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Collecting primary ( qualitative ?) data

Collecting primary ( qualitative ?) data. Questionnaires. -.. techniques of data collection in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in a predetermined + large samples + quantitative analysis hard to produce a good questionnaire

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Collecting primary ( qualitative ?) data

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  1. Collecting primary (qualitative?) data

  2. Questionnaires -..techniquesofdatacollectioninwhicheachpersonisaskedtorespondtothesamesetofquestionsin a predetermined + largesamples + quantitativeanalysis • hardtoproduce a goodquestionnaire • onlyonepossibilitytoaskthesampleyou are interestedin

  3. Questionnairedesign …affectsreliability, validity, responserates • Carefuldesignofindividualquestions; • Clearlayoutofthequestionnaireform; • Lucidexplanationofthepurposeofthequestionnaire; • Pilottesting; • Carefullyplanned and executedadministration

  4. Whentouse • …fordescriptiveresearch – toidentify / describethevariabilityofdifferentphenomena (e.g., attitudes, opinions, practices) • …explanatory/analyticalresearch- examine/ explainrelationshipsbetweenvariables;cause-and-effectrelationships Suitablein a multiple-methodsresearchdesign

  5. Typesofquestionnaires • Self-administeredquestionnaires(internet, e-mail, post, deliveredbyhand) • Interviewer-administeredquestionnaires(telephone; face-tofaceorstructuredinterviews)

  6. Thechoiceofquestionnaire …depends on variousfactors: • Characeristicsoftherespondentsfromwhomyouwishtocollectdata • Importanceofreaching a particularpersonasrespondent • Possiblecontaminationofrespondent’sanswers • insufficientknowledge/experience - uninformedresponse • sociallydesirableanswers • discussinganswerswithothers • the poor recording • Sizeofsamplerequiredforanalysis (likelyresponserate) • Typesand number ofquestionyou need toask

  7. Questionnairedesignrequirements Youshouldthinkof… - representativeness/ accuratenessofsample –> generalising; comparing/relatingresultstoearlierresearch • are yourmeasurementtoolscompatible • goodoverviewoftherelevantliterature- definethetheoryyouwishtotest • understandingofresearchcontext (e.g., organisation)

  8. Designingthequestionnaire • Validityand reliability- doesthequestions and answersofthequestionnairemakesense Thequestion must beunderstoodbythe respondent inthewayintendedbytheresearcher and theansergivenbythe respondent must beunderstoodbytheresearcherinthewayintendedbytherespondent 

  9. Assessingvalidity • Internalvalidity-theabilityofyourquestionnairetomeasurewhatyouintendtomeasure • Contentvalidity – referstotheextenttowhichthemeasurement tool providesadequatecoverageofthequestionsyoustudy. Howtocheck: • definitionoftheresearchthroughtheliterature • discussionwithsomeexperts-supervisor • panelofindividualstoassesswhethereachmeasurementquestionisessentialornotessential • Criterion-relatedvalidity/ predictivevalidity – concernedwiththeabilityofthemeasurement tool tomakeaccuratepredictions. Howtocheck: -comparethedatayougatheredwiththatspecifiedinthecriterioninsomeway(e.g., correlation) • Constructvalidity– referstotheextenttowhichyourmeasurementquestionsactuallymeasurethepresenceofthoseconstructsyouintendedthemtomeasure– (attitudescales, ability/ personalitytests). Howtocheck: - howwellcanyougeneralisefromyourmeasurementquestionstoyourconstruct?“

  10. Testingforreliability …whetherornotyour tool willproduceconsistentfindings at differenttimes and underdifferentconditions (differentsamples; differentinterviewersetc) • Test re-test – correlatingdatawiththosefromthesamequestionnairecollectedunderasnearequivalentconditionsaspossible • Internalconsistency – correlatingtheresponsestoeachquestionwiththosetootherquestionsinthequestionnaire (e.g., Cronbach’salpha – we, psychologists, all love it) • Alternativeform – comparingresponsestoalternativeformsofthesamequestion/ groupsofquestions - checkquestions(However, respondentsmaygetmad)

  11. Designingindividualquestions • Adopt, adapt, ordevelop • Openquestions (open-endedquestions) - allowrespondentstogiveanswersintheirownway • Closedquestions (forced-choicequestions) - providea number ofalternativeanswersfromwhichthe respondent isinstructedtochoose • quicker/ easiertoanswer • easiertocomparetheresponses • easiertoanalyse • must beclearlyinterpretable

