ACQUISITION OF

INFORMATION FOR
RESEARCH.
Data Collection in Political Inquiry
• Data collection can be defined as “the science and art of
acquiring information about sampled units that are likely to
be of interest”. It is the process of obtaining relevant
information regarding the major idea in a study.
• Data are not just collected for collection sake but they are
gathered regarding the major idea in the study. Since data
gathering is a primary efforts aimed at understanding
social life through discovering of new facts,
documentation of old ones or its rejection and also trying
to establish relation between variables.
• According to David Leege and Wayne Francis, social
scientists in the past have relied heavily on two sources
for data collection:
a. Published governmental documents
b. The large scale survey.
However, scholars currently have available to them a wide
variety of instruments for collecting data
Instruments for Data Collections
1. Questionnaire
2. Interview
3. Observation
4. Focus Group Discussion
5. Documentary method
• A questionnaire is an instrument specifically designed to
elicit information that will be useful for analysis.
• Questionnaire provides the best opportunity for the
collection of raw data, especially when administered
appropriately.
• A questionnaire normally contains a set of questions, the
answers to which may constitute part of, or the main data
required in a research.
• In design, a questionnaire may be arranged into several
sections, section aimed at specific or group of information.
• The interview method is an alternative method of
collecting data in a survey research. Rather than asking
respondents to read questionnaires and enter their own
answers, researchers send interviewers to ask questions
orally and record respondents’ answers.
• In a way, interview is a data collection encounter in which
one person (an interviewer) asks questions of another (a
respondent).
• Interview may be conducted face-to-face or by telephone.

• Interviewing is typically done in a face-to-face encounter,

but telephone interviewing follows most of the same
guidelines.
• Interview is a survey instrument involving a face-to-face
communication.
• It is a data-gathering instrument that enables a researcher
to have an in-depth knowledge of an issue of concern,
through face-to-face interaction.
• An interview schedule is administered and recorded by
the researcher, whereas a questionnaire is administered
and recorded by the respondent.
• Interview schedules can be structured or unstructured.
• Structured interview has to do more with uniformity of
questions and the sequence of their arrangement during
the interview session.
• Unstructured interview has the characteristics of open-
ended type of question in a questionnaire. But unlike the
open-ended questions in a questionnaire, the interviewer
can exercise control over what is said by the interviewee
by navigating him/her from irrelevant directions
Types of interview
i)Face -to -face interview:
• This is the type of interview in which both the interviewer
and interviewee are in close proximity or face each other
to address questions germane to the research issues.
• Face-to-face interview has a distinct advantage of
enabling the researcher to establish rapport with potential
participants and therefore gain their cooperation.
Advantages of face-to-face interview are:
• it yields the highest response rates in survey research.
• It also allows the researcher to clarify ambiguous answers
and when appropriate, seek follow-up information.
Disadvantages include:
• It impractical when large samples are involved.
• It is time consuming and expensive.
2. Telephone Interview

