Methodologies to gather information

Methodologies to gather information

1. Observation Method

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   • The information is sought by the investigator
     • No asking from the respondent
   • Limitations
     • Expensive
     • Limited Information
     • Unforeseen factors may interfere
     • Some people are rarely accessible to it
   • To keep in mind
     • What should be observed?
     • How the observations should be recorded?
     • How the accuracy of observation can be ensured?
   • Types of observation
     • Structured
     • Instructured
     • Participant
     • Non-participant
     • Disguised
     • Controlled
     • Uncontrolled
   • Advantages
     • Subjective bias is eliminated
     • Information relates to what's currently happening
     • Independent of respondents’ willingness to respond
     • Suitable for studies not capable of giving verbal reports.

2. Interview Method

   • Presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply (oral-verbal response)
   • Personal Interview
     • Asking questions: face-to-face contact to the other person
     • Structured interview
       • Uses predetermined questions and special techniques of recording.
       • Useful for
         • For intensive investigations
     • Focussed Interview
       • Attempts to focus the attention on the given experience of the respondent and its effects.
       • Used in the development of hypotheses. A major type of unstructured interviews
     • Clinical Interview
       • Concerned with inner feelings, motivations or the course of individual’s life experience.
       • Method of eliciting information is left to interviewer’s discretion.
     • Non-directive interviews
       • Encourages respondent to talk with a minimum of direct questioning
       • Interviewer = catalyst for respondant's expression
     • Advantages
       • More information and in greater depth
       • Greater flexibility, opportunity to restructure questions
       • Controlled samples
       • Personal information can be obtained.
       • Adoption of language
     • Weaknesses
       • Expensive
       • Bias of interviewer
       • Time-consuming
       • Systematic errors
     • Unstructured interviews
       • Flexibility of approach to questioning
         • If needed, interviewer adds or omits questions
       • Lack of comparability among interviews
         • Analysis of responses: difficult & time consuming
   • Telephone Interview
     • Contacting respondents on telephone itself.
     • Merits
       • No field staff needed
       • Flexible
       • Cheaper
       • Faster
       • Higher rate of response
       • Replies are recorded
       • Wider distribution
     • Demerits
       • Just with telephone facilities
       • Little time for answers
       • Only short to the point questions
       • Bias of interviewer
   • Pre-requisites
     • Careful selection of interviewer
     • Honesty, and impartiality
     • Technical competence

3. Schedules

   • Set of questions (proforma) for people concerned with the request, filled by enumerators
   • Enumerators
     • Explains aims of the investigation & removes difficulties
     • Assist in the recording of answers
   • Research survey
   • Merits
     • Gets answers to all questions
     • Time effective
     • Information can be gathered almost on every circumstance (illiterate)
     • Complete & accurate information
     • Appearance of questionary = not important
     • Observation method can be used
   • Demerits
     • Expensive
       • Preparing and hiring enumerators
     • Restricted distribution
     • Everything depends on the enumerator
   • Known identity of responder
   • Personal contact with respondant

4. Other methods

   • Warranty cards
     • postal sized cards
     • To get answers it must be posted back to dealer.
   • Distributor audits
     • Data obtained in audits by observation
   • Pantry audits
     • Data are recorded from examination: inventory of types, quantities and prices.
   • Consumer Panels
     • Sample of consumers who are interviewed repeatedly over a period of time.
   • Mechanical devices
     • Eye camera, Pupilometric camera, Psychogalvanometer, Motion picture camera & Audiometer used to collect information.
   • Projective techniques
     • Indirect interviewing techniques)
     • Uses projections of respondents ti infere underlying motives, urges, or intentions that he resists/is unable to reveal himself
   • Depth interviews
     • Indirect questions
     • Aims to elicit unconscious as also other types of material relating especially to personality dynamics & motivations.
   • Content analysis
     • Analyses documentary materials: books, magazines, newspapers & other verbal materials (either spoken or printed).