1.

RESEARCH TOOLS

The written device that a researcher uses to

collect data e.g questionnaires, tests,
observation schedules.

- Denise F. Polit,2008.

Contd….
The construction of a research instrument or
tool for data collection is the most important
part of a research project because anything
you say by way of findings or conclusions is
based upon the type of information you collect,
and the data you collect is entirely dependent
upon the questions that you ask of your
respondents.
 1.1 GUIDELINES TO CONSTRUCT A RESEARCH TOOL:

Step I: Concept development

Clearly define and individually list all the specific

objectives or research questions for the study.

Contd…
Step II: Specification of concept dimensions
For each objective or research questions, list all
the associated questions that as to be answered
want to answer through your study.

Step III: Selection of indicators

Take each research question listed in Step II and
list the information required to answer it.
Step IV: Formation of index
Formulate question(s) to obtain information.

Tools And Questionnaires

A questionnaire or tool consists of a set of
questions presented to a respondent for
answers.

Contd……
Types of tools/ questions

1. Contingency questions
 A question that is answered only if the respondent

gives a particular response to a previous question.

 This avoids asking questions of people that do not

apply to them (for example, asking men if they have
ever been pregnant)

Contd……
2. Matrix questions
 Identical response categories are assigned to

multiple questions.
 The questions are placed one under the other,

forming a matrix with response categories

along the top and a list of questions down the
side.
 This is an efficient use of page space and

respondents’ time.

Contd…
3. Closed ended questions
Respondents’ answers are limited to a fixed set
of responses. Most scales are closed ended.

Other types of closed ended questions include:

 Yes/no questions - The respondent answers with a
“yes” or a “no”.
 Multiple choice - The respondent has several
options from which to choose.

Contd……
- Scaled questions - Responses are grade on a
continuum (example : rate the appearance of
the product on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10
being the most preferred appearance).
Examples of types of scales include the Likert
scale, semantic differential scale, and rank-
order scale.

Contd……
4. Open ended questions
 No options or predefined categories are

suggested.
 The respondent supplies their own answer

without being constrained by a fixed set of

possible responses.
 Examples of types of open ended questions

include:
 Completely unstructured - For example, “What is
your opinion on questionnaires?”
Contd……
 Word association - Words are presented and the
respondent mentions the first word that comes to
mind.

 Sentence completion - Respondents complete an

incomplete sentence. For example, “The most
important consideration in my decision to buy a new
house is . . .”

Contd….
 Story completion - Respondents complete an
incomplete story.

 Picture completion - Respondents fill in an empty

conversation balloon.

 Thematic apperception test - Respondents explain

a picture or make up a story about what they think is
happening in the picture.

Contd……
5. Paper-pencil-questionnaires
 It can be sent to a large number of people and

saves the researcher time and money.

 People are more truthful while responding to

the questionnaires regarding controversial
issues in particular due to the fact that their
responses are anonymous. But they also have
drawbacks.

Contd…..
 6. Web based questionnaires:
 A new and inevitably growing methodology is
the use of Internet based research.

 This would mean receiving an e-mail on which

you would click on an address that would take
you to a secure web-site to fill in a
questionnaire.

Contd…..
1.2 How To Construct Tools /
Questionnaires:
 Deciding which questionnaire to use

 Wording and structure of the questions

 Questions should be kept short and simple

 Avoid negative questions

 Question should not contain Prestige Bias

 Use indirect questions for sensitive issues

 Using closed- ended questions.

- Avoiding Leading Question

Contd….
 Length and ordering of the Questions

- Keep the questionnaire as short as possible

-Ask easy questions, which respondents will enjoy
answering
- If combined questionnaire, keep open ended
question for the end.
-Make questions as interesting as possible and
easy to follow by varying type and length of
question.

Contd….
 Group the questions into specific topic as this it
makes it easier to understand and follow.

- Layout and spacing is important as cluttered

questionnaire is less likely to be answered.
 Piloting the Questionnaire

 The questionnaire must be tested out to see if it is

obtaining the result which is required.

