Approaches to Data Collection
Differences in the methods of data collection in quantitative and qualitative research
Most methods of data collection can be used in both qualitative and quantitative research. The distinction is mainly due to the restrictions imposed on flexibility, structure, sequential order, depth and freedom that a researcher has in their use during the research process. Quantitative methods favour these restrictions whereas qualitative ones advocate against them. The classification of a method into the quantitative or qualitative category depends upon your answers to the following questions:
- What philosophical epistemology is underpinning your approach to research enquiry?
- How was the information collected?
- Was it through a structured or unstructured/flexible format of data collection?
- Were the questions or issues discussed during data collection predetermined or developed during data collection?
- How was the information you gathered recorded?
- Was it in a descriptive, narrative, categorical, quantitative form or on a scale? How was the information analysed?
- Was it a descriptive, categorical or numerical analysis?
- How do you propose to communicate the findings?
- Do you want to write in a descriptive or analytical manner?
For example, if an observation is recorded in a narrative or descriptive format, it becomes qualitative information, but if it is recorded in categorical form or on a scale, it will be classified as quantitative information. Similarly for data collected through interviews. An unstructured interview, recorded in a descriptive or narrative form, becomes a qualitative method, but in a structured interview, if the information is recorded in response categories or if the categories are developed and quantified out of descriptive responses, it is a quantitative method. Descriptive responses obtained in reply to open-ended questions are all qualitative but if the responses are in numerals they will be considered quantitative. If you develop categories and quantify the categorisation as a part of the analysis of descriptive responses to an open-ended question, it becomes a quantitative analysis. Data generated by focus groups, oral histories, narratives, group interviews is always qualitative in nature.
Major approaches to information gathering
There are two major approaches to gathering information about a situation, person, problem or phenomenon. When you undertake a research study, in most situations, you need to collect the required information; however, sometimes the information required is already available and need only be extracted. Based upon these broad approaches to information gathering, data can be categorised as:
- primary data;
- secondary data.
Information gathered using the first approach is said to be collected from primary sources, whereas the sources used in the second approach are called secondary sources. Examples of primary sources include finding out first-hand the attitudes of a community towards health services, ascertaining the health needs of a community, evaluating a social programme, determining the job satisfaction of the employees of an organisation, and ascertaining the quality of service provided by a worker are examples of information collected from primary sources.
On the other hand, the use of census data to obtain information on the age–sex structure of a population, the use of hospital records to find out the morbidity and mortality patterns of a community, the use of an organisation’s records to ascertain its activities, and the collection of data from sources such as articles, journals, magazines, books and periodicals to obtain historical and other types of information, are all classified as secondary sources. In summary, primary sources provide first-hand information and secondary sources provide second-hand data.
