Data considerations

i. Secondary Data
ii. Primary Data
iii. Creative Solutions for Data Problems
 Data Considerations
• Data is the cornerstone of research - some good research proposals can’t be
implement because appropriate data are either not available or feasible.
• To conduct effective empirical research, we must now how & where to:
i. Locate data that already exists
ii. Generate data that do not already exist, and;
iii. Determine the reliability & applicability to the research problem at hand
• Two main types of data: primary and secondary data.
 Secondary data
• Available from many different sources
• Gathered by national governments and international organisations e.g.
• ZAMSTATS
• IMF
• UNCTAD
• We normally assume that secondary data is error free – but this is not true
• FDI data from China for example is suspected of error due to political constraints
under which the data is collected
 Primary data I
• For some research problems, readily available secondary data may not exist
• In such cases, researchers can abandon the study or collect the required
primary data
• E.g. data profiling the most popular modes of advertising in Zambia
• One disadvantage of primary data is that it is very expensive to gather
• Survey questionnaires are the most common means of gathering primary
data
 Primary data II
• One advantage of surveys is that they can be designed to suite researcher’s needs.
• No need to alter the empirical model to deal with secondary data constraints.
• Requires careful attention to question design and presentation to avoid biased
responses – e.g. leading questions.
• Leading "Do you agree that UNZA graduates are the best graduates in Zambia?“
 The question subtly pushes the respondent to answer ‘yes’.
• Neutral “How would you rate UNZA graduates compared to graduates from other
universities?”
 a) the same, b) they are better , c) they are worse.
 Primary data – Essential points
a) The point, intent & potential value of the survey should be made clear to survey
respondents [use information sheet if need be]
b) Surveys should be constrained to the data that are essential to the research
c) Questions should be asked in value-free language, oriented to collect (1) factual
information, or (2) evaluation, opinion, or assessment without connotation of
goodness/badness or right/wrong of any particular response
d) Pre-test the survey to determine if it is being perceived & received as anticipated.
 Creative solutions for data problems
• These are creative ways of dealing with phenomena that are not measured
or measurable e.g.
i. the presence/absence of a phenomenon, be it a cause or an effect, may be captured
in the form of a binary (dummy) variable.
ii. For impact evaluation, we estimate different relationships for different time periods
e.g. before and after a particular event or intervention
• Creative use of data can surmount some of the data problems
Collection of primary
data
Observation methods
Interview methods
 Primary data collection
• Experimental: the investigator measures the effects of a variable.
• Survey: a method of securing information from all or a selected number of
respondents in a given area using:
 Observations,
 Interviews (questionnaires)
 Focus group discussions (FGDs), and In-depth interviews
 Observation method
• Most commonly used method in behavioural sciences
• Information is sought by way of investigator’s own direct observation
without asking from the respondent e.g.
i. In a study relating to consumer behavior, the investigator instead of asking the brand
of wrist watch used by the respondent, may himself look at the watch.
ii. In studying quality of a service, you can make observation of providers at work.
• We can have participant and nonparticipant observation.
 Observation method –Advantages
i. Subjective bias is eliminated if observation is done accurately.
ii. The information obtained under this method relates to what is currently
happening; it is not complicated by either the past behavior or future
intentions or attitudes
iii. This method is independent of respondents’ willingness to respond and as
such is relatively less demanding of active cooperation on the part of
respondents
 Observation method – Disadvantages
i. It is an expensive method.
ii. The information provided by this method is very limited.
iii. Sometimes unforeseen factors may interfere with the observational task.
iv. Some people are rarely accessible to direct observation (this creates an
obstacle for this method to collect data effectively.)
 Interview method – personal interview I
• Data is collected by an interviewer who asks a set of questions in face-to-
face contact.
• May be structured or unstructured interview
• For structured interviews, predetermined questions are asked in a prescribed
order and recorded in a standardized way
• In a non-structured interview, the interviewer is allowed freedom to ask
supplementary questions, omit certain questions if the situation so requires,
change the sequencing of the question etc. .
 Interview method – personal interview II
• Other variants include focused group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interview or
key informant interview (KIIs)
• Interview methods have the following advantages:
i. More information can be obtained in greater depth
ii. Interviewer by his own skill can overcome the resistance, if any, of the
respondents;
iii. The interview method can be made to yield an almost perfect sample of the
general population.
 Advantages of personal interviews
iv. Great flexibility as the opportunity to restructure questions is always there,
specially in case of unstructured interviews.
v. Samples can be controlled more effectively as there arises no difficulty of
the missing returns; non-response generally remains very low.
vi. The interviewer can usually control which person(s) will answer the
questions. This is not possible in mailed questionnaire approach. If so
desired, group discussions may also be held.
 Advantages of personal interviews II
viii. Personal information can as well be obtained easily under this method.
ix. The interviewer may catch the informant off-guard and thus may secure the most
spontaneous reactions than would be the case if mailed questionnaire is used.
x. The language of the interview can be adapted to the ability or educational level of
the person interviewed and as such misinterpretations concerning questions can
be avoided.
xi. The interviewer can collect supplementary information about the respondent’s
personal characteristics and environment which is often of great value in
interpreting results.
 Weaknesses of the interview method I
i. Very expensive, specially when a large and widely spread geographical sample is taken.
ii. There remains the possibility of the bias of interviewer as well as that of the respondent.
iii. The headache of supervision and control of interviewers.
iv. Certain types of respondents such as important officials or executives or people in high
income groups may not be easily approachable under this method and to that extent the
data may prove inadequate.
v. This method is relatively more-time-consuming, specially when the sample is large and
recalls upon the respondents are necessary.
 Weaknesses of the interview method II
vi. The presence of the interviewer on the spot may over-stimulate the respondent,
sometimes even to the extent that he may give imaginary information just to make
the interview interesting e.g. Hawthorne effect.
vii. Under the interview method the organization required for selecting, training and
supervising the field-staff is more complex with formidable problems.
viii. Interviewing at times may also introduce systematic errors.
ix. Effective interview presupposes proper rapport with respondents that would
facilitate free and frank responses. This is often a very difficult requirement.
 Pre-requisites & basic tenets of interviewing I

