DIRECT OR INTERVIEW METHOD

This is a method where the interviewer will have a face to face contact with the interviewee. It is one
of the oldest and most widely used methods of conducting primary research. F2F interviews are
conducted by a researcher and a target respondent in the street, at home, office, meeting place, etc.
There are many advantages to using F2F interviews, such as the use of visual aids and the detection of
social cues and body language. Also, with this type of interview, the interviewer can gain a deeper
insight into specific answers by treating the questionnaire like a meaningful discussion and deducing the
validity of each response. Although F2F interviews are very effective, this type of interview can be costly
and time-consuming. F2F interviews require a significant amount of time on the front end to identify,
recruit, and schedule the interview as well as the travel time and costs to meet the respondent in
person.

Advantages of F2F Interviews

•Allow for more in-depth data collection and comprehensive understanding. Being face-to-face with
respondents gives the interviewer more control and refusals to answer questions are less likely than
over the telephone. Concern about confidentiality can be more readily satisfied than with an
‘anonymous’ person at the end of a phone. Respondents have more time to consider their answers and
the interviewer can gain a deeper understanding of the validity of a response.

•Body language and facial expressions are more clearly identified and understood.

•The interviewer can probe for explanations of responses.

•Stimulus material and visual aids can be used to support the interview.

•Interview length can be considerably longer since the participant has a greater commitment to
participate.

Against the advantages of face-to-face interviewing, there are several disadvantages:

Disadvantages of F2F interviews

•Interviews are more time-consuming to recruit and conduct. Face-to-face interviews are difficult to
arrange. If the interviews are country-wide, a national field force is required. The subject may be
complex and demand a personal briefing, which is expensive to arrange when interviewers are scattered
geographically.

•As a result of timing and travel, F2F interviews can be expensive.

•Interviews can deliver biased responses.

•Most carefully vet the respondent’s ability before investing time in the recruitment process and
interview process.
OBSERVATION METHOD

This method is commonly used in psychological and anthropological studies. It is a method of obtaining
data by observing the behavior of persons or organizations through seeing, hearing, testing, touching,
and smelling, whichever is necessary to use. The observer can become part of the group being studied
to have an authentic experience of what he/she is studying.

The following are some of the advantages of the observation method:

•Directness

The main advantage of observation is its directness. We can collect data at the time they occur. The
observer does not have to ask people about their behavior and reports from others.

He or she can simply watch as individuals act and speak. While the survey respondents may have a hazy
or lapsed memory about events that occurred in the distant past, the observer is studying events as they
occur.

•Natural environment

Whereas other data collection techniques introduce artificiality into the research environment, data
collected in an observation study describe the observed phenomena as they occur in their natural
settings.

Observation is neither as restrictive nor artificial as the survey or the experiment.

•Longitudinal analysis

Since the observation can be conducted in a natural setting, the observer can conduct his or her study
over a much longer period than the survey or experiment.

•Non-verbal behavior

Observation is decidedly superior to survey research, experimentation, or document study for collecting
data on nonverbal behavior. Some studies focus on individuals who cannot give verbal reports or
articulate themselves meaningfully.

For these subjects, the observational method is indispensable. These include children, crippled, and
mentally and physically handicraft people.

Disadvantages:

•Lack of control

Despite the advantage of the natural environment, the observation study has little control over
extraneous variables that may affect the data.

The presence of a stranger (the observer) and the error involved in human observation and the
recording of data, which may remain out of the observer’s control, are likely to bias the observations
greatly.
•Difficulties in quantification

Measurement in observational studies generally takes the form of the observer’s un-quantified
perceptions rather than the quantitative measures often used in survey and experimental studies.

•Smallness in sample size

Because observational studies are generally conducted in-depth, with data that are often subjective and
difficult to quantify, the sample size is usually kept at a minimum.

Also, the in-depth nature of the observation studies generally requires that they are conducted over an
extended period than the survey method or experiments. This feature tends to limit the size of the
sample.

•No opportunity to learn past

In an observational study, there is no way to know the past. It is also difficult to gather information on
intentions, opinions, attitudes, or preferences.

This technique can generate quantitative or qualitative data but tends to be used more for small-scale
exploratory studies than large-scale quantitative studies. This is because it usually requires:

 Relatively highly skilled observers and analysts

 Prolonged periods of observation
 High cost per unit of observation.