Measurement

and Collection
of Data
Part 1
DATA COLLECTION
METHODS

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 Introduction
 Data are the observable and
measurable facts that provide
information about the phenomenon
under study 
 Primary and secondary data

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> Interview 
> Questioning 
> Observation 
> Bio physiological measurements 
> Psychosocial measurement scales 
> Record analysis

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 CONCEPT
 Data collection involves gathering relevant
data in order to achieve an answer to the
problem stated.
 There are various methods of data
collection which can be used by the
investigator depending upon the nature of
study undertaken.

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 PURPOSES OF DATA COLLECTION
Data is meaningless as by itself it does not
explain or cause change, information does.
Therefore, the aim of gathering and summarizing
data is to transform this into information in order
to:
> identify variables/facts 
> measure variable/ phenomena 
> describe behavior 
> obtain empirical evidence (objective, reliable,
valid) 6
 . FIVE ‘W’s OF DATA COLLECTION
 What data to collect? (Consideration on
type of data) 
 From whom data is to be collected 
 Who will collect data 
 From where the data will be collected 
 When is the data to be collected

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The number of data to be collected will depend
on:
> Type of study 
> Hypothesis to be tested 
> Number of variables 
> Type of statistical computation 
In an experimental study the number will also
be determined by the number of experimental
and control groups. One needs also to consider
the method of administration, the nature of
treatment and the schedule.
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 SOURCES OF DATA
 Documentary- primary and secondary 
 Field sources 
 Include living persons who have a fund of
knowledge about or have been in intimate contact
with social conditions and changes over a
considerable period of time. 
 These people are in a position to describe not only
the existing state of affairs but also the observable
trends and significant milestones in a social process.

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 HISTORICAL DATA 
These consist of documents and various
historical sources to which the historian
himself has access. 
• Materials of cultural history and analytical
history. 
• Personal sources of authentic observers and
witnesses. 
• These can be oral, written evidence,
artifacts etc.
• Historical data is a combination of primary
& secondary and field10
sources.
 Methods and tools
 Methods- steps or strategies 
 Technique- means of gathering data with
the use of specific tools that are used in
given methods 
 Instrument/ tools- instrument is a device
used to measure the concept that researcher
uses to collect data

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 TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS
TECHNIQUES  TOOLS
Method of collecting data Instrument procedure
 Observation check list
(structured unstructured)
 Observation

 Rating scales, anecdotes

 Machineries, i.e. Video
tape/ Films,
electrocardiogram,
closed circuit T.V.
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 Questioning- self  Questionnaire
report   opinionnaire 
 Attitude Scale 
• Tests on psychomotor
• skills Standardized
tools
• Physiological
measurements.

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  In vivo
 Biophysical
 In vitro
measurements.
 Physical measurements –
e.g. temperature
 Chemical measurements-
e.g. hormone, sugar
 Microbiological
measurements-e.g.
bacterial count 
 Interview  Interview Schedule

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 Record Analysis  Q sorts projective
(Content)  techniques &
 Others  Vignettes
 Computer assisted
measurement

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 Selection of methods of data collection
• Nature of phenomenon • Time frame of study
under study • Literacy level of the
• Type of research subjects
subjects • Availability of resources
• Type of research study and manpower
• Purpose • Researchers knowledge
• Size of sample level and competence
• Distribution of target
population
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 Criteria of evaluation/ assessment of
collection methods
 Accuracy and completeness 
 Compatibility with educational level, socio
cultural values and beliefs 
 In accordance with nature of phenomenon,
purpose, time frame and resources

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 RECORD ANALYSIS
 Records are compilation of writings and figures that
individuals have collected. 
 Records are a valuable and lucrative source of nursing
research data. 
 Records are ever-present source of material. 
 Records are found everywhere in homes, offices, places of
leisure, hospitals, museum (Relics & artifacts), personal
diaries and letters, speeches, Articles, documents etc. 
 Records are available in every department, institution,
organizations & Individuals. 
 Data sources may be primary or secondary.