 This is done by asking experts to read it through

and see if there are any ambiguities which have
not been noticed.

 They should also be asked to comment about the

length, structure and wording of the questionnaire
and alter the questions accordingly.
 2. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE:
 Collecting data through any of the methods
may involve some ethical issues in relation to
the participants and the researcher:

 Those from whom information is collected or

those who are studied by a researcher become
participants of the study.
 Anyone who collects information for a specific
purpose, adhering to the accepted code of
conduct, is a researcher.
Contd…..
2.A Ethical issues concerning research
participants

1. Collecting information:
 Request for information may put pressure or

create anxiety on a respondent. Is it ethical?

 Research is required to improve conditions.

Provided any piece of research is likely to help

society directly or indirectly, it is acceptable to
ask questions, if the respondents’ informed
consent obtained.
 If, justification relating to relevance of the
research that has to be conducted has not been
given then it means it is wasting the
respondents’ time, which is unethical.

2. Seeking consent:
In every discipline it is considered unethical to
collect information without the knowledge of the
participant, and their expressed willingness and
informed consent.

Contd…..
 Informed consent implies that subjects are
made adequately aware of the type of
information that is required from them, why the
information is being sought, what purpose it will
be put to, how they are expected to participate
in the study, and how it will directly or indirectly
affect them.

 It is important that the consent should be

voluntary and without pressure of any kind.
3. Providing incentives:

 Most people do not participate in a study

because of incentives, but because they realize
the importance of the study.

 Is it ethical to provide incentives to respondents

to share information with the researcher
because they are giving their time?

 Giving a present before data collection is

unethical.
4. Seeking sensitive information:
 Certain types of information can be regarded as

sensitive or confidential by some people and

thus an invasion to their privacy, asking for such
information may upset or embarrass a
respondent.

 While collecting data the researcher need to be

careful about the sensitivities of the respondents.
Most people, questions on drug use, pilferage,
income, age, marital status etc are intrusive.

Contd….
 It is not unethical to ask such questions,
provided that the researcher tells their
respondents that the type of information
required must be clear and frank, and give
them sufficient time to decide if they want to
participate, without any major inducement.
5. The possibility of causing harm to participant:

 Harm include, research that might include

hazardous experiments, discomfort, anxiety,
harassment, invasion of privacy, or demeaning or
dehumanizing procedures.
 If it is likely to, researcher must make sure that
the risk is minimal i.e. the extent of harm or
discomfort is not greater than that of ordinarily
encountered in daily life.
 If the way information is sought creates anxiety
or harassment, researcher need to take steps to
prevent this.
6. Maintaining confidentiality:

 Sharing information about a respondent with

others for purposes other than research is
unethical.

 Sometimes researcher need to identify the study

population to put the findings into context.

 In such a situation researcher need to make

sure that at least the information provided by
respondents is kept anonymous.
Contd…
 It is unethical to identify an individual’s responses.
Therefore it has to be ensured that after the
information has been collected, the source cannot
be known.

2.B Ethical issues relating to the researcher

1. Avoiding bias
Bias on the part of the researcher is unethical.
Bias is a deliberate attempt to either to hide what
is found in the study, or highlight something
disproportionately to its true existence.
Contd……
2. Provision or deprivation of a treatment:

 Both the provision and deprivation of a

treatment/ intervention may pose an ethical
dilemma.

 Is it ethical to provide a study population with an

intervention/ treatment that has not yet been
conclusively proven effective or beneficial?

 But if it is not tested, how can it be proved or

disproved its effectiveness or benefits?
Contd……
3. Using inappropriate research methodology:

 It is unethical to use a method or procedure that

the researcher thinks he/she is acquainted to be
inappropriate.

 E.g. selecting a highly biased sample, using an

invalid instrument or drawing wrong conclusions.

Contd…
4. Incorrect reporting:
 To report the findings in a way that changes or

slants them to serve your own or someone

else’s interest is unethical.

