DIFFERENT DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Different Data Collection Methods

Different Data Collection Methods

Introduction

The questions under consideration and the answers obtained by any particular study will depend on whether the study uses quantitative or qualitative approaches. Qualitative and quantitative distinctions are grounded in two contrasting approaches to categorizing and explaining data. Different paradigms produce and use different types of data. Early studies distinguished the two methods according to the kind of data collected, whether textual or numerical. The classic qualitative approach includes study of real-life settings, focus on participants' context, inductive generation of theory, open-ended data collection, analytical strategies based on textual data, and use of narrative forms of analysis and presentation. (Agresti 2009)

Basically, the qualitative method refers to a research paradigm that addresses interpretation and socially constructed realities. The classic quantitative approach encompasses hypothesis formulation based on precedence, experiment, control groups and variables, comparative analysis, sampling, standardization of data collection, statistics, and the concept of causality. Quantitative design refers to a research paradigm that hypothesizes relationships between variables in an objective way. (Creswell 2009)

Literature Review

Mixed-Method Research and Measurement

The rationale of mixed-method research is underpinned by the principle of triangulation, which implies that researchers should seek to ensure that they are not over reliant on a single research method and should instead employ more than one measurement procedure when investigating a research problem. (Creswell 2009)

Participant Observation

Participant observation is a method of data collection in which the investigator uses participation in an area of ongoing social life to observe it. The investigator may or may not already be a natural member of the social setting studied. In the grid, rows typically represent cases and columns represent variables. (Brady 2007)

Questionnaires are widely used in surveys because they ask the questions in the same way of each person and thus provide a simple and efficient way of constructing a structured data set. (Brady 2007)

Another way that quantitative and qualitative methods can exist together is by coding qualitative data into quantitative data. Just about any type of qualitative data can be assigned meaningful numerical values that can be manipulated to help condense the information and gain a different and more generalizable understanding of the data. One frequently used example is open-ended questions. Although more detailed insight is gained from an open-ended question than a categorical question, open-ended questions can typically be broken down into simple numerical categories allowing for a quantitative analysis. (Brady 2007)

Quantitative Methods

Quantitative methods are essentially a variety of research techniques that are used to gather quantitative data. There are a variety of different types of quantitative methods, which are briefly outlined in this section: experiments, quasi experiments, content analysis, and surveys. First, in experiments, participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions, as well as experimental controls. The individuals who are assigned to experimental controls are testing the independent variable. (Brady 2007)

Qualitative Methods

Quantitative methods are related to deductive approaches, positivism, data variance, and factual causation. Qualitative methods include inductive approaches, constructivism, and textual information. (Creswell 2009)

Pros and Cons of Different Data Collection Methods

There are several of pros ...