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 ADVANTAGES
o Records are unbiased collected. 
o Records cover a long period of times, therefore
research can discover events and trends. 
o Records are inexpensive. All available at one time.

o Records are convenient & time saving and available
in their pure form, complied in neat and orderly
fashioned. Records provide readily available data. 
o Researcher can not bias the subjects as the records
have been already collected.
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• Existence of large quantity of records
allows researcher a considerable choice of
data.
• Data are obtained by an unobtrusive method
• Records can provide personal information
about subjects, beliefs, attitudes and
feelings concerning the topic of interest.
• Records don’t rely on recall but were
recorded when they occurred.

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 DISADVANTAGES 
Amount of information is limited to what is
available. Researcher can not get more data as
subjects are not present. If record is incomplete, no
way to complete it. 
 No one sure under which conditions data were
collected. Was more than one person involved in
compilation? How careful they were to handle facts
& figures. 
 No assurance of accuracy of the records, 
 People who presented the original records were not
aware whether it would be used for research.
Therefore, researcher has to admit any error into the
study that was built in the
21 original records.
• Some serious draw backs may be there in
data recording. For e.g. the person who
recorded the data may not have recorded
adequately. 
• Search for very old records and extracting
information from records may be time
consuming. 
• Requesting people who are not involved in
the research work to provide records, may
be intrusion into their work schedule.
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 PROBLEMS
• Permission has to be sought from concerned People
to study records. 
• Difficult to trace if not kept in order & well
organized. 
• Authorities/ Concerned people/ Officer may not like
their records to be disturbed for the fear of
misplacing, pulling out information (loss of paper
from files) 
• Organization/ Institution may not like anyone to go
through their pvt. Files other than selected
individuals. 23
• Researcher will require help to retrieve the data. 
• Researcher may require interpretation of records
(Meaning of words, symbols, figures etc) 
• Records research may be a disagreeable task as
records are stored in basements, stores, boxes etc.
Seems difficult to locate & find records for the
period needed. 
• Another problem with records is item equivalency.
Are records based on same criteria ? Records from
two institutions may not have data on a particular
variable in the same manner.

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• Some records are seldom used after their
compilation. People who compiled might have
died or left the institution or moved away. So
value of such records is forgotten and for all
practical purposes they are lost. 
• Organizations may give permission to use
records provided a copy of final research report
is given to them. 
• It is important to maintain anonymity, privacy,
truth and accuracy and a consideration for the
personal preferences of the individuals
involved.
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 GUIDELINES IN USE OF RECORDS
 Both primary & secondary sources of data
can be used. Prefer primary source 
 Essential to establish authenticity, accuracy,
validity & reliability of data sources
(external and internal criticism)

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 QUESTIONNAIRE
• Most common research instrument 
• It is a paper-pencil approach to data collection 
• Can be used with some other tools too in a single
study 
• Comprised of a series of questions that are filled in
by all subjects in the sample. 
• May be distributed to subjects in the classroom, on
the streets, on campus, home or at work; 
• Can be mailed to those who live in a large
geographical area as it is expensive and time
consuming to reach individuals directly.
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 PURPOSES
• To elicit information from subjects to
supplement findings 
• Explore a new topic 
• Assess knowledge, attitude, practices,
beliefs, opinions & feelings.

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 ADVANTAGES
• Relatively simple method of collecting data. Items
can be constructed easily by beginning researcher. 
• Rapid and efficient method of gathering data 
• Collect data from a widely scattered population 
• Inexpensive to distribute 
• Easy to tabulate data from close ended items 
• Respondents can remain anonymous 
• Simple procedure to explore a new topic 
• Easiest tool to test for validity & reliability

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> Questionnaire can be flexible concerning
type of item, order of items and topics
covered by the researcher. 
> Subjects have time to contemplate their
response to each question 
> Measurement is enhanced because all
subjects respond to the same questions. 
> Easy accomplishment of data analysis and
interpretation.