5. Inappropriate use of the information:

 The use of information in a way that directly or

indirectly adversely affects the respondents is

unethical. If so, the study population needs to
be protected.
Contd…
 An example would be a study to examine the
feasibility of restructuring an organization.
Restructuring may be beneficial to the
organization as a whole but may be harmful to
some individuals.

 Should the researcher ask the respondents for

information that is likely to be used against
them?
 
Contd…….
3. Data Collection Procedure In Quantitative And Qualitative Research

3.1 Data Collection Procedure In Quantitative

Research
 The Quantitative data collection methods rely on

random sampling and structured data collection

instruments that fit diverse experiences into
predetermined response categories.
 They produce results that are easy to summarize,

compare, and generalize. 

Contd….
Typical quantitative data gathering strategies
include:
1. Surveys
 Questionnaires and schedules
 Interview Primary
 Standardised scales /Instruments

 Experimental treatments
 Participant observer secondary
 Case study

Contd…
1. Surveys
 This method captures information through the

input of responses to a research instrument

containing questions (i.e., such as a
questionnaire).
 It is also known as primary data collection

technique.
 Information can be input either by the
respondents themselves (e.g., complete online
survey) or the researcher can input the data
(e.g. phone survey, mall intercept).

Contd…
- Surveys are done via postal mail, phone and
website or in person.
 However, newer technologies are creating

additional delivery options including through

wireless devices, such as smart phones.

 Questionnaires and schedules

- A questionnaire is a research instrument
consisting of a series of questions and other
prompts for the purpose of gathering
information from respondents.
Contd.……
 Basic rules for questionnaire item construction
 Use statements which are interpreted in the same
way by members of different subpopulations of the
population of interest.
 Use statements where persons that have different
opinions or traits will give different answers.
 Think of having an "open" answer category after a
list of possible answers.
 Use only one aspect of the construct you are
interested in per item.

Contd….
 Use positive statements and avoid negatives or
double negatives.
 Do not make assumptions about the
respondent.
 Use clear and comprehensible wording, easily
understandable for all educational levels
 Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.
 Avoid items that contain more than one
question per item (e.g. what are you doing and
where are you put up?).
Types of Questionnaires
- Structured non disguised questionnaire
Questions are listed in a pre-arranged order and
respondents are told about the purpose
of collecting information.

- Structured- disguised questionnaire

Questions are listed in a pre-arranged order and
the respondents are not told about the purpose
of conducting survey.

Contd…..
- Non structured non disguised questionnaire
Questions are not structured. Researcher is free
to ask questions in any sequence he/she
wants. Respondents are told about the purpose
of collecting information.

 Non structured disguised questionnaire

Questions are not structured. Researcher is
free to ask questions in any sequence he/she
wants and the respondents are not told about
the purpose of conducting survey.
 Interviews
 Face -to -face interviews have a distinct
advantage of enabling the researcher to establish
rapport with potential participants and therefore
gain their cooperation.
 These interviews yield highest response rates in
survey research.
 They also allow the researcher to clarify
ambiguous answers and when appropriate, seek
follow-up information.
 Disadvantages include impractical when large
samples are involved time consuming and
expensive.
 Telephone interviews are less time consuming
and less expensive and the researcher has ready
access to anyone on the planet that has a
telephone.
 Disadvantages are that the response rate is not as
high as the face-to- face interview as but
considerably higher than the mailed questionnaire.
 The sample may be biased to the extent that
people without phones are part of the population
about whom the researcher wants to draw
inferences.
Contd..
 Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing
(CAPI): is a form of personal interviewing, but
instead of completing a questionnaire, the
interviewer brings along a laptop or hand-held
computer to enter the information directly into
the database.
 This method saves time involved in processing
the data, as well as saving the interviewer from
carrying around hundreds of questionnaires.
 Schedules are similar to the questionnaires
which contains a set of questions that are filled
by the enumerators who are specially
appointed for this purpose.
Standardized scales /Instruments

 A standardized test is a test that is administered

and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner.

