Discuss the types of data and methods of data collection
Answers
Qualitative Data
Qualitative data arise when the observations fall into separate distinct categories.
Examples are:
Colour of eyes : blue, green, brown etc
Exam result : pass or fail
Socio-economic status : low, middle or high.
Such data are inherently discrete, in that there are a finite number of possible categories into which each observationmay fall.
Data are classified as:
nominal if there is no natural order between the categories (eg eye colour), or
ordinal if an ordering exists (eg exam results, socio-economic status).
Quantitative Data
Quantitative or numerical data arise when the observations are counts or measurements. The data are said to be discrete if the measurements are integers (eg number of people in a household, number of cigarettes smoked per day) and continuous if the measurements can take on any value, usually within some range (eg weight).
Quantities such as sex and weight are called variables, because the value of these quantities vary from one observation to another. Numbers calculated to describe important features of the data are called statistics. For example, (i) the proportion of females, and (ii) the average age of unemployed persons, in a sample of residents of a town are statistics.
The following table shows a part of some (hypothetical) data on a group of 48 subjects.
'Age' and 'income' are continuous numeric variables,
'age group' is an ordinal qualitative variable,
and 'sex' is a nominal qualitative variable.
The ordinal variable 'age group' is created from the continuous variable'age' using five categories:
age group = 1 if age is less than 20;
age group = 2 if age is 20 to 29;
age group = 3 if age is 30 to 39;
age group = 4 if age is 40 to 49;
age group = 5 if age is 50 or more
Data Collection Methods
Data collection is a process of collecting information from all the relevant sources to find answers to the research problem, test the hypothesis and evaluate the outcomes. Data collection methods can be divided into two categories: secondary methods of data collection and primary methods of data collection.
Secondary Data Collection Methods
Secondary data is a type of data that has already been published in books, newspapers, magazines, journals, online portals etc. There is an abundance of data available in these sources about your research area in business studies, almost regardless of the nature of the research area. Therefore, application of appropriate set of criteria to select secondary data to be used in the study plays an important role in terms of increasing the levels of research validity and reliability.
These criteria include, but not limited to date of publication, credential of the author, reliability of the source, quality of discussions, depth of analyses, the extent of contribution of the text to the development of the research area etc.
Primary Data Collection Methods
Primary data collection methods can be divided into two groups: quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative data collection methods are based in mathematical calculations in various formats. Methods of quantitative data collection and analysis include questionnaires with closed-ended questions, methods of correlation and regression, mean, mode and median and others.
Quantitative methods are cheaper to apply and they can be applied within shorter duration of time compared to qualitative methods. Moreover, due to a high level of standardisation of quantitative methods, it is easy to make comparisons of findings.
Qualitative research methods, on the contrary, do not involve numbers or mathematical calculations. Qualitative research is closely associated with words, sounds, feeling, emotions, colours and other elements that are non-quantifiable.
Qualitative studies aim to ensure greater level of depth of understanding and qualitative data collection methods include interviews, questionnaires with open-ended questions, focus groups, observation, game or role-playing, case studies etc.
Your choice between quantitative or qualitative methods of data collection depends on the area of your research and the nature of research aims and objectives.
My e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance offers practical assistance to complete a dissertation with minimum or no stress. The e-book covers all stages of writing a dissertation starting from the selection to the research area to submitting the completed version of the work within the deadline. John Dudovskiy
Explanation:
TYPES OF DATA
Qualitative Data
Qualitative data arise when the observations fall into separate distinct categories.
Examples are:
Colour of eyes : blue, green, brown etc
Exam result : pass or fail
Socio-economic status : low, middle or high.
Such data are inherently discrete, in that there are a finite number of possible categories into which each observationmay fall.
Data are classified as:
nominal if there is no natural order between the categories (eg eye colour), or
ordinal if an ordering exists (eg exam results, socio-economic status).
Quantitative Data
Quantitative or numerical data arise when the observations are counts or measurements. The data are said to be discrete if the measurements are integers (eg number of people in a household, number of cigarettes smoked per day) and continuous if the measurements can take on any value, usually within some range (eg weight).
Quantities such as sex and weight are called variables, because the value of these quantities vary from one observation to another. Numbers calculated to describe important features of the data are called statistics. For example, (i) the proportion of females, and (ii) the average age of unemployed persons, in a sample of residents of a town are statistics.
The following table shows a part of some (hypothetical) data on a group of 48 subjects.
'Age' and 'income' are continuous numeric variables,
'age group' is an ordinal qualitative variable,
and 'sex' is a nominal qualitative variable.
The ordinal variable 'age group' is created from the continuous variable'age' using five categories:
age group = 1 if age is less than 20;
age group = 2 if age is 20 to 29;
age group = 3 if age is 30 to 39;
age group = 4 if age is 40 to 49;
age group = 5 if age is 50 or more
Data Collection Methods
Data collection is a process of collecting information from all the relevant sources to find answers to the research problem, test the hypothesis and evaluate the outcomes. Data collection methods can be divided into two categories: secondary methods of data collection and primary methods of data collection.
Secondary Data Collection Methods
Secondary data is a type of data that has already been published in books, newspapers, magazines, journals, online portals etc. There is an abundance of data available in these sources about your research area in business studies, almost regardless of the nature of the research area. Therefore, application of appropriate set of criteria to select secondary data to be used in the study plays an important role in terms of increasing the levels of research validity and reliability.
These criteria include, but not limited to date of publication, credential of the author, reliability of the source, quality of discussions, depth of analyses, the extent of contribution of the text to the development of the research area etc.
Primary Data Collection Methods
Primary data collection methods can be divided into two groups: quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative data collection methods are based in mathematical calculations in various formats. Methods of quantitative data collection and analysis include questionnaires with closed-ended questions, methods of correlation and regression, mean, mode and median and others.
Quantitative methods are cheaper to apply and they can be applied within shorter duration of time compared to qualitative methods. Moreover, due to a high level of standardisation of quantitative methods, it is easy to make comparisons of findings.
Qualitative research methods, on the contrary, do not involve numbers or mathematical calculations. Qualitative research is closely associated with words, sounds, feeling, emotions, colours and other elements that are non-quantifiable.
Qualitative studies aim to ensure greater level of depth of understanding and qualitative data collection methods include interviews, questionnaires with open-ended questions, focus groups, observation, game or role-playing, case studies etc.
Your choice between quantitative or qualitative methods of data collection depends on the area of your research and the nature of research aims and objectives.
My e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance offers practical assistance to complete a dissertation with minimum or no stress. The e-book covers all stages of writing a dissertation starting from the selection to the research area to submitting the completed version of the work within the deadline. John Dudovskiy