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 DISADVANTAGES 
• Inability to probe a topic in-depth unless the
questionnaire is lengthy. 
• Respondents may omit or disregard any item that
they choose without giving any explanation 
• Some items may force subjects to choose response
that are not their actual choice (Forced-choice
items). 
• Amount of information gathered is limited by
subjects’ time & interest span. Usually people don’t
like to take more than 25 minutes to answer a
questionnaire. (Length of questionnaire should not
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be more than 60
 Printing may be costly if questionnaire lengthy and
printed on good quality of paper. 
 Addressing outside envelops and postage are time
consuming and expensive respectively. 
 Data are limited to information given voluntarily by
the subject. Not all subjects comply with request to
participate
 Some items may be misunderstood. 
 Questionnaire use limited to literate. 
 Subjects’ non-verbal cues cannot be observed.

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 it is impossible to know who returned the
questionnaires in case follow up is needed.

 Special efforts must be made to test the
validity and reliability of the questionnaire.

 Researcher has no opportunity to interact
with respondents. 
 Subjects can express their views/opinions
better while speaking than writing.
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 Types of Questionnaire
 Close Ended (fixed Alternatives)
 Open Ended.

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 Close Ended
• After questions, respondents are given a
number of alternatives to either mark a “Yes”
or “No”, check an item from list of suggested
responses.
• Items may be forced choice type e.g. Do you
still beat your wife? “Yes”
• Advantage : Easy to fill, tabulate, analyze
and data suited many statistical analysis.
• Disadvantage: Limited to specific topic to be
answered in a specific way.
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 Open Ended Questions
Have no choices from which respondents
select their response. Respondent must
“Create” their response.
Why did you choose to take your graduate
work at this university?

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 Open Ended Questions (CONT)
Advantage : Stimulate thought, solicit
suggestions, probe people’s memories.
Disadvantage: Not suited for mailed
questionnaire - Difficult to construct
meaningful variables for statistical analysis. -
Analysis is often problematic and time
consuming

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 Partially closed ended questions – provide a
compromise 
Though answer choices provided, but subjects
have the option of creating their own response.
Example : For what reasons did you retire
before the age of 58?
(i) Health reasons
(ii) desire for more free time
(iii) Was assured of more than adequate income
(iv) Please list as many other reasons as you can
think of.

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 Factors to consider
Sample • Who are u going to ask
Method • How are u going to ask
Questionnaire • What are u going to ask
Result • What will u do with the data
Cost • How much do u want to pay for the
Time scale answer
• By when u need the data

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Methods of questionnaire administration
Postal

Phone

Electronic

Personally administered

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 Framing Questions
Question Content
– based on researcher’s aims, concepts under
study. Question Wording
- Clarity
- Ability of respondents to reply
- Bias
- Handling sensitive or personal information.

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 Response Alternatives:
Select appropriate response alternatives,
- Ordering responses rationally
- Response length
– Not too lengthy as it is inefficient and cumbersome to
read detailed replies. 
Organization
– Plan question sequence (order of question and
schedule format)
- Items should relate to topic

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- Items organized into units
- Questions to be specific.
- Items to elicit demographic data.
- Schedule format – questionnaire schedule
affects the accuracy of the response. Formats
that are easy to follow and pleasing to the eye
are completed by respondents.

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 Introduction and Instructions:
- State the nature and purpose of the study in
introduction.
- Why the subjects are being questioned.
- Directions for respondents to respond.
- Confidentiality and anonymity should be
assured.

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- Personal data : Age, Sex, Education.
- Back ground data :Family income,
occupation, living environment etc.
- Content : Knowledge, opinion, belief, attitude
etc. - Acknowledging participation.