 Any test in which the same test is given in the

same manner to all test takers is a standardized
test.eg. BREF scale to assess the quality of life.

 Scales describes the assignment of numbers to

various degrees of opinion, attitude and other
concepts.
Scales data can be categorized as follows:

 Nominal - Representing particular categories,

e.g. men or women.

 Ordinal - Ranked in some way such as order of

passing a particular point in a competition.

 Interval - Ranked according to the interval

between the data, which remains the same. Most
typical of this type of data is temperature.
Contd…..
 Ratio- Where it is possible to measure the
difference between different types of data - for
example applying a measurement.

 Scalar-This type of data has intervals between

it, which are not quantifiable.
Experimental treatments
- Participant observer
 The researcher himself/herself observes the

groups experience by participating along with the

group is called participant observer.

- Case study
 According to H. Odum case study method is a

technique by which individual factor whether it be

an institution or just an episode in the life of an
individual or a group is analysed in its
relationship to any other group.
Contd…
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

 Qualitative research allows the subjects being

studied to give much ‘richer’ answers to
questions put to them by the researcher, and
may give valuable insights which might have
been missed by any other method
 E.g, it’s impossible to carry out a meaningful
structured questionnaire survey on patient
satisfaction with a service, if the important
issues to the patients surrounding the provision
of that service are not known.
Contd..
Data collection procedures commonly used in
qualitative methods can be classified in four
broad categories: 

 Focus group
 Direct observation methods
 In-depth interview
 Document review
 Other field methods
 Focus group
 The researcher brings together a small number
of subjects to discuss the topic of interest.
 The group size is kept deliberately small, so
that its members do not feel intimidated but can
express opinions freely.
 A topic guide to aid discussion is usually
prepared beforehand and the researcher
usually ‘chairs’ the group, to ensure that a
range of aspects of the topic are explored.
 The discussion is frequently tape-recorded,
then transcribed and analysed.
Contd……
- Example: Rutman (1996) explored the policy and
practice implications of caregivers’ experiences of
powerfulness and powerlessness. She used group
workshops and brainstorming techniques to
explore the ‘ideal’ care giving situation.

 Direct observation
 Data can be collected by an external observer,
referred to as a non-participant observer or
 The data can be collected by a participant
observer, who can be a member of staff
undertaking usual duties while observing the
processes of care.
Contd…
 Sometimes a list of observations, the researcher is
specifically looking for is prepared before-hand,
other times the observer makes notes about
anything they observe for analysis later.

 Eg: Johnson and Webb (1995) used observation to

gather evidence about how value judgments made
by staff and patients can impact on decision making.
In this study, the researcher acted as a participant
observer, working as a nurse on the ward while
observing situations where nurses were faced with
difficult moral choices. Observations were recorded
as field notes and analysed for content.
  
 Techniques for collecting data through
observation

 Written descriptions.
The researcher can record observations of people, a
situation or an environment by making notes of
what has been observed.

 Video recording.
This frees the observer from the task of making
notes at the time and allows events to be reviewed
time after time.
Contd…..
 Photographs and artefacts.
 Photographs are a good way of collecting
observable data of phenomena which can be
captured in a single shot or series of shots.
 For example, photographs of buildings,
neighborhoods, dress and appearance.
 Artefacts are objects which inform us about the
phenomenon under study because of their
significance to the phenomena.
 For example, memorabilia in historical research.
Similarly, they may be instruments or tools used
by members of a sub group whether this is a
population sub group or a professional or patient
group.
 Documentation.
- A wide range of written materials can produce
qualitative information.
 They can be particularly useful in trying to

understand the philosophy of an organisation as

may be required in action research and case
studies.

 In-depth interviews
 Interviews use the same principle as a focus
group, but subjects are interviewed individually,
ideally in the patient’s own environment.
Contd….
 They seldom involve asking a set of
predetermined questions, as would be the case
in quantitative surveys. Instead they encourage
subjects to express their views at length.

