Unit IV Essay

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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

5. Evaluate the dimensions of measurement reliability. 5.1 Analyze the measurement techniques and their connection to reliability.

6. Create research questions appropriate for a selected research method and design.

6.1 Examine the ethical nature of selected research questions.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

5.1, 6.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 13, pp. 216–230 Chapter 14, pp. 234–253 Chapter 15, pp. 257–276 Unit IV Essay

Required Unit Resources Chapter 13: Types of Data Collection Techniques, pp. 216–230 Chapter 14: Ethical Issues in Conducting the Study, pp. 234–253 Chapter 15: Practical Issues in Data Collection and Coding, pp. 257–276

Unit Lesson

Data Collection Techniques

In this unit lesson, we will conduct a summative overview of data collection techniques, ethical considerations for conducting research, and practical data collection issues in order to ensure a better understanding of the concepts that have been covered in your textbook. Data collection is a structured, well-formulated, and systematic approach toward obtaining and measuring information about the targeted variables of the research study, aiming to further answer the research questions and evaluate the outcomes (Sapsford & Jupp, 2006). Data can be collected through observations of the researcher using standardized or customized investigation tools, attitude scales, questionnaires, interviews, and focus group sessions. Direct observation is a data collection approach that enables the researcher to record and learn about the behavior of the targeted research group by observing the ongoing activities. Physical trace, another data collection approach, includes the process of observing the remnants of the subject’s particular behavior. Coded and narrative observations also are effective data collection approaches, but comparatively, they consume less time while allowing the researcher to evaluate the data to extract meaningful insights from it. Amongst the observational tools, physiological and coded observations are best suited to experimental and descriptive approaches. Physical trace measures are advisable while conducting qualitative research and associational or experimental quantitative research. Narrative and participant associations are strictly used while conducting qualitative studies.

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE

Data Collection

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In order to measure specific skills or traits of all of the respondents, standardized instruments prove to be effective; however, researchers adapt to their self-designed research instruments to gather their required data. Quantitative research includes standardized testing, whereas content analysis is best for qualitative and comparative researching modes.

Questionnaires, interviews, and focus group sessions are vital and frequently used tools. A questionnaire is an instrument that entails open-ended, close-ended, or both types of statements about the targeted variables to better understand the behavior of the respondents. The data can be collected through various means, including self-administration, e-mailing, and through generating and sharing Google forms. Questionnaires, interviews, and focus group sessions are used widely in qualitative research. Because questions can be either open-ended or close-ended, each has its advantages and disadvantages, and each question must be suited to the particular design of the research study. Interviews are held as individual discussions with the respondents,

whereas focus group sessions involve a group of people interacting with the moderator about the subject of the study. Interviews can be conducted face to face, by telephone, or by video conference. Telephone interviews can be completed in much less time; however, face-to-face and video conference interviews are usually recorded, transcribed, and then coded so the responses can be analyzed at a later date. Interviews and focus group discussions are normally adopted for qualitative studies. Scaling is the technique used to measure the responses by participants in a survey, and attitude scales help the researcher to measure the respondents’ attitudes. The objective of attitude scales is to discover the beliefs, motivations, or perceptions of survey participants. A summated attitude scale is usually referred to as a Likert scale where there are five response categories used to measure the degree of agreeableness of the respondents. A semantic scale, on the other hand, consists of seven points with bipolar labelling on the extreme right and left sides (Burns & Burns, 2000).