  12. Typesofclosedquestions • List – list of items, anyofwhichmaybeselected Useful: whenyou need tobe sure thatthe respondent hasconsidered all possibleresponses. Forexample: „Whatkindofmusicstylestoyoulistento?“ indie/ rock/ folk/ indie/ jazz/ easylistening/ indie/ world/ classical/ indie • Category – onlyoneresponsecanbeselectedfrom a givensetofcategories Useful: ifyou need tocollectdataaboutbehaviourorattributes; categoriesshouldnotoverlap and shouldcover all possibleresponses! Forexample: „Howoftendoyougotothecinema?“ 2 ormoretimes a week/ oncea week/ coupletimes a month/ never

  13. Ranking – the respondent isaskedtoplacesomethingin order. Useful: whenyouwanttodiscovertherelativeimportanceofthethingstothe respondent. Seven / eightitemsmaximum -> respondentsrankaccuratelywhentheycanremember all items Forexample: „Rankthefactorslistedin order ofimportancetoyouinyourchoiceoffieldofstudy“ otherpeople’sadvice/ personal interest/ potentialfutureincome/ careerpossibilities / possibilitytotraveletc. • Rating – a ratingdevicetorecordresponses Useful: whenyou need tocollectopiniondata; Likert-typeratingscales; 4, 5, 6, 7-pointratingscale. Forexample: „I feel thatmyopinionisimportantindecisionprocessesintheorganisation“ agree/tendtoagree/ tendtodisagree/ disagree

  14. Interviews • …purposefuldiscussionbetweentwoormorepeople • Structuredinterviews– questionnairesbased on a predetermined/ standardised/ identicalsetofquestions-> interviewer-administeredquestionnaires (alreadydiscussed). Thesocialinteractionshouldnotmediatetheresponses, thequestionsshouldbe read exactlyaswritten and inthesametoneofvoice – beascomputer-likeaspossible. Alsoknownasquantitativeresearchinterview • Semi-structuredinterviews– non-standardized; list ofthemes/questionstobecovered, partlyvaryingfrominterviewtointerview;additionalquestionsmaybeadded; theorder ofquestionsmayvary.Alsoknownasqualititiveresearchinterview • In-depthinterviews– informal; toexploreindepth a generalareaofinterest; no predetermined list ofquestions; onlyclearideaabouttheaspect(s) youwanttoexplore. Theintervieweeisgiventheopportunityto talk freely. Alsoknownasnon-directiveinterview

  15. Linkstothepurpose and researchstrategy • Semi-structured and in-depthinterviews: • „what“, „how“ and „why“questions • exploratorystudies - tofindoutwhatishappening and to seek newinsights • explanatorystudies - semi-structuredinterviews-> tounderstandtherelationshipsbetweenvariables • Useful: • tohelpidentifythequestionsforyourquestionnaire • explore/ explainthemesthathaveemergedfromyourquestionnaire • tovalidatefindingsfromyourquestionnaire

  16. Situationsfavouringnon-standardisedinterviews • Thepurposeoftheresearch – tounderstandthereasonsforthedecisionsofparticipants; tounderstandthereasonsforthedecisionsfortheirattitudes/ opinions.Understandingifintervieweesusewords/ ideasina particularway; toleaddiscussionintoareasyouhadn’tpreviouslyconsidered; toformulatesomenewquestion • Thesignificanceofestablishing personal contact – managerslikelytoagreetobeinterviewedratherthancomplete a questionnaire. Receivingthequestionnairethroughthepost ->problematictoprovidesensitiveinformation; trust thewayinwhichtheinformationisused; understandingthemeaningofthequestions • Thenatureofquestions– large number ofquestions; complexoropen-endedquestions; the order and logicofquestioningmay need tobevaried. • Lengthoftimerequired and completenessoftheprocess– issuesthat are complex, unclear, orlargeinnumber; emptyanswersinquestionnairegive no hint, whythey are unanswered; by personal interview, youwillformsomeindicationofwhy a responsecouldnotprovided-> incentivetomodifythequestion

  17. Dataqualityissues • Formsofbias – theinterviewerbias– comments, toneor non-verbalbehaviourofthe interviewercreatesbiasinthe waythatinterviewees respondtothequestions beingasked. Imposing interviewer’sownbeliefs/ frameofreference biasininterpreting responses

  18. Dataqualityissues • Response/intervieweebias – respondent’ssensitivenesstotheunstructuredexplorationtocertainthemes –> notreveal and discuss a topicinquestion;providing a partial „picture“ ofthesituationcastinghim/herselfin a sociallydesirablerole • Validity and generalisability –gettingtherightsample - some parts ofthesampleremovethemselvesfromtaking part becauseofthelackoftime -> biasedsample - no generalisationscanbe made aboutthepopulation - small and unrepresentativesamples