 One particularly useful technique is the critical

incident study, in which subjects are asked to
comment on real events rather than giving
generalisations.
 Document review
Diary methods
The researcher or subject keeps a personal
account of daily events, feelings, discussions,
interactions etc.

Role-play and simulation

Participants may be asked to play a role, or may
be asked to observe role-play, after which they
are asked to rate behaviour, report feelings, and
predict further events.
 Case-study - This is an in-depth study of just one
person, group or event. This technique is simply
a description of individuals.

Historical- Collecting the monumental details of

a particular event or an act.

Literature review-The researcher collects the

needed information from the previous evidences
in the form of journals, books and magazines etc.
 
Delphi technique
Delphi surveys are developed as a tool for short
term forecasting. It involves a panel of experts
who are asked to complete several rounds of
questionnaires focusing on their judgments
about the topics of interest.
Conclusion
In addition, to this several procedures of data
collection. There are triangulated methods or
mixed methods of data collection which may
include one or more method of primary or a
secondary data collection methods. The other
way round there will qualitative and quantitative
method of data collection procedures combined
in a single study.
 Validity and reliability
 Research validity in surveys relates to the
extent at which the survey measures right
elements that need to be measured. In simple
terms, validity refers to how well an
instrument as measures what it is intended to
measure.
 validity can also be divided into five types:
 Face Validity is the most basic type of validity and
it is associated with a highest level of subjectivity
because it is not based on any scientific approach.
In other words, in this case a test may be specified
as valid by a researcher because it may seem as
valid, without an in-depth scientific justification.
 Example: questionnaire design for a study that
analyses the issues of employee performance can
be assessed as valid because each individual
question may seem to be addressing specific and
relevant aspects of employee performance.
  Construct Validity relates to assessment of suitability
of measurement tool to measure the phenomenon
being studied. Application of construct validity can be
effectively facilitated with the involvement of panel of
‘experts’ closely familiar with the measure and the
phenomenon.
 Example: with the application of construct validity the
levels of leadership competency in any given
organisation can be effectively assessed by devising
questionnaire to be answered by operational level
employees and asking questions about the levels of
their motivation to do their duties in a daily basis.
 Criterion-Related Validity involves comparison of
tests results with the outcome. This specific type of
validity correlates results of assessment with another
criterion of assessment.
 Example: nature of customer perception of brand
image of a specific company can be assessed via
organising a focus group. The same issue can also be
assessed through devising questionnaire to be
answered by current and potential customers of the
brand. The higher the level of correlation between
focus group and questionnaire findings, the high the
level of criterion-related validity.
 Formative Validity refers to assessment of
effectiveness of the measure in terms of
providing information that can be used to
improve specific aspects of the phenomenon.
 Example: when developing initiatives to increase
the levels of effectiveness of organisational
culture if the measure is able to identify specific
weaknesses of organisational culture such as
employee-manager communication barriers, then
the level of formative validity of the measure can
be assessed as adequate.
 Sampling Validity (similar to content validity) ensures
that the area of coverage of the measure within the
research area is vast. No measure is able to cover all items
and elements within the phenomenon, therefore,
important items and elements are selected using a specific
pattern of sampling method depending on aims and
objectives of the study.
 Example: when assessing a leadership style exercised in a
specific organisation, assessment of decision-making style
would not suffice, and other issues related to leadership
style such as organisational culture, personality of leaders,
the nature of the industry etc. need to be taken into
account as well.
 Reliability
 Reliability is the degree to which an
assessment tool produces stable and
consistent results.
 Reliability refers to the consistency of a
measure
 Test-Retest Reliability
 When researchers measure a construct that
they assume to be consistent across time, then
the scores they obtain should also be consistent
across time. Test-retest reliability is the extent
to which this is actually the case. For example,
intelligence is generally thought to be
consistent across time
 Internal Consistency
 A second kind of reliability
is internal consistency, which is the consistency
of people’s responses across the items on a
multiple-item measure. In general, all the items
on such measures are supposed to reflect the
same underlying construct, so people’s scores
on those items should be correlated with each
other. 
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