group of person, institution, organization and even an
event in History.
2. Reading of the related literature and related study.
3. Background check of your topic.
4. Observation and collection of data.
5. Prepare research log. It is necessary because observation is one of the important evidence in a
case study and the researcher should have a permanent record of all his observation with the date,
time and place of observation.
4. Survey
- Survey is defined as the act of examining a process or questioning a selected sample of
individuals to obtain data about a service, product, or process. Data collection surveys collect
information from a targeted group of people about their opinions, behavior, or knowledge.

Steps in Administering a Survey

1. Determine what you want to learn from the survey and how you will use the results.
2. Determine who should be surveyed by identifying the population group. If they are too large to
permit surveying everyone, decide how to obtain a sample. Decide what demographic
information is needed to analyze and understand the results.
3. Determine the most appropriate type of survey.
4. Determine whether the survey’s answers will be numerical rating, numerical ranking, yes-no,
multiple choice or open-ended, or a mixture.
5. Brainstorm questions and, for multiple choice, the list of possible answers. Keep in mind what
you want to learn, and how you will use the results. Narrow down the list of questions to the
absolute minimum that you must have in order to learn what you need to know.
6. Print the questionnaire or interviewer's question list.
7. Test the survey with a small group. Collect feedback.
a. Which questions were confusing?
b. Were any questions redundant?
c. Were answer choices clear? Were they interpreted as you intended?
 d. Did respondents want to give feedback about topics that were not included? (Open-ended
questions can be an indicator of this.)
e. On average, how long did it take for a respondent to complete the survey?
f. For a questionnaire, were there any typos or printing errors?
8. Test the process of tabulating and analyzing the results. Is it easy? Do you have all the data you
need?
9. Revise the survey based on test results.
10. Administer the survey.
11. Tabulate and analyze the data. Decide how you will follow through. Report results and plans to
everyone involved. If a sample was involved, also report and explain the margin of error and
confidence level.

5. Portfolio
- A portfolio is a systematic collection of student work that represents student activities,
accomplishments, and achievements over a specific period of time in one or more areas of the
curriculum.

Advantages of a portfolio

1. Enables faculty to assess a set of complex tasks, including interdisciplinary learning and
capabilities, with examples of different types of student work.
2. Helps faculty identify curriculum gaps, a lack of alignment with outcomes.
3. Promotes faculty discussions on student learning, curriculum, pedagogy, and student support
services.
4. Encourages student reflection on their learning. Students may come to understand what they have
and have not learned.
5. Provides students with documentation for job applications or applications to graduate school.

Disadvantages of a portfolio

1. Faculty time required to prepare the portfolio assignment and assist students as they prepare
them. Logistics are challenging.
2. Students must retain and compile their own work, usually outside of class. Motivating students to
take the portfolio seriously may be difficult.
3. Transfer students may have difficulties meeting program-portfolio requirements.
4. Storage demands can overwhelm (which is one reason why e-portfolios are chosen).

6. Critical Incident

- The term critical incident refers to a communication situation, which the participants (or one participant)
consider as problematic and confusing, even amusing. Critical incidents are occasions that stay in mind.
Typically, critical incidents consist of examples of cultural clash events - situations where unexpected
behavior occurs - with suggestions on how to solve these situations.

Advantages
Cit method has been described by service researchers as offering a number of benefits:

1. The data collected is from the respondent's perspective and in his or her own words
2. Provides a rich source of data by allowing respondents to determine which incidents are the most
relevant to them for the phenomenon being investigated
3. Allows respondents to provide as free a range of responses as possible within an overall research
framework
4. There is no preconception or determination of what will be important to the respondent
5. Does not restrict observations to a limited set of variables or activities
6. Offers a lot of information of little known phenomenon’s and explains them thoroughly.
7. Often used to create hypothesis, allowing for subsequent research on the topic
8. Suggests areas for improvements to the managers
9. Really well suited for assessing customers from other cultures.
10. Allows researchers to minimize their bias because respondents decide what incidents are the
most relevant.
11. Second the research process in inductive: it may generate the novel descriptions of previously
undocumented phenomenon’s, conceptual structures and research questions that may be tested in
the future.