i. Interviewers should be carefully selected, trained and briefed.

ii. Interviewers should be honest, sincere, hardworking, impartial and must
possess the technical competence and necessary practical experience.
iii. Occasional field checks should be made to ensure that interviewers are
neither cheating, nor deviating from instructions given to them for
performing their job efficiently.
iv. Make provision on how to deal with respondents who refuse to cooperate
or are not available when an interviewer calls upon them.
Pre-requisites & basic tenets of interviewing II

v. Make effort to create friendly atmosphere of trust & confidence – rapport

vi. Interviewer must ask questions properly and intelligently and must record the
responses accurately and completely.
vii. The interviewer must answer legitimate question(s), if any, asked by the
respondent and must clear any doubt that the latter has.
viii. The interviewer should not show surprise or disapproval of a respondent’s
answer but must keep the direction of interview in his own hand, discouraging
irrelevant conversation and must make all possible effort to keep the respondent
on track.
Use of questionnaire
 Use of questionnaires
• Very popular method in economic and business surveys.
• Involves sending a questionnaire by post or electronic means (e.g. survey monkey)
• A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed or typed in a definite
order on a form or set of forms.
• The questionnaire is sent to respondents who are expected to read and understand
the questions and write down the reply in the space provided.
• Respondents have to answer the questions on their own.
 Merits of the questionnaire method
i. Cheaper even when the universe is large and is widely spread geographically.
ii. Free from the bias of the interviewer; answers are in respondents’ own words.
iii. Respondents have adequate time to give well thought out answers.
iv. Respondents, who are not easily approachable, can also be reached conveniently.
v. Large samples can be made use of and thus the results can be made more
dependable andreliable.
 demerits of the questionnaire method
i. Low response rate; bias due to no-response is often indeterminate.
ii. It can be used only when respondents are educated and cooperating.
iii. The control over questionnaire may be lost once it is sent.
iv. Inflexible- it is difficult to amending the approach once questionnaires are despatched.
v. Possibility of ambiguous replies or omission of replies altogether to certain questions.
vi. It is difficult to know whether willing respondents are truly representative.
vii. This method is likely to be the slowest of all.
Main aspects of a
questionnaire
i. General form,
ii. Question sequence
iii. Question formulation and wording
 General form I
• A questionnaire can be structured or unstructured questionnaire.
• Structured questionnaires: these have definite, concrete and pre-determined questions.
• Questions are presented with exactly the same wording and in the same order to all
respondents.
• The standardization of questions ensure that all respondents reply to the same set of
questions.
• Questions may be either closed (i.e., of the type ‘yes’ or ‘no’) or open (i.e., inviting free
response) but should be stated in advance and not constructed during questioning.
 General form II
• May have fixed alternative • E.g. Who assistant with the delivery
questions in which responses of of your last born child?
the informants are limited to the A. Doctor
stated alternatives e.g. check
B. Midwife/nurse
questionnaire in the ZDHS report.
C. Clinical officer
• All questions and answers are
specified and comments in the D. TBA
respondent’s own words are held to E. Relative/friend
the minimum. F. Other (Specify)………………….
 General form III
• Unstructured questionnaire; the interviewer is provided with a general
guide on the type of information to be obtained,
• Exact question formulation is the interviewers' responsibility
• Replies are to be taken down in the respondent’s own words to the extent
possible;
• In some situations tape recorders may be used to obtain a verbatim record.
 General form IV
• Structured questionnaires are simple to administer and relatively inexpensive to analyze.
• The provision of alternative replies, at times, helps to understand the meaning of the
question clearly.
• One demerit of structured questionnaires is that the data cannot be obtained in the
respondent’s own words.
• Inappropriate in investigations where the aim happens to be to probe for attitudes and
reasons for certain actions or feelings.
• Not suitable when a problem is being first explored and working hypotheses sought. In such
a case, one can start by piloting an unstructured questionnaire and use the feedback to
construct a structured questionnaire.
 Question sequencing I
• Appropriate sequencing is required to ensure quality of responses
• A proper sequence of questions reduces the chances of individual questions being
misunderstood.
• The question-sequence must be clear and smoothly-moving;
i. The relation of one question to another should be readily apparent to the respondent
ii. Start with questions that are easy to answer
• The first few questions are important – they help create rapport & should arouse
interest.
 Question sequencing II
• The following should not be used as opening questions in a questionnaire:
i. Questions that strain the memory or intellect of the respondent;
ii. Questions of a personal character;
iii. Questions related to personal wealth, etc.
• For unstructured questionnaires, question-sequencing should conform to
the respondent’s way of thinking – rearrange questions if possible.
