Ma gi st er “ Ci vi li sa ti on : la ng ua ge a nd C ul tu ra l St ud ie s” 2 01 3/ 20 14

DATA COLLECTIONR e s e a r c h m e t h o d o l o g y

A brief and succinct account on what the techniques for collecting data are, how to apply them, where to find data of any type, and the way to keep records for an optimal managementof cost, time and effort.

Presented By: Safia OUAREZKI & Nassima SACIExamined by: Mr. Said Keskes

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Ma gi st er “ Ci vi li sa ti on : la ng ua ge a nd C ul tu ra l St ud ie s” 2 01 3/ 20 14D A T A C O L L E C T I O N

INTRODUCTION:

We have previously seen some major steps of research such as how to select a topic, what method and approach to select, where to find reading materials, and, above all, how to manage time. They all prepared you to the upcoming and equally important stage; data collection. This summary is an attempt tobring forth all that is related to the data collection process.It will first highlight some access and ethical issues that onemay encounter while collecting data and the ways to overcome them. Second, it will present the various sampling techniques. Third, it will go through all the different methods and techniques that one could follow in collecting data such as questionnaires, documents, interviews etc… Then it will look atthe possible ways to keep them recorded. Last but not least, itwill shed light on some tips and advice in order to avoid psychological pitfalls while pursuing data collection.

ACCESS AND ETHICAL ISSUES

Access:

Any research project necessarily involves getting access to documentation, people or institutions. This chapter discusses the need to negotiate with library, school or company personnelto get access to the books or people you need. In certain domains, such as health and social care, the written consent ofall those to be involved in your research is essential. In our case, as cultural studies students, the most important thing isaccess to books and articles. The writers go on to advise the reader on the best way to negotiate and if necessary, renegotiate access. See box 6.1 below for this advice (see appendix).

The reader is then warned that negotiating access is not aone-off experience which is done and dealt with at the beginning; rather it is a continuous process that becomes

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increasingly demanding. A quote is given to illustrate the issue: “As the fieldwork progressed, further dynamics of power emerged”(Munro et al. 2004: 290 cited by Loraine Blaxter et al.) This signifies that sometimes the very content and direction of one’s research can depend upon access to all-important documents or lack thereof. Box 6.2 (see appendix) suggests what one may do in case of refusal. As concerns access, the reader is advised to remember that “research is theart of the feasible”, so one should not be unrealistic in one’sdemands and expectations.

Ethics:

An important ethical issue has emerged with the progress of technology, and this is that the use of email when interviewingresearch subjects or sending results back and forth can jeopardise confidentiality as well as the research project itself, as it may get into irresponsible hands and be meddled with. A quote demonstrates this: “While electronic communication is in transit… the researcher has no control overit.”(Mann and Stewart 2000: 42–3cited by Loraine Blaxter et al.). The administrators of a network can intercept messages and have the power to alter or even destroy them. Law organisations can ‘tap into’ online discussions that deal with criminal activity and disregard anonymity if they feel the needto get involved. Furthermore, the internet does not only raise ethical issues but can be a practical obstacle as well; it is hard to establish a rapport with research subjects in the absence of face-to-face contact. The questions on a questionnaire or survey for instance may not be understood correctly, leading to wrong or vague answers.

Most ethical issues arise when one undertakes qualitativeresearch, as the relationship between the researcher and his subjects is closer, thus risking the breach of privacy and secrecy, informed consent and anonymity. The writers recommend getting the written consent of those one is going to interview,observe or get documents from in order to avoid ethical issues.

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A range of these issues are discussed in box 6.3 (see appendix), including the use of videos, audio or written data without the subjects’ consent or knowledge, lying about one’s identity to get more information, accepting a grant for research that may have a negative effect on your environment orcommunity, and of course plagiarism.

