Chapter 5: Data Collection Methods

Chapter 5

Data Collection Methods

USES OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA

The task of data collection begins after problem has been identified.

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Chapter 5: Data Collection Methods
While deciding about the method of data collection to be used for the study the
researcher should keep in mind two types of data viz, primary data and secondary.
The primary data are those, which are collected afresh and for first time and thus
happens to be original in character.
The secondary are those which have been collected by someone else and which
have already been passed through statistical process.
The researcher would have to decide which sort of data he would be using for his
study.
The method collecting primary and secondary data differ since primary data are to
be originally collected while in case of secondary data the nature of data collection
work is merely that of compilation.
There are several ways of collecting primary data.
They are:
1. Observation method
2. Interview method
3. Through questionnaires
4. Through schedules

OTHER PRIMARY METHODS

Warranty cards
Distributors audits
Pantry audits
Consumer panels
Using mechanical devices
Through projective techniques
Depth interviews
Content analysis

COLLECTION OF SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data means that are already available that is they refer to the data, which
have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. When the researcher
utilizes secondary data, then he has to look into various sources from where he can
obtain them. In this case he is certainly not confronted with the problems that are
usually associated with the collection of original data. Secondary data may be either
published or unpublished data usually published data are available in:
Various publications of the central, state and local government
Various publications of foreign government or of international bodies and their
subsidiary organization.
Technical and trade journals
Books magazines and newspapers
Reports publication of various associations connected with business and industry,
banks, stocks exchanges etc
Reports prepared by various scholars’ universities economists etc in different field
Public records and statistics, historical documents and other sources of publish
information. The sources of unpublished data are many; they may be found in
diaries, letters unpublished biographies and autobiographies and also may be
available with scholar’s research workers. Trade organization, labor bureaus and
other public/private organizations
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Researcher must be careful in using data .he must make a minute because it is just
possible that the secondary data may be unsuitable or maybe be inadequate in the
context of a problem which the researcher wants to study.
It is observed that it is never safe to take publishes statistics at their face value
without knowing their meaning and limitation.

Before using secondary data following characteristics must be kept in mind

Reliability of data: finding out such things about the said data can test the reliability
Who collected the data
What were the sources of data
Were they colleted by using proper method
at what time were they collected
Was there any bias of the complier
What level f accuracy was desired
Was it achieved?

Suitability of data: The data that are suitable for one enquiry may not necessarily
be found in another enquiry. Hence if the available data are found to be suitable,
they should not be used by the researcher .in the context, the researcher must be
very carefully scrutinize the definition of various units and terms of collection used at
the time of collecting the data from the primary source originally. similarly the object
scope and nature of a original enquiry must also be studied .if the researcher finds
differences the data will remain unsuitable for the present enquiry and should be
used.

Adequacy of the data: if the level of accuracy achieved in data found inadequate
for the purpose of the present enquiry, they will be considered as inadequate and
should not be used by the researcher. The data will also be considered inadequate, if
they are related to an area which may be either narrower or wider than the area of
the present enquiry.

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TYPES OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION

-- OBSERVATIONS AND SURVEYS

1) OBSERVATION METHOD
Observation becomes a scientific tool and the method of data collection for the
researcher when it serves a formulated research purpose is systematically planned
and recorded and is subjected to checks and controls on validity and reliability.

Under the observation method the information is sought by way of investigators own
direct observation without asking from respondent

EXAMPLE
In a study relating to consumer behaviour the investigator instead of asking the
brand of wristwatch used by the respondent may himself look for the watch.

ADVANTAGES
1. The method eliminates subjective bias
2. The information obtained under this method relates to what is current
happening it is not complicated either by past behaviour or future intentions
and attitudes.
3. This method is independent of respondent willingness to respondents as such
is relatively less demanded of active co-operation on the part of the
respondents as happens to be the case in interview or the questionnaire
method.
4. This method is particularly suitable in studies, which deal with subjects who
are not capable giving verbal reports of their feeling for one reason or the
other.

DISADVANTAGES

1. Its s an expensive method

2. The information provided by this method is very limited.
3. Sometimes unforeseen factors may interfere with the observational task.
4. The fact that some people are rarely accessible to direct observation creates
obstacle for this method to collect data effectively.

2) SURVEYS
Surveys are concerned with describing, recording, analyzing and interpreting
conditions that exist or existed. The researcher does not manipulate the variable or
arrange for events to happen Surveys are only concerned with conditions or
relationships that exist, opinions that are held, processes that are going on, effects
that are evident or trends that are developing. They are primarily concerned with
present but at times do consider past events and influences as they relate to current
conditions.