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 Writing Good Questions
 Use words that are simple, direct and familiar to all. 
 Question – Clear and Specific 
 Define or quality the term that can be easily be
misinterpreted. 
 Avoid double barreled questions. 
 Do you think that students should have more classes about
history and culture? 
 Beware of double negatives (Are you against not allowing
nurses to strike?) 
 Underline a word if you wish to indicate special emphasis.
e.g. should all schools offer a modern foreign language?

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 Avoid questions that are leading or suggest
the expected answer. e.g. you don’t approve
of strikes, do you? 
 Be sure alternatives are enough and
appropriate.
 Reason for asking personal question should
be given.
 Problem words – lead to confusion in
subject’s mind. e.g. How many patients did
you care for last week?
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 Administration of Questionnaire
• Self administered:
- Individual / Group administration
- Maximizes the return rate.
- Allow researcher to clarify any doubts while
responding.
• Mailing distribution
– Mailed to respondents with a request letter.
Advantage : Can cover large widely scattered
population

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Mailing distribution (cont)
Disadvantage: Some items may need
clarification –
- Completion rate tend to be low
- Low returns
- Monitoring return. 
Acceptable response rate
- 50% Adequate
- 60% Good
-70% or more is very good.

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Follow up Mailing – Provides stimuli for
responding
- Three mailings seem the most efficient.
- Timing of follow up (2 -3 weeks is a
reasonable space between mailings).
- Sending follow up letters.

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 Interview – Technique of Data Collection
• Second most common method of data collection
• Face to face interpersonal role situation.
• Interview schedule : structured, semi- structured,
unstructured.
• Interview schedule is an oral questionnaire that is read
to the respondent by the researcher whereas interview
guide provides ideas but allows the interviewer freedom
to pursue topics in depth.
• Interviewer has an ability to control over the level of
questioning

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 Advantages
• Data from each interview are usable, whereas not true
for each questionnaire returned.
• In-depth data can be obtained, since researcher can
pursue any question of special interest.
• Interview offers protection against ambiguous or
confusing questions.
• Respondents are less likely to give “don’t know”
responses or leave a question unanswered
• Flexibility
• Permit greater control over the sample

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 Advantages (cont)
• Suitable for probing complex situations and
sensitive issues.
• Higher proportion of responses are obtained
from potential respondents.
• Saves interviewee’s time as she/he doesn’t
have to go through the process of returning the
instrument.

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 Advantages (cont)
• Useful for both literate & illiterates and also
broader group of individuals i.e. young
children, blind, very elderly etc.
• Face to face interviews have an advantage in
their ability to produce additional data through
observation (non-verbal)
• Telephones/videos may be used for soliciting
some types of interview data, especially when
time period for gathering information is short.
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 Disadvantages
• It is time consuming and costly
• Rapport and interpersonal relationships are important
aspect of this technique. Therefore, element of bias can
be from both interviewer and interviewee.
• Interviewer usually has little or no choice in the data or
place of the interview
• Difficult to make a comparison of data collected by
one interviewer’s with another unless a rigid procedure
is followed. In large research projects, training of
interviewers adds to the expense of the project

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 Disadvantages (cont)
• When more than one interviewer collect data
of a study, the influence of personal bias of
interviewers may affect objectivity.
• Recording may be biased, incomplete or
selective

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 Conducting the Interview
• Interviews can be conducted by: 
 Face to face meeting 
 Telephonically 
 Video-recording
• Conduct in a quiet peaceful atmosphere
• Subject to be seated in a comfortable position
• Subject should be informed before hand as to
how much time interview will take.