• For structured questionnaire, a pilot survey can help determine the
sequencing
 Question sequencing III
• Relatively more difficult questions should be at the end so that even if the
respondent decides not to answer such questions, considerable information
would have already been obtained.
• Question-sequence should usually go from the general to the more specific
• Note: the answer to a given question is a function not only of the question
itself, but of all previous questions as well.
 Question formulation and wording
• Generally, all questions should meet the following standards:
i. Should be easily understood;
ii. Should be simple i.e., should convey only one thought at a time (no double barreled
questions. E.g. how many hours does your shopkeeper work and what is his hourly pay?
iii. Should be concrete & conform as much as possible to the respondent’s way of thinking.
• E.g. instead of asking. “How many razor blades do you use annually?” The more
realistic question would be, “How many razor blades did you use last week?”
 Form of questions
• Questions can be multiple choice questions or open-end questions.
• Questions requiring ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for answers are multiple choice and close
ended e.g. do you believe in miracle money?
• Questions requiring an answer in the respondent’s own words are open-
ended e.g. what is your view on the authenticity of miracle money?
 Advantages of close-ended questions
i. Multiple choice questions are easy to handle and simple to answer,
ii. They are quick and relatively inexpensive to analyze.
iii. They are most amenable to statistical analysis.
iv. Sometimes, the provision of alternative replies helps to make clear the
meaning of the question.
 Disadvantages of close-ended questions
i. It “puts answers in people’s mouths” i.e., they may force a statement of
opinion on an issue about which the respondent does not infact have any
opinion.
ii. Not appropriate for complex issues.
iii. Not appropriate when the interest of the researcher is in the exploration
of a process.
 Essentials of a good questionnaire I
i. Should be comparatively short and simple.
ii. Questions should proceed in logical sequence moving from easy to more difficult
questions.
iii. Personal and intimate questions should be left to the end.
iv. Technical terms and vague expressions capable of different interpretations should be
avoided in a questionnaire.
v. Questions may be dichotomous (yes or no answers), multiple choice (alternative answers
listed) or open-ended.
vi. Open-ended questions are difficult to analyze and should be avoided as much as possible.
 Essentials of a good questionnaire II
vii. Include control questions to check reliability of respondent e.g. to determine distance to a
health facility, first ask about the distance and later travel time.
viii. Control questions help cross-check reliability of information collected.
ix. Avoid questions affecting the sentiments of respondents.
x. Provide adequate space for recording of answers as well as to help editing and tabulation.
xi. Make provision for uncertainty, e.g., “do not know,” “no preference” etc.
xii. Guidance regarding the filling up of the questionnaire should be given in the
questionnaire.
xiii. An attractive looking questionnaire is a plus point for enlisting cooperation.
 Use of interview schedules I
• Interview schedules are like questionnaires,
• The difference is that schedules are administered by enumerators.
• Enumerators go to respondents and ask the questions from the schedule in
the order the questions are listed & record the replies in the space provided.
• Sometimes interview schedules may be handed over to respondents and
enumerators may help them in recording their answers to various questions.
 Use of interview schedules II
• The enumerators should be trained to perform their job well.
• Enumerators should be intelligent and must possess the capacity of cross
examination in order to find out the truth.
• Enumerators should be honest, sincere, hardworking and patient.
• This method is very useful in extensive enquiries & can lead to fairly reliable results.
• However, it is very expensive and is usually adopted in investigations conducted by
governmental agencies or by some big organisations.
• Population census all over the world is conducted through this method.
 Procedural suggestions I
• Suggestions for approaching the methods and procedures portion of a
research project proposal:
i. Recognise that the planned methods and procedures are subject to change
during implementation process.
ii. Be as specific and detailed in the specifications & explanations.
iii. Recognise the audience for which the methods and procedures are written.
 Selecting appropriate method for data
collection
• Factors that determine the choice of data collection method include:
i. Nature, scope and objective of inquiry.
ii. Availability of funds.
iii. Time factor.
iv. Precision required.
 Procedural suggestions I I
iv. Approach the methods and procedures in both general and specific terms
a. Start with big picture of how you intend to achieve the general objective of the
research project i.e. what tools/techniques will be used, how will they be used, what
empirical results will be gathered, what empirical analysis will be done on the
empirical results – show sequencing of analytical steps
b. Secondly, address each specific objective in terms of what will be done, what
techniques/procedures will be used, data requirement and data source etc
• Note: non of the various methods is superior to the other, each method has
its own use.
End