Key Concepts Blog: Data Collection Techniques Readings

Powell 5

Data collection techniques: Questionnaire, Interview and Observation.
Questionnaires and interviews are frequently used for obtaining information about a person’s perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and so on. With these techniques, heavy reliance is places on the respondents report; normally the investigator has not observed the events in question.

Observational methods are best suited for describing and understanding behavior as it occurs. They are less effective for gathering information about a person’s perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and so on.

Wildemuth (chpt 18-28)

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Transaction Log analysis is a useful tool in understanding people’s information behaviors.
Strength – this method allows the researcher to capture and analyze large amounts of data and is a reasonably accurate representation of system users’ behaviors.
Weakness – it cannot tell us anything about users’ cognitive of affective responses during the system interaction.

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Think-aloud Protocols are a research method used to understand the subjects cognitive processes based on their verbal report of their thoughts during experiments.
Strength – compared to other data collection methods, the process of collecting think–aloud protocols is simple.
Weakness – you will be able to collect valid data only if your study is designed well.

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Direct observations – An observer present at the site being observed is still quite frequently used, but automatic methods for capturing some types of behaviors are also becoming more common.
Strength – observation methods can be used for a wide range of research questions.
Strength – As long as we are interested in people’s information behaviors, direct observation will be a useful research method.

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Participant observation – directly observing information behaviors in the context in which they “naturally” occur.
1.    The researcher is a participant in the setting.
2.    Such participation leads to a better understanding of the people and social processes that occur within that setting.
3.    This understanding can lead to better theories about social processes in that setting and similar settings.

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Research Diaries – Diary study methods comprise a diverse set of techniques and approaches that can be used for exploratory, in-depth, and theory-building research.
Strength – through these methods, researchers are able to gain entry to places they might not otherwise be able to go such as personal homes, the minds of individuals, and geographically dispersed locations.
Weakness – a significant amount of time and commitment can be required from participants and researchers.

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Unstructured Interviews
Strength – most useful when you want to gain an in-depth understanding of a particular phenomenon within a particular cultural context.
Weakness – unstructured interviews are not useful when you already have a basic understanding of a phenomenon and you want to pursue particular aspects of it.
Also known as: information conversation interview, in-depth interview, nonstandardized interview, and ethnographic interview.

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Semistructured Interviews:
•    Has predetermined questions, but the order can be modified based on the interviewer’s perception of what seems most appropriate.
•    Question wording can be changed and explanations given .
•    Particular questions which seem inappropriate with a particular interviewee can be omitted, or additional ones included.
Strength – semistructured interviews are one of the most useful data collection methods for studying a wide range of information behaviors.

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Focus groups – a group of individuals selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on, from personal experience, the topic that is the subject of the research.

Strength – focus groups can be a good choice for data collection if you believe that value will be obtained in the participants’ interactions with each other, rather than individuals responding to questions from the researcher.

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Survey research
1.    Design the survey instrument carefully, including both the individual items and how they are organized into the survey as a whole.
2.    Carefully select a sample and use a variety of methods to ensure that your sample responds to the survey.
3.    Administer the survey in a form that is accessible to and comfortable for the sample members.

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Measuring cognitive and affective variables
For research findings in ILS to form a strong foundation for improving practice, any measurements that are taken must be reliable and valid. This is particularly important when we want to measure the constructs that are not directly observable such as a library user’s satisfaction or a Web user’s cognitive style. The most efficient way to ensure our measures are reliable and valid is to use existing measures that have been implemented and evaluated in past studies.

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Developing New Measures
When an appropriate instrument is not available when beginning a new study, it will be worth the time and effort required to develop a new instrument and to make it available to other researchers. While such research efforts are oriented toward methodical issues, rather than other types of research questions, they are of great importance to research and evaluation in ILS.