Disadvantages

1. Some academics have criticized CIT on its lack of reliability and validity.
2. Incidents can be misinterpreted or misunderstood.
3. Criticized for having a design that may be flawed by recall bias and memory lapses.
4. Events may be reported incorrectly or untruthfully by the researcher.
5. Abbreviated and incomplete description of the incident.
6. Researchers may misunderstand and misinterpret people's stories.
7. During data analysis, ambiguity with regards to categories and code may arise and it will be
impossible to ask for clarifications.
8. Because CIT is retrospective, data validity may be affected by recall bias because respondents
may forget important details.

7. Observation
- As a mean of gathering information for research, maybe defined as perceiving data through the
senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The sense of sight is the most important and the
most used among other senses. Observation is the most direct way and the most widely used in
studying behavior.

Types of Observation

1. Participant and non-participant Observation

In participant observation, the observer takes active part in the activities of the group being
observed. While in non-participant observation, the observer is a mere bystander observing the
group he is studying about. He does not participate in the activities of the group.
2. Structured and unstructured observation
- Structured observation concentrates on a particular aspect or aspects of the variable being
observed, be it a thing, behavior, condition, or situation. While, in unstructured observation, the
observer does not hold any list of the items to be observed.
3. Controlled and uncontrolled observation
-controlled observation is usually utilized in experimental studies as well as the non-experimental
variables are controlled by the researcher, on other hand uncontrolled observation is usually
 utilized in natural settings. No control whatsoever is placed upon any variable within the
observation area

Advantages of Observation

1. The investigator is able to gather directly, first-hand information about the subject of the study.
2. The researcher can observe his subjects for as long as he needs the time and as many times as he
can for greater accuracy and validity in description and interpretation.
3. Observation is a superior technique of collecting information from nonverbal behavior and
inanimate objects.
4. The subjects of the inquiry can be observed in their natural settings and this will exclude
artificially in description and interpretation.

Disadvantages of Observation

1. In observation in natural settings, there is lack of control upon extraneous variables which may
adversely affect the validity of attributing certain causes upon certain effects.
2. There is a smaller size of sample if the universe covers a very wide area and the researcher cannot
afford to observe a substantial area.
3. It is difficult to quantify data for standard tabulation especially in unstructured observation and
when recording is done in the essay form.
4. Sometimes it is hard to gain entry into the area to be observed.
5. Lack of anonymity makes the observed subjects withdraw or keep secret some vital but sensitive
and controversial information.

8. Experiment
- It is a controlled study of a group. The researcher controls how members are placed study groups
and which treatment each group receives.

Advantages of Experiment

1. It has a unique ability to isolate causal factors, since an experiment is highly controlled.
2. This method promises more accuracy in the study.
3. Reliable data can be controlled.
4. Experiment is more suitable to the problem with heterogeneous influencing factors.

Disadvantages of Experiment

1. The controlled variables may distort the validity of the obtained results, and especially the
ecological validity.
2. This is the very costly method.
3. This is unsuitable to simple problems with limited scope.
4. Experiment is a time consuming method.

9. Focus Group
- A focus group is a market research method that brings together 6-10 people in a room to provide
feedback regarding a product, service, concept, or marketing campaign. A trained moderator leads a 30-
90-minute discussion within the group that is designed to gather helpful information.

Advantages of Focus Group

1. Are generally lower cost than other methods

2. Can generate results very quickly
3. Are easy to conduct
4. Can supplement verbal responses with body language and other non-verbal cues
5. Information gathered is in respondents’ own words, which is more accurate
6. Technique is flexible and can be adjusted based on group behavior

Disadvantages of Focus Group

1. Because a focus group involves multiple participants, the downsides of using this technique are
generally related to the interactions between participants
2. Participants can be influenced by others in the group
3. Domineering participants can skew the results
4. Results from a small group can’t always be generalized to a larger population
References:

Books:

1. Francisco M., Francis, V., & Arlos, A. Practical research 1: Qualitative research
2. Calderon, J., & Gonzales, E. Methods of research and technical writing.
3. Scheaffer, R., Mulekar, M., & McClave, J. Probability and statistics for Engineering students.

Internet:

For critical Incident:

https://www.jyu.fi/viesti/verkkotuotanto/kp/ci/introduction.shtml

https://mycriticalincidentassignmentman6706.weebly.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-
technique.html

For Focus Group:

https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/focus-group

For Portfolio

https://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/assessment/resources/how-to/using-portfolios-in-program

For Survey:

https://asq.org/quality-resources/survey