COLLECTING DATA is the first step in conducting a research or study. It may be gathered from primary or secondary sources.

Primary Sources - statistical data from government institutions, business agencies, civil society organizations, first-hand surveys and interviews

Secondary Sources - books, encyclopedia, journals, magazines, research or studies by other people

WAYS of COLLECTING or GATHERING DATA:

1. Direct or Interview Method - direct contact with the interviewee; information is obtained by asking questions and inquiries from the interviewee
   +: can get more accurate answers or responses since clarification can be made
   -: costly and time-consuming
2. Indirect or Questionnaire Method - makes use of a written questionnaire; reasercher distributes the questionnaire wither by personal delivery or by mail
   +: can save a lot of time and money
   -: cannot fully expect that all distributed questionnaires will be answered; clarifications cannot be made if the respondent did not understand the question(s) or if the researcher does not understand the answer(s)
3. Registration Method - governed by laws
   Examples:
   birth rates are determined by birth registrations at the National Statistics Office, the birth registrations are required when a baby is born
   all vehicles are required to register at the Land Transportation Office to record the number of vehicles
   +: most reliable because it is required by the law
4. Experimental Method - usually used to find out cause and effect relationships; often used by scientic researches
   Example:
   To know the effects of a fertilizer, a researcher experiments its use on a controlled group of plants.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 21st, 2006 at 8:26 am and is filed under 2: Data Gathering Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.