Data Collection

In social science research, open-ended questions and close-ended questions are the two forms of questions that the researcher can use in his/her interview schedule and in the questionnaire. The wording, type, and format of questions are very important to consider when formulating interview schedule or while formatting questionnaire. This can impact the validity, reliability, and accuracy of your research instrument. Open-ended …

The interviews in research are classified as structured and unstructured interviews. An interview is the most commonly used method of recording responses from the respondents in social science research. The interview is a primary source of data collection in research. Interviews can be formal or informal and they can be rigid or flexible depending on the purpose of the interview. …

The process of recording observation in research can be done in several ways, the researcher keeps in mind the purpose of the observation to decide how to record them. To decide about the method of observation the researcher should also know whether the observation is made in natural settings or in controlled settings. In both cases, the method of recording …

The goal of a questionnaire design is to find answers for research objectives. The answers generated from the questionnaires need also be relevant and valid. Therefore, the purpose of the research questionnaire is to find reliable and valid answers to the research questions. The researcher first needs to define the aims of the research, wether it is a market research …

Primary and Secondary Data Primary and secondary data are the two most prominent forms of data available for research studies. In some research, the researchers might use territory data but the reliability and validity of research decrease with the use of lesser authentic data. Data can be defined as the quantitative or qualitative values of a variable. Data is plural of Datum which …

The word reliability is used so often in our life. When we say that someone is reliable, we mean that that person is honest, predictable, consistent and stable. There can be many ways in which the reliability of the instrument can be improved as well as there are several ways in which the reliability of the instrument can be poorly …

The right choice of data collection method is inevitable to the success of the research. There are various factors that need to be looked before deciding about the best data collection method. Basically, there are two data collection methods; primary and secondary data collection methods. Most of the researchers either use any one method from the primary sources of data …

In research secondary sources of data collection and information are as important as primary sources. There are several reasons for that, in many cases primary data is not available and therefore the researcher uses secondary sources. In other researches the researcher knows that the secondary sources are as much reliable as primary sources and therefore he uses secondary sources. Secondary …

There are primary, secondary and tertiary sources of data collection in research. Primary sources of data collection have always been used because of their greater authenticity and reliability. Secondary sources of data collection are used when primary sources are not available. In some cases primary sources are available but due to time or other constraints the researcher is forced to …

This is a very important question that what should be your sample size? In any study there are various factors that affect your sample size.  You have to know these factors and determine your sample. You can keep your sample size large if the study requires greater accuracy. You can keep the sample size small if you are short of …