BASIC TYPES OF DATA

COLLECTION
Qualitative Research
 1.OBSERVATIONS:

The researcher takes field notes on the behavior

and activities of research participants at the
research site or in their natural setting.S/he
records,in an unstructured or semi-structured
(using prior questions that the researcher wants to
know) way activities at the research site.The
qualitative observer( researcher) may take the
role of non-participant observer or complete
participant.
4 roles of qualitative observer:
 A.Complete Partipant ( full member of group, not inform
participants)
 B.Participant-as-observer (spend extensive time “inside”
and inform participants)
 C.Observer-as-participant (spend limited time “inside”
and inform participants)
 D.Complete Observer ( observe from “outside” and not
inform participants.)
Why observe? Why not just interview
people about their behaviors?

TAKE NOTE:

WHAT PEOPLE SAY IS NOT ALWAYS

WHAT THEY DO.
 2.DOCUMENTS:
Document analysis is a form of
qualitative research in which
documents are interpreted by the
researcher to give voice and meaning
around an assessment topic.
Analyzing documents incorporates
coding content into themes similar to
how focus group or interview
transcripts are analyzed. A rubric can
also be used to grade or score
 There are three primary types of
documents
Public : The official, ongoing records of
Records:
an organization’s activities. Examples include
student transcripts, mission statements, annual
reports, policy manuals, student handbooks, and
strategic plans.
Personal Documents: First-person accounts of
an individual’s actions, experiences, and beliefs.
Examples include calendars, e-mails,
scrapbooks, blogs, Facebook posts, duty logs,
incident reports, reflections/journals, and
newspapers.
Physical Evidence: Physical objects found within
the study setting (often called artifacts).
3.INTERVIEWS:

Interview has become a popular method of

data collection in qualitative research.
Here, the researcher may :
a.conduct face-to-face interviews with
participants;
b.do telephone interviews of participants or
c.engage in focus group interviews with 6-8
interviewees
 Cresswell(2003) adds that the interviewer(researcher) must equip
himself/herself with an interview protocol,so that interview will remain
focused,either face-to-face/focused group discussion.

An Interview Protocol Checklist

What Should An Interview Protocol Contain?
 a. A heading
 b. Instructions to the interviewer (opening statements)
 c. The key research questions to be asked
 d. Probes to follow key questionse.
 e.Transition messages for the interviewer
 f. Space for recording the interviewer’s comments
 g. Space in which the researcher records reflective
notes
4.AUDIO AND VISUAL MATERIALS:

May take the form of photographs,

art objects , video tapes, or any forms
of sound.