The main ethical issues in research are discussed in box 6.4 (see appendix). It is important to keep in mind that “The ‘pursuit of truth’, and the ‘public’s right to know’” are not held as absolute values by everyone. In fact, it is often the case that the researcher’s drive to reveal what he feels are essential details in his/her research conflicts with the subjects’ need to remain anonymous. Furthermore, the data one collects and the conclusions reached can be sensitive enough toraise alarm in one’s university, workplace or society at large;the researcher may face hostility from the place where they areconducting their work.

SAMPLING AND SELECTION:

While these terms are usually associated with the ‘survey approach’, some form of sampling and selection exists in any research project. In general, as it is impossible to observe all of the subjects of one’s interest at once for instance, it is important to sample part of the ‘population’ one is focusingon and select it carefully. The chapter details the different sampling strategies a researcher can pick from. Box 6.6 (see appendix) reveals different sampling strategies. They are divided into two large categories; probability and non-probability sampling. If the former is selected, this means that every member of a research population has an equal chance of being selected. The choice of samples is based on the scale of the study (a small-scale study would not allow you to choosefrom the whole population so you are forced to use a cluster), on knowledge of the population (probability is used if you don’t know enough about it), and on the topic you are working on. A sensitive issue such as emotional trauma due to sexual

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abuse may cause one to select one’s subjects more carefully forinstance.

APPLYING TECHNIQUES FOR COLLECTING DATA:

Collection of data procedure obeys a certain method in order tosustain consistency in your dissertation. Studies in anthropology, geography, or sociology often require fieldwork, that is to say, using techniques such as observation and questionnaires. It is true that, as first time researchers, postgraduate students may find it awkward to go down the streets asking people they do not know about topics that sometimes sound complicated to them. However, students should overcome such a feeling, because in fact fieldwork requires relative rigour and procedure so that research can be carried out in an optimal way.

On the other hand, some disciplines demand different methods. Research in psychology or politics, for instance, would be better studied using already-existing data such as documents. Deskwork, i.e. collecting data from libraries, data bases, or institutions, is indeed better fitted in this case than fieldwork. Still, depending on the chosen approach and methodology, both fieldwork and deskwork can be fit for either of the aforementioned disciplines and it is up to the researcher to decide accordingly.

DOCUMENTS:

Since most research in arts and social sciences is based on data collected from documents, it is then necessary for the researcher to master analytic and critical reading skills so that he/she can emit his/her comments on previous research and bring forward his/her own viewpoint on the matter. There are several types of documents one can make use of when carrying out research, among which there is library-based documents, compute-based documents, historical archives etc... As for the sources of the documents, they can be from government surveys,

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and government legislations; historical records; media documents such as newspapers, magazines articles, TV and radio programs; or sometimes personal documents such as diaries and photographs.

Because primary sources are difficult to access and costly, many researchers nowadays opt for secondary sources, that is to say, data that has already been collected and analysed by other people. These types of documents may be cost efficient and time saving; however, any rigorous researcher would have to be careful in using them. For instance, one must check the conditions of its production, its author’s position, its way of targeting the readership, and above all its purpose and ends. Also, one has to verify if variables have changed over time in case of quantitative research or if the methods are up-to-date, if not, one has to check whether they are stillreliable for the current research.

To insert a piece of information taken from a document in a dissertation, it is a good idea to start with the name of theauthor, then to put the date of the publication between parentheses, and then proceed with the idea being reported. Usually, ideas are put with a reporting verb like “analysed, examined, interviewed...” after that, a brief explanation of the methodology of the experiment is given alongside the aim ofthe research as in this example:

Arber and Ginn (1995) used General Household Survey data to explore the relationship between informal care and paid work. They found that it is the norm to be in paid work and also be providing informal care. (From How to Research by Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight)

INTERVIEWS:

An informal interview is essentially modelled on a conversation, so it is a social event involving two or more participants (Holland and Ramazanoglu 1994: 135quoted by Loraine Blaxter et al.).