  19. Successfulinterviewpreparation • Levelofknowledgeabouttheorganisational/ situationalcontext - yourprior knowledgesraiseyourcredibility • Levelofinformationsuppliedtotheinterviewee – credibilitythroughthesupplyofrelevantinformationtoparticipantsbeforetheinterview; possibilityforthemtoconsidertheinformationbeingrequested and assemblesupportingorganisationaldocumentationifneeded • Appropriatelocation – comfortable; unlikelytobedisturbed; quiet • Thebeginningofinterview – shapingthecredibility - explainingyourresearch - gainingtheconsent/ confidenceoftheinterviewee - supplyingtheinformationhowthedataisused/howtheanonymityisguaranteed

  20. Successfulinterviewpreparation 2 • Approachtoquestioning – • questionsbephrasedclearly, understandably, withneutraltoneofvoice; • avoid too longquestions; • avoidquestions made upoftwoormorequestions; • avoid too manytheoreticalconcepts; • groundyourquestionsinthereal-lifeexperiencesofyourparticipantratherthanabstractconcepts; • usecriticalincidenttechnique - respondent isaskedtodescribein detail a criticalincidentthatiskeytotheresearchquestion; • leavesensitivequestionsuntilnearthe end - greatertimeforthebuildingupthe trust; ifthequestion upset the respondent, theirritationwillnotaffectfurtherquestions :P

  21. Successfulinterviewpreparation 3 • Interviewer’sbehaviourduringtheinterview – comments / nonverbalbehaviourindicatinganybiasinyourthinkingshouldbeavoided; • neutral, butnotuninterestedresponse; • donot look bored! • listenattentively – holdbackyourownthoughts, giveenoughtimetodeveloptheresponse, avoidprojectingyourownviews. Carefullisteningallowsyotoidentifycommentsthatmaybesignificanttotheresearchtopic. • Test yourunderstanding – e.g., summarizeanexplanationprovidedbythe respondent – so he/shecanevaluatetheadequacyofyourinterpretation

  22. Observation • Ifyourresearchquestion/objectiveisconcernedwithwhatpeopledo, anobviouswayinwhichtodiscoverthisistowatchthemdoit. • Definition - thesystematicobservation, recording, description, analysis and interpretationofpeople’sbehaviour

  23. Participantobservation Researcher… - participatefullyinthelives and activitiesofsubjects and thusbecomes a memberoftheirgroup, organisationorcommunity - notonlyobserves, butalsofeels, whatishappening Themeanings and contextofthephenomena are discovered(hopefully).

  24. Researcherroles • Completeparticipant – youas a researcherattempttobecome a memberof a groupinwhichyouconductresearch. Example: studyingluchtimedrinkinginparticularworksetting. Thequestionofethics. Threat: ingainingthe trust ofyour „colleagues“, youmightvaluethat trust so muchthatyoulosethesightofyourresearchpurpose • Completeobserver – youwouldnotrevealthepurposeofyouractivitytothoseyou are observing. Youdonottake part intheactivitiesofthegroup. Example: studyingtheconsumerbehaviourinthesupermarkets - howpeopletendtoreacttothe „rushhours“

  25. Structuredobservation • systematic • hashighlevelofpredeterminedstructure • quantifybehaviour • howoftenthingshappenratherthanwhytheyhappen • …movesmore and moreintothe Internet – „indirectobservation“, tracesofbehaviour • personal digital assistants

  26. Threatstovalidity and reliability • Subjecterror – observinga situationthatisnotrepresentative – butyoudonotknowit –> choosesubjectswhoinasmanyrespectsaspossible are „normal“ examplesofthepopulationunderstudy • Time error – at differenttimes a day and a weektheremaybeverydifferentprocessesoccuring • Observereffect – theprocessoftheobserver’sobservationofbehaviourchangesthenatureofthatbehaviourowingtothefactthatthesubjectisconsciousofbeingobserved. Itisexperimentallydemonstratedthatalsocockroacherrunfasterwhenothercockroaches are watching.. Toovercomethiseffect: • toobserveinsecret • minimalinteraction – observertriestomeltintothebackground, has no orlittleinteraction, avoidseyecontact, sits inanunobtrusiveposition • habituation– subjectsbecomefamiliarwiththeprocessofobservation so theytakeitforgranted. Severalobservationsessions are necessaryinthesamesettingwiththesamesubjects

  27. Homework 3 • Youhavefornowchosenyourresearchstrategy. Now, specifyyourdatacollectionmethod(write just a shortpassagetoextend and makemoreclear, howyourmeasurement tool should look like.Forexample – ifyouwantedtousequestionnaire, designsomequestions and explain, whyyouchoosetoaskthese. Ifyouwanttointerviewsomeone, thendesignsometopic/question and specify, woulditbestructuredorsemi/structuredinterview, etc) • Email it.. Beforeournextlecture

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