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1. Survey type researches usually have larger samples because percentages of
responses generally happen to be low, as low as 20 to 30%, especially in
mailed questionnaire studies. Thus, the survey method gathers data relatively
from the large number of cases at a peculiar time; it is essentially cross-
sectional.
2. Surveys are conducted in case of descriptive research studies, usually
appropriate in case of social and behavioral sciences because many types of
behavior that interest researcher cannot be arranged in realistic setting.
3. Surveys are example of field research and are concerned with hypothesis
formulation and testing analysis of the relationship between non-manipulated
variables.
4. Surveys may either be census or sample surveys. They may also be
classified as social surveys, economic surveys, public opinion surveys.
Whatever be their type, the method of data collection happens to be either
observation or interview or questionnaire or opinionnaire or some projective
technique. Case method may as well be used.
5. In case of surveys, research design must be rigid, must make economical
provision for protection against bias and must maximize reliability, the aim
happens to be to obtain complete and accurate information.
6. Possible relationships between the data and the unknowns in the universe
can be studied through surveys.

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STRUCTURED Vs UNSTRUCTURED DATA COLLECTION

The data collection through questionnaires can be done through four ways as
follows;
Structured disguised
Structured - nondisguised
Non-structured - disguised
Non structured - nondisguised

Note : non disguised data collection is also called as direct method & disguised is
also called as indirect method .

Structured data collection

A structured data collection is a formal list of questions framed so as to get the facts.
The interviewer asks the questions strictly in accordance with pre- arranged order.
For e.g. this method can be used when the information is based on the expenditures
of the consumer on different types of clothing like. Cotton woolen or synthetic, etc.
This structured questionnaire can be of two types, disguised and non- disguised,
based on whether the object or the purpose of the survey is revealed to the
respondent.

The main advantage of this method is that, the information can be collected in a
systematic and orderly manner.
However when it comes to personal questions, this method seems to be less
effective.
Structured disguised: - in this case the researcher does not disclose the object of the
interview, because he feels that by revealing that the very purpose of the interview
will get defeated.

Structured - nondisguised: - in this case the everything is pre- arranged and the
researcher reveals the objective of the survey to the respondent. This is the most
widely followed approach in market research. This is because it is generally felt that
the respondent should be taken into confidence, so that he can realize the relevance
and give desired information.

Non-structured data collection

It is a kind of data collection method where the data to be collected is not pre-
arranged or not listed in a proper structured format. Therefore the entire
responsibility is left on the researcher to ask the respondent, in the way he feels fit.
The researcher only has certain main points on which he develops the questions to
be asked. Such a method is devoid of rigidity and the researcher has sufficient
amount of freedom to collect the data in the order he wants. Normally this kind of
method is used in exploratory research
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This kind of data collection is most suitable when it comes to personal or
motivational factors.

Again here there are two main types of non-structured methods of data collection.
(1) Non structured disguised: - again here the objective of interview is not described
to the respondent

(2) Non structured - non-disguised: - like in case of structured non- disguised, the
respondent is taken into confidence by revealing the purpose of the survey.

CONCLUSION: The researcher should use the already viable data only when he
finds them reliable, suitable and adequate. But he should not blindly discard the use
of such data if they are readily available from authentic sources and are also suitable
and adequate for in that case it will not be economical to spend time and energy in
field surveys for collecting information. At times there may be wealth of usable
information in the already available data which must be used by an intelligent
researcher but with due precaution.

Selection of appropriate methods for data collection:

Nature scope and object of enquiry: this constitutes the most important factor
affecting the choice of a particular method .the method selected should be such that
it suits the type of enquiry that is to be conducted in the researcher, this factor is also
important in deciding whether the data already available are to be used not yet
available are to be collected.

Availability of funds: availability of funds for the research project determines to a

large extent the method to be used for the collection of data. When the funds at the
disposal of the researcher are very limited, he will have to select a comparatively
cheaper method. Finance in fact is big constraint in practice and the researcher has
to act within this limitation

Time factor: availability of time has also to be taken into account in deciding
particular method of data collection. Some methods take relatively more time
whereas with others the data can be collected in a comparatively shorter duration.
The time at the disposal of the researcher thus affects the selection of the method by
which the data is collected.
Precision required: precision required is yet another important factor to be
considered at the time of selecting the method of collection of data.

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STEPS IN QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION

A Questionnaire is often the heart of a survey operation. If the heart is not properly
set up then the whole operation is bound to fail. Thus studying the main objective of
the questionnaire is important. There are two main objectives in designing a
questionnaire:

1. To maximize the proportion of subjects answering our questionnaire that

is, the response rate: To maximize our response rate, we have to consider
carefully how we administer the questionnaire, establish rapport, and explain the
purpose of the survey. The length of the questionnaire should be appropriate.