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The internet is a new, easy and cheap tool for conducting interviews, and also allows for several interviews to take place simultaneously. Another method is the focus group, which allows for interviewing groups together and observing the interaction between them as well. There are two methods of recording talk during interviews. Using video or audio is practical in that one is not distracted by constant note takingand can pay full attention to the interviewee. However, being recorded can make some people uncomfortable. For the researcher, the eventual transcribing of the content is long and tedious, and the tools are not fool proof; camcorders and tape recorders tend to malfunction. On the other hand, we have note taking, which is cheaper and less time consuming on the whole, but it is distracting during the actual interview and whenever the interviewer puts pen to paper the interviewee wonders what he has said that is so important!

In an interview one is forced to ask sensitive questions about age, sex (or sexual orientation), marital status and educational level. The book offers some suggestions on how to phrase these questions without shocking: asking someone what age or how long ago they left school, or when they are due to retire instead of how old they are; giving someone a selection of ethnic origins to choose from or making your own assumptionsinstead of asking them straight out etc.

OBSERVATION:

“[Observation] can allow researchers to understand much more about what goes on in complex real-world situations than … questionnaires and interviews.” (Wilkinson and Birmingham 200+3: 117 quoted by Loraine Blaxter et al.) Observing a subject in his or her environment can be a lot more informativethan asking them questions which they may or may not answer fully.

Observation can take place in a structured environment like a classroom or lab, or can be freer, like in someone’s

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home or a shopping centre. The observer can be ‘disinterested’ or a participant in the process, and may record his findings simultaneously or afterwards. Box 6.16 in this sub-chapter asksthe researcher questions on how he/she is going to proceed withobservation. Will the observer be a participant, in which case how is he/she going to balance out participation and observation? Does he/she need to do a pilot observation? Will he be openly observing or ‘hiding in a corner’ so to speak? Will his presence and his appearance influence the session? Etc.

Observation is time consuming, and in the hope of saving time, one can pre-structure the observation session but at the risk of losing important details and flexibility. If the observation technique is focused on observing the participants’reaction to stimuli and analyzing it, the researcher has moved towards the experimental approach. If on the other hand the researcher actively participates in the process then it looks more like action research. The latter is a process where a ‘community of practice’ comes together to conduct experiments and exercises as a group in order to find solutions to a problem or improve the way certain things are handled. This is mostly used in companies and schools.

QUESTIONNAIRES :

Questionnaires are the most widely spread method to collect people’s opinions; in the meantime, it is one of the most complicated techniques to elaborate for many reasons.

Questionnaires can be administered in many ways: by post, via e-mails, face-to-face, or by telephone. Nevertheless, each one of these methods has got its shortcomings. For instance, posted and e-mailed questionnaires might not receive replies, or the provided answers might be poor because of the lack of interaction between the questionnaire giver and taker. Moreover, face-to-face or telephone questionnaires are time consuming and sometimes costly. It is thus up to the researcher

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to decide for the method according to his/her means and capabilities.

Either way, while distributing questionnaires, it is crucial that one always introduces him/herself, presents the goal of the questionnaire, provides any contact details and is ready to answer any possible queries about it. Remind your questionnaire taker that their answers would stay anonymous. Remember to thank them after they finish answering.

As mentioned above, questionnaires are complex to elaborate, for there are various techniques on how to ask the questions. Basically, there are seven questionnaire types: quantity or information, category, list or multiple choice, scale, ranking, complex grid or table, and open-ended (Box 6.18see appendix).

Still, in order to have good results, one should follow some tips and hints while writing up the questionnaire. Ambiguous, hypothetical, imprecise questions or those that appeal to emotions or to memories would give inaccurate unfaithful answers and therefore should be avoided; in this case, simpler shorter questions are recommended instead. For the sake of efficiency, open-ended questions should be limited to a certain number, for they are time-consuming and require more effort to collect, analyse and report. And finally, have your questionnaires translated in several languages if necessary so as to increase the chances of having a higher response rate.

RECORDING YOUR PROGRESS:

Note-taking is a vital step when collecting date, for it is thecondition sine qua non to keeping track of your data. Masteringthis skill will enable any researcher to save a considerable amount of time and avoid getting lost amid the clutter of booksand articles.

