Final Data Collection

Data COLLECTION

Data Facts or information, especially when examined and used to find out things or to make decisions

Primary data  Primary data is one which is collected by the investigator himself for the purpose of a specific inquiry or study  Primary data are collected afresh and for first time  Such data is original in character and is generated by surveys conducted by individuals or research institutions.

Secondary Data  When an investigator uses the data which has already collected by others such data is called secondary data.  This data is primary data for the agency that collects it and becomes secondary data for someone else who uses this for his own purposes.  This can be obtain from journals, reports, govt. publication, publication of professional and research organizations and so on.

Method of collecting primary data Observation Method Interview Method Questionnaires Method Schedules Method

Observation Method

The observation method is used to study relating to behavioral sciences Information is collected by observing the process at work. 1. Service Stations 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of display of LG TV in a departmental store 3. Super Market The method can be used to study sales techniques, customer movements, customer response etc. Direct observation without asking from the respondent

Advantage of Observation Method Subjective bias is eliminated Information relates to what is currently happening Independent of respondents’ willingness to respond

Type of Observation Structured & Unstructured Observation Participant & Non-Participant Observation Controlled & uncontrolled Observation

Structured & Unstructured Observation Careful definition of the units to be observed The style of recording the observed information Standardized conditions of observation Selection of pertinent data of observation

Participant & Non-Participant Observation Participant Observation: if the

observer observes by making himself, more or less, a member of the group he is observing so that he can experience what the members of the group experience Non-Participant Observation: when observer observes as a detached emissary without any attempt on his part of experience through participant what others feel

Controlled & uncontrolled Observation

Controlled Observation: when observation takes place according to definite pre-arranged plans, involving experimental procedure Uncontrolled Observation: if observation takes place in the natural setting

Interview Method  

 

The interview method of collecting of data involves presentation of oral stimuli and reply in terms of oral response It can be used through personal interviews and if possible, through telephone interview Telephone interview: collecting information consists in contacting respondents on telephone Personal interviews: asking question generally in a face to face to collect the information 1. Structured interview: asking question in form and order prescribed

Cont…. 2. Unstructured interviews: flexibility of approach to questioning

3. Focussed interview: to focus attention on the given experience of the respondent and its effects 4. Clinical interview: it is concerned with broad underlying feelings of individual's life experience 5. Non-directive interview: encourage the respondent to talk about the given topic with a bare minimum of direct questioning

Questionnaires Method  In this method questionnaire is sent (usually by post & email) to the persons concerned with a request to answer the questions and return to questionnaire  The primary advantages of questionnaire are 1. it is economical in terms of money and time 2. it gives samples which are more representative of population 3. it generates the standardized information 4. it provides the respondent the desired privacy

Cont…  The primary advantages of questionnaire are 1. Non return 2. Mis-interpretation 3. Validity

Criteria of a Good Questionnaire  A poorly developed questionnaire contains the seeds of its own destruction.  Each of the three portions of the qestionnaire – the cover letter, the instructions, and the questions - must work together to have a positive impact on the success of the survey.

Cover Letter  The cover letter should explain to the respondent the purpose of the your survey and it should motivate him to reply truthfully and quickly. 1. Explain why the survey is important to him 2 Also you will strongly stress on the confidentiality of the results 3. When you will enclose a well written cover letter, it will help in minimizing both non-return and validity problems.

Instructions  The cover letter should be followed by a clear set of instructions explaining how to complete the survey and where to return it.  the respondents do not understand the mechanical procedures necessary to respond to the questions, their answers will be meaningless.  If you do not want respondents to provide their names, say so explicitly in the instructions, and tell them to leave the NAME column blank

Set of Questions The third and final part of the questionnaire is the set of questions.  Since the questions are the means by which you are going to collect your data, they should be consistent with your survey plan.  They should not be ambiguous or encourage feelings of frustration or anger that will lead to non-returns or validity problems.

Types of Questions  Background question  Multiple choice or closed-end question  Intensity question  Free response or open-end question

Questionnaire Construction  Keep the language simple  Keep the number of questions to a minimum  Limit each question to one idea or concept  Do not ask leading questions  Allow for all possible answers  Avoid emotional or morally charged questions  Include a few questions that can serve as checks on the accuracy and consistency of the answers as a whole  Organize the pattern of the questions

Schedule Method  Schedule may be defined as a Performa that contains a set of questions which are asked and filled by interviewer in a face to face situation with another  The interviewer puts certain questions and the respondent furnishes certain answers and the interviewer records as they are given

Objectives of the Schedule  Delimitation of the topic  Aids to Memorize  Aid to Classification and analysis

Type of schedules  Observation Schedule  Rating Schedule  Document Schedule  Institution Schedule  Interview Schedule

The primary advantages of Schedule are  Higher response  Saving time  Personal contact  Human touch  Deeper probe  Defects in sampling are detected  Removal of doubts  Human elements make the study more reliable and dependable

The primary disadvantages of Schedule are  Costly and time-consuming  Need of trained field workers  Adverse effect of personal presence  Organizational difficulties

Secondary data Data which is collected at first hand either by the researcher or a particular person especially for purpose of the study is known as primary data. Primary data become secondary data to another person for further study upon the topic.