• This is the type of interviewing method in which the

researcher uses the telephone as the medium for
communicating with the interviewee.
• Telephone interview is less time consuming and less
expensive and the researcher has ready access to
anyone on the planet who has a telephone.
• The disadvantages of this type of method are that the
response rate is not as high as the face-to- face interview.
• The sample may be biased as not every member of the
population has access to a telephone.
3. Computer Assisted Personal Interview
• 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. However, this type of data
collection method can be expensive to set up and requires
that interviewers have computer and typing skills.
Planning the Interview
• Most people think that interviewing is an extension of
ordinary conversation, and assume that they can do it
effectively with very little planning.
• This stance seldom works, however, and almost never
allows interviewers to learn all they can.
There are two rules of thumb in planning an interview:
• The first is to prepare questions ahead of time but be
open to new ideas as the interview proceeds.
• The second is to structure the questions and the
interviewing style to reduce the so-called social distance
between the interviewer and the subject. The subject
needs to feel comfortable, and to trust the interviewer and
not feel threatened.
• The productivity of interviews is dependent on the
schedule of topics for such interviews. Such interview
schedules include:
i. Defining the general questions and framework: what is
it that the researcher wants to know, and what are the
problems to be clarified?
ii. Selecting cases: the researcher should be clear about
why he/she chooses some cases rather than the other.
The researcher should look for several ways to gain
access to individuals outside certain official channels.
iii. Making appointments: Call ahead and introduce
yourself and your purpose briefly.
iv. Preparing for the interview: Review your planned
outline of questions.
v. Developing sensitivity to the person you will be
interviewing: Plan time to collect your thoughts before
the interview.
vi. Opening questions: the safest way to begin is to ask for
background information.
vii. Flexibility and probing: Respond to remarks made by
the interviewee by asking for clarification where necessary.
The interviewer can elicit deeper insights through:
• Asking for clarification of a point;
• asking the subject to elaborate on a comment;
• Encouraging the subject to continue; and,
• Remaining silent, thereby implicitly encouraging the subject to say
more.
viii. Eliciting concrete, specific answers: Interviewees often
answer questions in vague terms. The researcher must
plan their questions to encourage specificity.
ix. Concluding interview: Be sensitive to the time.
x. Writing up your notes: the researcher should go over
his/her notes as soon as possible after leaving and add
his/her own impressions of the interview.
3. Observation
• Observation is the act of seeing or watching something
happen or unfold.
• Scientifically, observation is a purposefully planned and
systematically executed act of watching or looking at the
occurrence of events, activities and behaviours which
constitutes the subject or focus of research.
• In other words, observation entails the systematic noting
and recording of events, behaviors, and artifacts (objects)
in the social setting chosen for study.
• The observational record is frequently referred to as field
notes—detailed, non judgmental, concrete descriptions of
what has been observed.
• Observation may be a one-time experience or a longer
involvement in the life of a group of an organization.
• Observation also varies in terms of the role the observer
plays, either by being part of the group being observed or
being aloof and distanced.
Types of Observation
1. Complete Participant
• Here, the observer engages naturally in social situations
common to the group and his research purposes remain
unknown to them.
2. Participant as Observer
• This is where involvement and interaction are as natural
as possible, but the observer’s research purposes are
known to the group.
3. Observer as Participant
• Here, formal observation of short duration is undertaken,
and the observer’s interaction with the group is limited to
the formal observation situation.
4. Complete Observer: this is where the observer
tries as much as possible to have no interaction
whatsoever with the group and, in fact, to remain
unknown and obscure so that they are unaware they
are being observed.
5. Unobstrusive measures
• In everyday English, the term “unobstrusive” means
inconspicuous; not noticeable; seeming to fit in well with the
things around it or them.
• Unobstrusive measures are those measures that the
researcher puts in place to enable him/her observe without
being noticed or, more appropriately, without the subjects
being aware that they are under observation.
• Some of the preceding typology of observation already
examined have the attributes of unobstrusive measures.
• According to Leege and Francis (1974), unobstrusive
measures are “fairly direct non-laboratory observations of
behaviour or behavioural artifacts where the cooperation
of the subjects is not sought and he remains unaware that
systematic observation is occurring.
• Norman K. Denzin in The Research Act (1970)suggested
several types of relatively unobstrusive observations
which may provide fruitful sources of data. These include
i. The observer may study the body and physical signs.
Dress, hair styles and physical trappings have always
provided clues about the nature of social stratification
in a society.
ii. The observer may study expressive movements of the
eyes, mouth, face or limbs.
iii. The observer may study physical locations.
iv. The observer may study language behaviour.
4.Focus Group Discussion
• This is an innovative method of interviewing.
• This is an interviewing method targeted at selected
groups with the aim of understanding their needs,
characteristics, dynamics etc., within the context of the
issue under study.
• The groups are generally composed of 7 to 10 people
(although groups range from as small as 4 to as large as
12) who are unfamiliar with one another and have been
selected because they share certain characteristics
relevant to the study’s questions.
• The interviewer creates a supportive environment, asking
focused questions to encourage discussion and the
expression of differing opinions and points of view
• These interviews may be conducted several times with
different individuals so that the researcher can identify
trends in the perceptions and opinions expressed, which
are revealed through careful, systematic analysis.
Uses or importance of FGD
• Focus groups are used for generating information on
collective views, and the meanings that lie behind those
views.
• They are also useful in generating a rich understanding of
participants' experiences and beliefs. Suggested criteria
for using focus groups include:
• As a stand-alone method, for research relating to group
norms, meanings and processes. It helps the researcher
to get more in-depth information on perceptions, insights,
attitudes, experiences, or beliefs.
• In a multi-method design, to explore a topic or collect
group language or narratives to be used in later stages
• To clarify, extend, qualify or challenge data collected
through other methods. Focus Group is used to gather
additional information as an adjunct to quantitative data
collection methods.
• Focus groups, like other qualitative methods, are useful in
providing interpretations of data collected through
quantitative methods (quantitative data is numeric and
measureable)
• To feedback results to research participants.
Planning the FGD
• This requires thorough planning as the success of the
FGD depends largely on effective and efficient planning.
Two key components of planning focus groups include:
i. Developing the focus group guide
ii. Deciding the number and type of participants.
1. The focus group guide: is a series a questions for the
facilitator to use.
• Typically, the facilitator will ask questions of the group and
allow time for participants to respond to each other’s
comments.
• The focus group guide serves as a “road map” and
memory aid for the facilitator.
• When developing the focus group guide, identify from who
you want to obtain information, what type of information
you want to obtain
2. Select the number and type of participants
for each focus group.
• Once you have decided from whom you want to obtain
information, you can decide what types of participants you
will need for each focus group.
• Each individual focus group should be made up of similar
individuals, so the number of focus groups will depend on
how many different types of groups from which you want
to gather information.
Advantages of FGD
• Quick and relatively easy to set up.
• The group dynamic can provide useful information that
individual data collection does not provide.
• It is useful in gaining insight into a topic that may be more
difficult to gather through other data collection methods.
Disadvantages of FGD
• Susceptible to facilitator bias.
• The discussion can be dominated or sidetracked by a few
individuals.
• Data analysis is time consuming and needs to be well
planned in advance.
• Does not provide valid information at the individual level.
• The information is not representative of other groups.
5. Documentary method
• The use of documentary methods refers to the analysis of
documents that contain information about the
phenomenon under study.
• G. Payne & J. Payne in Key Concepts in Social Research
(2004) describe the documentary method as the
techniques used to categorise, investigate, interpret and
identify the limitations of physical sources, most
commonly, written documents whether in the private or
public domain.
• O. C. Nwana in Introduction to Educational Research
(1981) defines a document as any written material
(whether hand-written, typed or printed) that was already
in existence, and which was produced for some other
purpose than the benefit of the investigator.
• A document is an artefact (an object created by people)
which has as its central feature an inscribed text.
• Documents are produced by individuals and groups in the
course of their everyday practices and are geared
exclusively for their own immediate practical needs.
• They have been written with a purpose and are based on
particular assumptions and presented in a certain way or
style and to this extent, the researcher must be fully
aware of the origins, purpose and the original audience of
the documents.
Sources of Documentary method
• Documentary sources refer to records relating to
individuals or groups of individuals that have been
generated in the course of their daily lives.
• Usually, these documents are produced for reasons such
as historical documentation of the nature, dynamics and
trends of events.
• Documentary sources are sometimes described as life
stories because they are the accounts of the lives of
individuals, families, or other social groups.
• Documentary sources include diaries, letters, memoirs,
photographs, even shopping lists and random jottings and
oral histories, bibliographies,. Cinema has been a source
for a century and, more recently, video and similar
technologies have become available