2. To obtain accurate relevant information for our survey: In order to obtain

accurate relevant information, we have to give some thought to what
questions we ask, how we ask them, the order we ask them in, and the
general layout of the questionnaire.

Thus the most important parameters in questionnaire designing can be described as:
1. Question Content
2. Question Phrasing
3. Question Sequencing
4. Question Layout

1.Question content: For each question in the questionnaire, we should pay

attention to how well it addresses the content we are trying to get at.

Deciding what to ask there are three potential types of information:

Information we are primarily interested in that is, dependent variables.
Information which might explain the dependent variables-that is, independent
variables.
Other factors related to both dependent and independent factors, which may distort
the results and have to be adjusted for - that is, confounding variables.

Thus while forming the question content the following question must be answered
appropriately.
Is the Question Necessary/Useful?
Examine each question to see if there is a need to ask it at all and if you need to ask
it at the level of detail you currently have.

Do Respondents Have the Needed Information?

Look at each question to see whether the respondent is likely to have the necessary
information to be able to answer the question.

Does the Question Need to be More Specific?

Sometimes the questions are too general and the information we obtain is more
difficult to interpret.
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Is Question Biased or Loaded?

One danger in question writing is that your own biases and blind spots may affect the
wording.

Will Respondents Answer Truthfully?

For each question see whether the respondent will have any difficulty answering the
question truthfully. If there is some reason why they may not, consider rewording the
question.

2. Question phrasing: The way questions are phrased is important and there are
some general rules for constructing good questions in a questionnaire.

Use short and simple sentences

Short, simple sentences are generally less confusing and ambiguous than long,
complex ones. As a rule of thumb, most sentences should contain one or two
clauses.

Ask for only one piece of information at a time

For example, "Please rate the lecture in terms of its content and presentation" asks
for two pieces of information at the same time. It should be divided into two parts:
"Please rate the lecture in terms of (a) its content, (b) its presentation."

Avoid negatives if possible

Negatives should be used only sparingly. For example, instead of asking students
whether they agree with the statement, "Small group teaching should not be
abolished," the statement should be rephrased as, "Small group teaching should
continue." Double negatives should always be avoided.

Ask precise questions

Questions may be ambiguous because a word or term may have a different
meaning.

Level of details
It is important to ask for the exact level of details required. On the one hand, you
might not be able to fulfill the purposes of the survey if you omit to ask essential
details. On the other hand, it is important to avoid unnecessary details. People are
less inclined to complete long questionnaires. This is particularly important for
confidential sensitive information, such as personal financial matters or marital
relationship issues.

Minimize bias
People tend to answer questions in a way they perceive to be socially desired or
expected by the questioner and they often look for clues in the questions

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3. Question sequencing: In order to make the questionnaire effective and to ensure
quality to the replies received, a researcher must pay attention to the question-
sequence in preparing the questionnaire.
• A proper question sequence reduces the chances of the questions being
misunderstood

• The question sequence must be clear and smooth- moving, with questions
that are easiest to answer being put in the beginning.

• The first few questions are particularly important because they are likely to
influence the attitude of the respondent and in seeking his desired
cooperation.

• Following the opening questions are the question that are rally vital to the
research problem and a connecting thread should run through successive
questions.

• Relatively difficult questions must be relegated towards the end so that even if
the respondent decides not to answer such questions, considerable
information would have been obtained.

• The order of the questions is also important. Some general rules are:
-Go from general to particular.
-Go from easy to difficult.
-Go from factual to abstract.
-Start with closed format questions.
-Start with questions relevant to the main subject.
-Do not start with demographic and personal questions.

4.Question layout:
• Questions should form a logical part of a well thought out tabulation plan.
• Questions should basically meet the following standards
-Should be easily understood
-Should be simple
-Should be concrete and should conform as much as possible to the
respondents way of thinking.

• Items on a questionnaire should be grouped into logically coherent sections.

Grouping questions that are similar will make the questionnaire easier to
complete, and the respondent will feel more comfortable. Questions that use
the same response formats, or those that cover a specific topic should appear
together.
• Each question should follow comfortably from the previous question. Writing a
questionnaire is similar to writing anything else. Transitions between

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questions should be smooth. Questionnaires that jump from one unrelated
topic to another feel disjointed and are not likely to produce high response
rates.

Conclusion: Questionnaire design is a long process that demands careful attention.