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There are various techniques to keep notes. First of all, there are research diaries; they are widely used to keep any thought that may come to the mind. Second, boxes files are a good way to sort out materials into different categories according to the subjects or the chapters they belong to. Third, colours are said to help enhance memory; therefore, it is recommended to choose different paper colours for each section of your papers to better spot them. Last but not least,technology can prove to replace all of the aforementioned, so agood use of computers can help you manage your data really well. However, in any case, backup copies and up-to-date printed materials should be regularly generated to avoid any accidental loss of the original materials.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF DATA COLLECTION:

We may call this the ups and downs of research because it mentions issues that may occur in our case as well: “There may be days when you really enjoy yourself, when you discover something interesting …There will also be days when you can barely force yourself to do the necessary work.”

The two most common ‘downs’ in research according to the authors are loneliness and obsession. As for the first, it seems to be both inevitable and beneficial in research; it occurs in any process that you have to carry out alone and fromwhich you have to draw your own conclusions, and in this case it reveals a lot about who you are and what you are capable of.A peculiar case is mentioned, that of the researcher carrying out fieldwork; they are both an insider, someone who is part ofthe community they are researching, and an outsider because of their role as observer and ‘judge’ in a sense. This can be exacerbated by not having a supportive manager, supervisor or colleagues, especially if you are conducting the research in your workplace. It is recommended that the researcher seeks outa strong ‘support network’ from the beginning, and that he/she dedicates some of his/her time to other activities in order to keep in touch with people.

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Obsessiveness seems to go hand in hand with loneliness, asdiving into research can obviously force a person to isolate him/herself to focus solely on the task at hand. It can have the duel effect of drawing the researcher away from even the people that were most supportive of them at the start, and also, most dangerously, of no longer distinguishing between research and daily life. The expression ‘going native’ is employed to describe a phenomenon where the researcher (mostly anthropologists) becomes “unable to separate their interest from those of the research subjects.” This implies losing objectivity as well, so it can jeopardize the research. In order to counteract this problem, the research is advised to plan the project rigorously, thus reducing the risk of the heavy workloads which lead to obsession. He/she can also warn afriend or family member to warn him/her if he/she gets too obsessive, and get in touch with fellow researchers, thus creating a community of support.

To enjoy data collection (and research), it is advised that the researcher combines it with activities that they enjoy, places that they love, as well as regulating their research schedule to avoid overwork. Boredom is inevitable at some point so it should not be cause for alarm. It is importantto know when to stop collecting data in order to find sufficient time for “the analysis and the writing up of your research findings.” In our case, we may not know when to stop reading and start piecing together the deductions we have drawnfrom our reading. One should keep in mind that their ultimate goal is not to write ‘the ultimate research paper’, this is both unrealistic and stressful as a target. Small-scale research has as its purpose to produce a new idea about something that has already been discussed, re-conduct an experiment using a different method or another setting in orderto test results, or look into a field that hasn’t yet gained much attention in order to shed light on it. Collecting sufficient data is the aim, rather than going on forever with reading. It is critical to start the analyzing process.

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CONCLUSION:

Truly then and to sum it all up, throughout all the points mentioned above, that is to say what type of data is available,where to find it, how to select it, and how to design some techniques for the sake of backing up research with concrete data and results. Some ethical and psychological pieces of advice have been provided, and we have, generally speaking, seen how to go about data collection effectively. Notwithstanding that, this summary is just a trial to help students to be better prepared for this step and is obviously far from being exhaustive; of course further reading is highly encouraged in order to broaden one’s knowledge in this concern.Another equally vital stage that logically follows this one is analysing and assessing data which will be discussed in the next chapter.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

BLAXTER Loraine, HUGHES Christina, TIGHT Malcolm. (2006) How to Research, Open University Press.

Appendix of illustrations:

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Box 6.1

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Box 6.2

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Box 6.3

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Box 6.4

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6.6

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Box 6.16