Ethical Issues

It is crucial that ethical and moral principles be considered while conducting the research. The Belmont Report summarizes the ethical guidelines and responsibilities of the researcher to respect the views of the respondents (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1979). Furthermore, the researcher should cater to the welfare of the respondents and ensure justice. Respondents should be aware of the nature and mode of the research. Participant consent and volunteer participation are required. The researcher should be sure to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of the respondents during the entire research process. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews and approves all research studies before the research begins. Federal guidelines are designed to protect human subjects and to ensure that all ethical issues have been properly considered, and the university IRB is the party responsible for ensuring these guidelines are followed (Gliner et al., 2017). Researchers must ensure that their research is ethically sound. During sample selection, researchers should select an appropriate sample size to ensure the projected value of the research study and to yield a good response rate. In the methodology section of a research study, the researchers are advised to provide a detailed briefing about the research design; however, deceptive information, debriefing, and unreliable research design are categorized as ethical issues of research. Similarly, ethical considerations should be used to develop the research instruments, data collection process, and the process of getting consent from review board to avoid the potential conflicts (Gliner et al., 2017). The questions should not be misleading or biased. Participants can exercise their right to leave a statement blank and withdraw at any point; participants should not be forced to answer. For interviews, transcriptions should not specify a person’s name or identity. Similarly, the transcribers or proofreaders should be required to sign a confidentiality agreement before getting involved in the research process. Data collected by the researcher must be protected and kept confidential. The privacy of the participants is paramount, and researchers must keep data safe and locked. The IRB committee represents the university and has the power to approve, propose modifications, and reject

Sample of a business survey (Karenr, n.d.)

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the respective research, ensuring the protection of human rights and welfare. Every researcher must comply with all of the rules and principles defined by the IRB to have their research work approved.

Practical Issues in Data Collection and Coding

The research design involves planning the study, developing the research instrument, refining the approach, and finally collecting the data and evaluating it to answer the research question. Data collection and coding for further evaluation is an important step of the research. Coding and entering data are the most important yet challenging steps. Generally, questionnaires are coded where the variables are kept mutually exclusive by assigning a numeric value to the response of each participant. There are numerous websites, such as Survey Monkey, that make the process of developing the survey and collecting the data much more efficient. However, all data that is collected much be checked so that it is complete and accurate. Many

responses cannot be included if all of the survey questions have not been properly answered. There are many factors that impact response rate, but most experts recommend that the number of questions should be kept to a minimum since longer surveys tend to attract less respondents. In the case of interviews, recordings are transcribed to extract the most accurate information. Effective, consistent, and error-free coding increases the accuracy level of the collected data (Kumar, 2010). Similarly, transcription of the recorded session prevents researcher bias. The internal consistency or reliability of the data is checked or measured through Cronbach’s alpha using a statistical software package such as R, SPSS, SAS, STATA, or others. This measure is adopted if quantitative research has been conducted using the Likert scale in order to determine the reliability of the scale. Factor analysis is an exploratory approach, which breaks down the larger number of variables into fewer factors by extracting the highest common variance to combine the scores. In summary, after reading this unit, you will obtain an in-depth understanding of the concepts, underlying principles, and practical knowledge about numerous data collection methods, tools, and techniques to be used while conducting a research study. In addition, you will develop the knowledge base about the ethical issues and concerns at all levels of the research process—from planning to the evaluation phase of the study. At the end of the readings, there are recommendations about the importance of conducting pilot studies in order to ensure the effectiveness of the research instrument, coding, and reliability through Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis. A pilot study is the most reliable approach to check the feasibility of the research.

References

Burns, R. B., & Burns, R. B. (2000). Introduction to research methods (4th ed.). SAGE. Gliner, J. A., Morgan, G. A., & Leech, N. L. (2017). Research methods in applied settings: An integrated

approach to design and analysis (3rd ed.). Routledge. Karenr. (n.d.). Survey (ID 1003462) [Photograph]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-

photography-survey-image1003462 Kumar, R. (2010). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. SAGE. Sapsford, R., & Jupp, V. (2006). Data collection and analysis. SAGE.

(Sermulis, n.d.)

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Sermulis, E. (n.d.). Data protection concept. The meeting at the white office table (ID 91230987) [Photograph]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-data-protection-concept- meeting-white-office-table-image91230987

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1979, April). The Belmont report.

https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below: Review the following website that is used by some students to help develop a research survey, collect data, and understand ethics in research. SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ Read the following resource, which details basic ethical principles. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1979, April 18). The Belmont report.

https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html

Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. Review the “Interpretation Questions” and “Application Problems” at the end of Chapters 13, 14, and 15.