57
 Conducting the Interview (cont)
• Recording of responses should be done
simultaneously. 
Sometimes with subject’s permission, interviewer
may record responses by use of tape recorder/video
recording. 
Of course experience of writing in shorthand is
useful.
• Interviewer must ask the questions in a
similar fashion throughout the data gathering
process.
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Build Rapport with the interviewee by
> Introducing self, Nature and purpose of study 
> Ask permission to interview 
> Create a friendly and pleasant atmosphere for the
subjects
> Assure interviewee’s anonymity and confidentiality
of responses 
> Request for frank opinions/feeling etc. 
> Should not pressure the individual to answer.
> They should be told they need not answer
embarrassing questions if they don’t wish to do so.

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 Problems
• Ineffective procedure for obtaining actual behavior
patterns
• Some interviewees may have faulty memories and
either can not remember a certain fact or guess what
seems to be a reasonable answer.
• Subjects may give answers which is representative of a
group rather than their own ideas
• Presence of interviewer may influence the subjects, so
that they answer questions differently than they would if
filling a questionnaire

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• Sample mortality. (Not everyone in the
expected sample may be present)
• Some respondents may not be qualified to
answer some questions asked to them. May not
recognize their own problems.
Respondents get nervous seeing their
responses being written.
• Time is lost, when interviewer has to record
responses. In haste, he may make some
mechanical mistake.
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• Interviewee may lose his train of thoughts
while waiting the interviewer to finish writing
the last response. Thus some data may be lost.
• Interviewer is likely to overlook/become
unaware of non-verbal cues while getting busy
with interview guide or schedule.

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 OBSERVATION TECHNIQUE
It is one of the basic and oldest method to gather data
 Is systematically planned and recorded. 
It is a technique to acquire information through
occurrence that can be observed through senses with
or without mechanical devices. 
It is a two part process i.e. someone is observing and
there is something to observe (observer; observed)

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 Four Broad Questions in observation
What should be observed? 
How should observation be recorded ? 
What procedures should be used to try to
assure the accuracy of observation ? 
What relationship should exist between the
observer and the observed, and how can such
relationship be established?

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 Phenomena Amenable to Observation
Characteristics and conditions of individuals – People’s
attributes, status, Physiological conditions (Through
senses and apparatus) 
Verbal communication behaviour – linguistic behaviour,
content & structure of conversation, entire process of
social interaction. 
Non-verbal communication behaviour – Facial
expressions, touch posture, gesture, body movements,
Linguistic behaviour – manner of speaking, loudness,
continuity of speech

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Activities – People’s behaviour that communicates overt
state. Actions indicative of health status – Physical and
emotional functioning; study of activities of health
personnel etc. 
Skill attainment and Performance- Nursing skills-
Procedures, Techniques. 
Environmental characteristics/Attributes – noise levels,
cleanliness, ventilation, odour, water supply, mosquito
breeding, Infrastructure.

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 Types

> Structured interview 

> Unstructured interview 
> Semi structured interview 
> In depth interview 
> Focused group interview 
> Telephone interview

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 Interviewing process
> Preparation for interview 
> Pre interview introduction 
> Developing rapport 
> the interview forward 
> Recording the interview 
> Closing the interview

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 Observation methods
Unstructured observation – is made to provide as
complete and non-selective a description as possible of
an event –or behavior observed. Techniques used for
unstructured method of observation.
Participant observation – involves researcher to
participate in the functioning of social group under
investigation. Researcher attempts not to interject his
views & meaning into the social situation under
observation.

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 Unstructured observation method
Provides rich and deep understanding of
human behavior. 
Observer bias and influence are prominent
difficulties.
Memory distortions represent another
possible source of inaccuracy.

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• Log and field notes 
• Anecdotes 
• Field diaries 
• Video and tape recording

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 Logs, Field Notes, Anecdotes
Logs – is a record of events & conversation, maintained
on daily basis.  Field Notes – include daily log but tend
to be much broader, more analytic and include more
interpretation than mere listing of occurrences.
Essential to record simultaneously because of memory
failure.  Anecdotes – Focus on behaviour of particular
interest. Anecdote typically selects specific kind of
events and behaviours for observation before hand.
Observer objectively and accurately records the
observation.

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