• An important point to note is that documents are not

deliberately produced for the purpose of research; they
are naturally occurring objects with a concrete or semi-
permanent existence which tell us indirectly about the
social world of the people who created them.
Classification of Documents
Documents are classified in three ways:
1. Primary, Secondary and tertiary documents
2. Public and private documents
3. Solicited and unsolicited documents
• Primary documents refer to eye-witness accounts produced by
people who experienced the particular event or the behaviour
under study.
• Secondary documents, on the other hand, are documents
produced by people who were not present at the scene but who
received eye-witness accounts to compile the documents.
• Tertiary documents are those that enable researchers to locate
other references such as indexes, abstracts and other
bibliographies. Libraries and internet search engines are sites
for such collections of tertiary sources.
2. Public and private documents:
These are documents that are sub-divided into five
categories according to the degree of their accessibility:
a. closed (e.g., secret police files, classified government
report )
b. restricted (e.g., medical files and confidential corporate
reports)
c. open-archival (e.g., census reports)
d. open-published (e.g., government budget statistics)
e. private (household account books, photo albums,
address books, medical records, suicides notes,
diaries, personal letters, etc).
3. Solicited and unsolicited documents
• Some documents (e.g., government surveys and research
projects) would have been produced with the aim of
research in mind, whereas others (e.g., diaries) would
have been produced for personal use.
• However, even if unsolicited documents are for personal
use, they still are addressed to an audience.
Quality Control Criteria For Handling Documentary Sources

• J. Scott in A Matter of Record, Documentary Sources in

Social Research (1990) formulated quality control criteria
for handling documentary sources. These are:
i. Authenticity
ii. Credibility
iii. Representativeness
iv. Meaning.
i)Authenticity:
• Authenticity refers to whether the evidence is genuine and
of reliable and dependable origin.
• Authenticity of the evidence for analysis is the
fundamental criterion in any research.
• The researcher therefore has a duty and a responsibility
to ensure that the document consulted is genuine and has
integrity.
• Documents should therefore not be taken for granted
• However, according to J. Platt (1981), ‘Evidence and Proof in
Documentary Research’ in Sociological Review, Vol. 29, No. 1,
circumstances may arise that necessitate a close scrutiny of a
document. Such circumstances include the following:
(i) When the document does not make sense or has obvious errors;
(ii) When there are internal inconsistencies in terms of style, content and
so on;
(iii) When there are different versions of the same document;
(iv) When the version available is derived from a dubious, suspicious or
unreliable secondary source; and
(v) When the document has been in the hands of a person or persons
with vested interest in a particular reading of the text.
• Having established the authenticity of a document, the researcher must
also authenticate the authorship, that is, verify that the name inscribed
on the document is that of the author.
ii)Credibility
• Credibility refers to whether the evidence is free from
error and distortion.
• The question of credibility concerns the extent to which an
observer is sincere in the choice of a point of view and in
the attempt to record an accurate account from that
chosen standpoint.
• iii)Representativeness
• The question of representativeness applies more to some
documents than to others. Representativeness refers to
whether the evidence is typical of its kind, or if it is not,
whether the extent of its untypicality is known.
iv. Meaning
• Meaning refers to whether the evidence is clear and comprehensible.
The ultimate purpose of examining documents is to arrive at an
understanding of the meaning and significance of what the document
contains (Scott 1990).

• However, what documents contain can have either a literal or face

value meaning, and an interpretative meaning.

• According to Scott (1990), the literal meaning of a document gives

only its face value meaning, from which its real significance must be
reconstructed. On the other hand, in an interpretative understanding,
the researcher relates the literal meaning to the contexts in which the
documents were produced in order to assess the meaning of the text
as a whole.