DATA COLLECTION

• Research is carried out to discover facts which

enables us to make appropriate decision.
These facts are derived from processing what
we call data.
• Usually in research there are two types of
data, namely primary data and secondary data
(singular datum)
• Secondary data are ones which have already
been collected by someone else and have
already been passed through the statistics
process, but primary data are those which are
collected afresh and for the first time, and
thus happen to be original in character
(Kothari, 2008: 95)
 Secondary Data
Advantages of secondary data

•Secondary data have many advantages, which are outlined below,

according to Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2005):
•Time and money are saved because one does not have to go field to
collect them
•Most of secondary data are of high quality since they are collected and
compiled by experts using rigorous methods;
•If such data are collected yearly or regularly like the state of the
economy (yearly) or household budget survey data (regularly), they
provide a good opportunity for longitudinal analysis.
• They facilitate international research to compare
countries.
• They can suggest suitable methods to handle a
particular research problem.
• They are useful in answering research questions
or solving research problems.
• They help in problem statement by providing
information about a research gap and evidence
of the presence of a research problem.
 Disadvantages of secondary data
• They are collected for another study with different objectives
and may not completely fit the problem of another research;
• Some of them may be of low quality, especially if the people who
collected and analysed them had little competence and
• Sometimes it is difficult to classify secondary data in ways that
are consistent with the study at hand, especially if the variables
have
• Even if the same measurement units have been used, the
definitions of terms may differ.
 Sources of Secondary Data
• Secondary data can be obtained from various sources
including the following ones,
(a)Personal documents, (b) diaries, (c) letters,
(d) Official published documents,
(e) Newspapers,
(f) Commercial or organl documents,
(h) Maps,
(i) Academic outputs including dissertations
and theses,
(j) Journal articles and conference papers,
(i) lecture notes, (l) research reports,
(m) text books,
(n) web pages including Yahoo and Google, and
(o) databases
 Primary Data
• Since secondary data have many disadvantages as
outlined above, collection of primary data is usual in
order to avoid the deficiencies of secondary data. In
other words, when secondary data are not available or
ones that are available are not enough to answer
research questions, we must collect primary data that
are relevant to our particular study and research
problem.
 Advantages of primary data
• Primary data have a lot of advantages as outlined
below, according to Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2005:
102-103):
• They are more consistent with research
questions and objectives since they are collected
for a particular research project at hand; and
• They help to know people’s attitudes and
intentions about issues being researched about
since the respondents can be asked to clarify
their answers.
 Disadvantages of primary data
• They can take a long time and substantial time and cash to
collect.
• Some desirable respondents are not willing to cooperate,
especially if when research is on sensitive issues.
• If procedures, tools, methods, and procedures of data
collection and analysis befitting a study at hand are not
used, the study is jeopardised.
• The researchers are fully dependent on the willingness and
ability of the respondents.
• Some common reasons for people’s reluctance or refusal to
cooperate are lack of time, lack of incentives, fear of
negative consequences if they give honest answers, and
fear of embarrassment in case of sensitive issues.
 Sources of primary data
• Experiments as sources of primary data are more
relevant in natural science; observations are more
relevant in anthropology; and communications are
more relevant in social science (both quantitative
and qualitative). Surveys are commoner in
quantitative social research through questionnaires
and interview schedules, but interviews (particularly
semi-structured and unstructured ones) are
commoner in qualitative social research
SOURCES OF PRIMARY [Link]
 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
• There are two main instruments for collection
of social quantitative primary data, namely a
questionnaire and an interview schedule.
According Kothari, 2008, an interview
schedule is a collection of questions designed
to be asked by an interviewer (enumerator) to
an interviewee (respondent) in a structured
interview.
• A questionnaire is a collection of questions
which are administered to the respondents
through the post office or by e-mail and the
respondents fill in the questionnaire by
themselves in which case the instrument is
called a self-administered or self-completion
questionnaire
• Three aspects are very crucial when designing a
questionnaire or an interview schedule. These are: (a) type
of questions, (b) wording of questions, and (c) layout of the
questionnaire.
(a) Types of questions
• Literature has it that there are two main two types of
questions, i.e. open-ended questions and closed-ended
question.
Open-ended questions:
• are the ones which allow free responses
usually recorded in the respondents’ own
words. The respondents are not given any
possible answers to choose from.
• Examples of open-ended questions are:
– What is your age?..........................................
– What is your income per month? ……………………..
– What suggestions do you have to improve the
chances of Agriculture First succeeding?
Closed-ended questions:
are ones which offer a list of possible options or answers from which a
respondent has to select one or more.
Which of the following you like to eat?
•Chicken Yes No
•Fish Yes No
•Eggs Yes No
One wants the respondents to express their opinions by choosing
points on a scale
Example: TIA is the best college of Accountancy and business
studies in Tanzania
– Strongly agree
– Agree
– Undecided
– Disagree
– Strongly disagree
 (b) Wording of questions
• Wording of the questions should be done very
carefully. The following points may help to
construct good research instruments by avoiding
the most obvious problems.
• Simple language should be used,
• Questions should be short
• Leading questions should not be set
• As much as possible, negative questions (those
including the word not) should be avoided
• Questions should not have prestige bias.
(c) Questionnaire/Schedule layout
• This concerns the spacing and positioning of
both questions and answers, as well as
positioning of the interviewers' instructions.
Layout of questionnaire is important because
it: Makes the questionnaire easier to use
during interview;
• Gives better guidance and reminders to the
interviewers thus improving the quality of the
interview