Example ! The demographic statistics collected every ten year, are the primary data with the registrar general of India, but the same data used by any one is called secondary data. Same for internet search engine Google. Available data on this always be the primary data but when we use to search any topic related to our study called secondary data.

Classification of secondary data Basically four types : Classification by source. Classification by category. Classification by medium. Classification by database format.

CLASSIFICATION OF SECONDARY DATA Source

Category

Medium

Database format

internal

Book & periodical

Hard copy

reference

external

Government publication

Local area online

source

Non govt. association

internet

directories Industry expert Special collection

source internal Accounting records

external Government publication

Sales force reports Miscellaneous report Internal experts

Regular publication Adhoc publication

Non government publication Industry & trade association universities Syndicated service Consumer research service Publication of international organization

Advantages of secondary data Secondary is used by as it is cheaper, and take less time to geather,thus saving them a lot money and time that they would have otherwise spent in gathering primary data. Secondary data can help identify, clarify and redefine the research problem

Secondary data might also hold a solution to the problem. Secondary data may provide alternative methods that can be use for primary research.

Disadvantages of secondary data

Although secondary data have many advantages to its credit, it has its disadvantages too. the main disadvantages are….

Lake or relevance of availability of secondary data. Inaccurate and insufficient data.

Syndicated data  Syndicated data is data produced by market research firm, which provides a body of similar data compiled from a large number of sources ,organized into a common formet.this data is neither available nor can be gathered from any internal source. such data is not client specific, but flexible enough to made a particular research. This data can be collected through these 4 styles.

Surveys ,Audits, panels and warranty cards

surveys Surveys undertaken by research organizations fall under three categories . i.e.  periodic surveys panel surveys shared surveys

Periodic surveys are conducted at regular intervalsweekly , monthly, quarterly, or annually. Panel surveys are those surveys that are conducted among a group of respondent who have agreed to respond to a number of mail ,telephone, and personal interview over a period of time. Shared surveys conducted by a research firm use questionnaires that contain a

Audits An audit involves in depth analysis of the existing situation in a firm. Audits are carried out by physical inspection of inventories and other aspects of any business organization. Audits are of different types, store audits products audits retail distribution audits

 Store audits the quantity of the product that is being sold on retail level. generally, such audits provide data on the total sale of all the packaged goods carried by the different type of retail stores sample .  Product audit similar to store audit in the information provided but focus on covering all types of outlet that store a particular product. i.e a st ore au dit for clo se up can hel p to es timat e t otal the p ot ential mark et an d dis tr ib utio n of s ales b y typ e of outl et and var ious reg ions

Retail distribution audits are also similar but they different in their mode of operation. In this audit the auditor enter in the retail shop unannounced ,without permission and collect all the relevant data for selected product. this audit use to find out customer preferences by studying the quantity , price and type of goods being purchased by the customer.

panels A panel is a group of people or organization that have agreed to provide information to a researcher over a period of time. panels are various type like as:  retail scanner panels.  consumer panels.

Retail panels are consist of sample retail outlet's and retail panel surveys provide information based on sales data from the checkout scanner tapes of sample supermarkets and retailers that use electronic scanner system.

Consumer panel are those that monitor shift in individual or specific household behaviors and attitudes over a period of time. They are helpful in gathering the data pertaining to competitors strategies or own marketing strategy efficiency.

Warranty cards The post card size card are commonly used by dealers in the consumer durable industry. the dealer sends the card to the consumer and post it back , so that that can collect the information about the product for them.

Classifying survey research method Classification of survey research method Questionnaire design structured unstructured

Mode of communication Personal interview Telephonic interview

disguised undisguised

Mail survey

Errors in survey research ! A proper evaluation of research methodology coupled with the standard techniques can give precise results but there still can be some errors in the findings and their results. The different type of errors are…. ‘Random sampling’ ‘system error’

Random sampling error  When a researcher take sample of any population, there is always a minimal deviation between the true population value and sample e value. this is due to statically error as the sample selected is not perfectly representative of the test population due to chance variation. therefore a small random sampling error is evident. this error altogether can not be avioded,but it can be brought under acceptable limits by increasing the sample size.

Systematic error Error that occur due to nature of the research design and the precision of the execution are known as systematic error. the use of wrong techniques or wrongly calibrated instrument leads to systematic error. there are many sources of systematic errors which can be classified under two categories… Administrative errors Respondent errors

Administrative error: An error a caused by improper administration or execution of research task is known as systematic error.

Sample selection error. Sample frame error. Population specification error. Data processing error. Interviewer error.

Respondent error: This error comes when respondent are not cooperative or` do not reveal their true opinions.

Response bias. Deliberate falsification. Unconscious misrepresentation.

Types of qualitative research. Depth interview. Focus group. variation in focus group. Projective techniques. Association techniques Completion techniques. Construction techniques. Expressive techniques.

Devices of data presentation Table Chart and graph