Design begins with an understanding of the capabilities of a questionnaire and how
they can help the research. If it is determined that a questionnaire is to be used, the
greatest care goes into the planning of the objectives. Questionnaires are like any
scientific experiment. One does not collect data and then see if they found
something interesting. One forms a hypothesis and an experiment that will help
prove or disprove the hypothesis.

Questionnaires are versatile, allowing the collection of both subjective and objective
data through the use of open or closed format questions. However, a questionnaire
is only as good as the questions it contains. Mindful review and testing is necessary
to weed out minor mistakes that can cause great changes in meaning and
interpretation. When these guidelines are followed, the questionnaire becomes a
powerful and economic evaluation tool.

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DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

1) PERSONAL INTERVIEW

An interviewer asking questions generally face-to-face to other persons conducts

personal interview. This sort of interview may be in the form of direct personal
investigation or it may be an indirect oral investigation. This method is particularly
suitable for intensive investigations.

Advantages

1. More information and that too in greater depth can be obtained.

2. Interviewer can overcome any resistance, if any, of the respondents; this
interview can be made to yield an almost perfect sample of he population.
3. There is greater flexibility as questions can be restructured as when needed,
especially in the unstructured interviews.
4. Observation method can supplement verbal recording of answers.
5. Personal information can be obtained easily in this method.
6. Sample control can be maintained, as non-response generally remains low.
7. Unlike mailed questionnaire, the interviewer can usually control which persons
will answer the questions.
8. The interviewer can catch the respondent off-guard and thus record the
spontaneous reactions.
9. The language of the interview can be changed according to the education
level of the respondent.
10. The interviewer can collect supplementary information about respondent's
personal characteristics and environment, which helps while interpreting,
results.

Disadvantages

1. It can be quite expensive method, especially when large and widespread

geographical sample is taken.
2. Possibility of bias of interviewer and respondent is maximum.
3. Certain respondents such as important officials cannot be approachable
under this method.
4. It is time-consuming especially when sample is large and re-calls o
respondents are to be made.
5. Sometimes the presence of he interview can over-stimulate he respondent
and he may give imaginary answers to make the interview interesting.
6. Under the interview method the organization required for selection, training
and supervising the field-staff is more complex with formidable problems.
7. Interviewing at times may introduce systematic errors.

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8. Interview presupposes a proper rapport with respondents for free and frank
responses, which is not always possible.

2) TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

This method of collecting information consists contacting information consists

contacting respondents on telephone itself. It is not a very widely used method, but
plays important role in industrial surveys in developed regions.

Advantages

1. It is more flexible in comparison to mail method.

2. It is faster in obtaining information than other methods.
3. It is cheaper compared to personal interviews; here the cost per response is
very low.
4. Recall is easy; callbacks are economic and simple.
5. There is higher rate of response than mailing method
6. Replies can be recorded without causing embarrassment to respondents.
7. Interviewer can explain requirements more easily.
8. Access can be gained to respondents who otherwise cannot be contacted for
one reason to other.
9. No field staff is required.
10. Wider distribution of sample is possible.

Disadvantages

1. Little time is given to respondents to answer, as these types of interviews do

not last for more than 5 minutes.
2. Survey is restricted to people who have telephones.
3. Cost plays a major part in extensive geographical coverage.
4. It is not suitable for interviews having comprehensive answers to various
questions.
5. Some extent of interviewer's bias exists.
6. Questions have to be short and probes are difficult to handle.

3) COMMERCIAL SURVEYS

Commercial surveys can be divided into three types: Periodic, Panel and Shared
surveys. Each of them are discussed below

Periodic surveys
Periodic surveys are conducted at regular intervals, ranging from weekly to annually
held surveys. They use a new sample of respondents for each survey, focusing on
the same topic and allowing the analysis of trends over a period. Periodic surveys
are conducted by mail, personal interview and telephone.

The disadvantage here could be that when periodic surveys are conducted at known
intervals, they might affect the behavior being measured.
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An example of this kind of surveys could be TRPs.

Panel surveys
Panel surveys, sometimes called interval panels, are conducted among a group of
respondents who have agreed to respond to a number of mail, telephone or
occasionally personal interviews over time. These need not occur regularly. But a
continuous panel or panel data (explained more in panels) refers to a group of
individuals who agree to report specified behaviors over time.

The advantages of this method are

The research firm initially collects all the personal information about the respondents
and does not waste time again in collecting this information during interviews. This
increases the quality of the research data.
The response rate can be as high as 70% - 90%.

Shared surveys
Shared surveys, sometimes referred to as omnibus surveys, are administered by a
research firm and consist of questions supplied by multiple clients. Such surveys can
involve mail, telephone, or personal interviews. The respondents may be drawn from
either an interval panel or random selection.

The main advantage here is the cost factor.

4) AUDITS

Audits involve the physical inspection of inventories, sales receipts, shelf facing and
other aspects of marketing mix to determine sales, market share, relative price,
distribution and other relevant information. The different types of audits are store
audits, product audits and retail distribution audits.

Store audits
The basis for the store audit of retail stores sales is the simple accounting arithmetic
of

Opening inventory
+ Net purchases (receipts-transfers out-returned inventory +transfers in)
- Closing inventory
= Sales

These audits provide sales data on packaged products. The clients receive report on
the sales of their own brand and of competitor's brands, the resulting market shares,
prices, shelf facing and other important information.

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Product audits
Product audits are similar to store audits but focuses on products rather than store
samples. Although they provide similar information as of store audits it differs as in it
tries to cover all the types of retail outlets that handle a product category.
Retail distribution audits
Retail distribution audits are similar to store audits however these audits do not
measure inventory sales: instead they are observational studies at the retail level.
Field agents enter stores unannounced and without permission. They observe and
record the brands present, price, shelf facings and other relevant data for selected
product categories.

5) PANELS

A panel is a group of individuals or organizations that have agreed to provide

information to researcher over a period of time. A continuous panel, the focus of this
section, has agreed to report specified behaviors on regular basis. There are 2 types
of panels: retail and consumer, consumer further divided into diary panels and
electronic panels.

Retail panel
In this method data is collected from the checkout scanner tapes of a sample of
supermarkets and other retailers that use electronic scanning systems. For this to
happen the product should carry the Universal Product Code (UPC) often referred to
as bar code.

The advantages of this method are

1. Greater frequency
2. Elimination of breakage and pilferage being counted as sales
3. More accurate price information

The disadvantages are

1. Only big supermarkets have scanners

2. The quality of scanner data is dependent on checkout clerk. For e.g. if a
person is buying 5 packets of packaged milk. In that case the clerk may put
only 1 in the scanner and then multiply it by 5. So the rest 4 wont come in the
scanner's data.

Consumer panels

Diary panels
A diary panel as the name implies, is a panel of households who continuously record
in a diary their purchase of selected products. It is used for those product categories
for which purchasing is frequent like food and personal care products.

Electronic panels
Electronic panels are composed of households whose television viewing behavior is
recorded electronically. The sets were wired to household meters. The meters were
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connected to a central computer by a telephone line and automatically recorded
when the set was turned on and the station to which it is turned on.

The problem here is that it is difficult to understand whom all and how many people
were watching and what their demographics are.

6) Mail Questionnaire

Advantages
1. It is easier to approach a large no. Of respondents spread all over the world
through post.
2. A mail questionnaire is free from any interviewer’s bias and errors, which may
undermine the reliability and validity of the results emerging from the survey.
3. A mail questionnaire will not have any distribution bias as it will not show any
particular preference or dislike for a certain individual or household.
4. When the questions asked to the respondents need time to be answered and
needs some thinking, mail questionnaire is ideal.
5. Mail Questionnaire saves time in collecting the desired information as a large
no. Of respondents can be approached all over the country.
6. It saves money as cost of traveling, boarding and lodging of interviewers is
not to be incurred.
7. There is no difficulty in having central supervision and control over the survey
operations over a large region.
8. It avoids the bias arising from any inhibitions in answering questions. (During
some personal questions the respondents may hesitate to answer them in the
presence of the interviewer)
9. It will not have the problem of non-contacts in the strict sense, as might be the
case in personal interviews when the interviewer finds that the respondent,
being away from home is not available.

Limitations
1. It is not suitable when questions are difficult & complicated. In such a case the
help of interviewer is required to offer some introductory explanation to the
respondent.
2. When the objective is to get the spontaneous answers of the respondent or
his own answers uninfluenced by others who may influence his thinking.
3. It is not possible to verify whether the respondent himself has filled in the
questionnaire. (e.g.: If a questionnaire is targeted to a housewife she may ask
her husband to fill it up on her behalf). This can result into incorrect answers.
4. In case there is any ambiguity or any inconsistency in the answers it will be
difficult for the researcher to make use of such questionnaire, as he has to
accept it.
5. The respondent may go through his answers after he has filled in the entire
questionnaire and may make certain modification in his original answers as a
result of which these answers cannot be regarded as independent.
6. It does not allow the researcher to supplement the information by his personal
observations.

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7. A mail questionnaire normally has a relatively poor response compared to a
questionnaire canvassed personally.

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