This document provides an overview of primary and secondary data collection methods for quantitative and qualitative research. It discusses the differences between primary and secondary data, as well as obstructive and unobstructive data collection techniques. Specific quantitative methods covered include surveys, questionnaires, case studies, structured interviews, and quick counting estimates. Qualitative methods discussed are participation, direct observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of documents and material culture. For each method, the document outlines their key characteristics and merits and demerits. Common data analysis techniques for quantitative and qualitative data are also briefly mentioned.

1. JOMO KENYATTA
UNIVERSITY OF
AGRICULTURE AND
TECNOLOGY
MARTIN OTUNDO R. (PHD-project
management) +254721246744
PRESENTATION ON DATA COLLECTION

2. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
DATA
• Primary data is collected first hand from the immediate
context of the activity or phenomenon. It involves the
researcher interacting with the subjects of the study directly
• On the other hand, secondary data involves use of already
synthesized and documented information that was originally
obtained from the context of the study but have been
processed for application. These are gotten from reports,
previous studies , books as well as industrial or organizational
records

3. OBSTRUCTIVE AND
UNOBSTRUCTIVE METHODS
• Obstructive data collection
methods are methods
where the subject of the
study are aware that they
are under study.
• As a result, they may
change their behavior to be
at their best.
• Such include interviews,
questionnaires and opinion
polls
• Un obstructive data
collection methods are
methods that do not draw
the attention of the
subjects of the study to
the fact that they are
under study
• As a result they retain
their natural behavior
• Such include observation
and participation

4. DATA COLLECTION
METHODS
QUANTITATYIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

5. A) QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
METHOLOGY
SURVEYS AND QUESTIONNAIRES
CASE STUDIES
STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
QUICK COUNTING ESTIMATES

6. SURVEYS AND
QESTIONNAIRES
• Survey Research is the systematic gathering of
information from respondents for the purpose of
understanding and/or predicting some aspects of the
behavior of the population of interest.
• The survey research is concerned with sampling,
questionnaire design, questionnaire administration
and data analysis.

7. MERITS
Administration is comparatively inexpensive and easy even
when gathering data from large numbers of people spread
over wide geographic area
Reduces chance of evaluator bias because the same
questions are asked of all respondents
Many people are familiar with surveys
Some people feel more comfortable responding to a survey
than participating in an interview
Tabulation of closed-ended responses is an easy and
straightforward process

8. DEMERITS
 Survey respondents may not complete the survey
resulting in low response rates
 Items may not have the same meaning to all
respondents
 Size and diversity of sample will be limited by people’s
ability to read
 Given lack of contact with respondent, never know who
really completed the survey
 Unable to probe for additional details
 Good survey questions are hard to write and they take
considerable time to develop and hone

9. CASE STUDIES
• Classical case studies depend on ethnographic and
participant observer methods.
• They are largely descriptive examinations where the
researcher is immersed in the area of interest with
informants, observes ongoing activities, and develops an
analysis of both individual and cross-case findings.

10. CASE STUDIES cont’d
• Case studies can provide very engaging,
rich explorations of a project or application
as it develops in a real-world setting.
• Project evaluators must be aware, however,
that doing even relatively modest,
illustrative case studies is a complex task
that cannot be accomplished through
occasional, brief site visits.
• Demands with regard to design, data
collection, and reporting can be substantial.

11. MERITS OF CASE STUDIES
Fully depicts people’s experience in program input,
process, and results
Powerful way of portraying program to outsiders
DEMERITS OF CASE STUDIES
Usually quite time consuming to collect information,
organize and analyze it
Represents depth of information rather than breadth

12. STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
• These are interviews where the questions
are structured in advance to allow for very
precise and objective responses.
• The researcher thus takes the respondents
through the questions and notes the answers
as well as interpretations of the nonverbal
communication

13. MODERN INTERVIEW METHODS
INTERNET
•With the advance in internet connectivity, many
researchers are using the internet to chat with their
interviewees both as individuals and in groups
TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS
•The mobile telephony has also seen interviews especially
opinion polls conducted through calls
SOCIAL MEDIA
•The wide access to social sites such as Whatsup, Facebook
and Twitter allow researchers to create groups and sites
which they can use for interviewing

14. Interview cont’d
VIDEO CONFERENCING
•Video conferencing is a technological
advancement that allow for audio visual
conferencing between groups and individuals
through interconnected audio visual devices
EMAILS
•Researchers also opt to sent questions vial mails
which the respondents can respond to and needed
probes made through the same mail chatting. The
difference between this and sending
questionnaires via email is that it has numerous
exchange of mails and follow ups

15. MERITS OF STRUCTURED
INTERVIEWS
Research questions directed towards the
desired objectives
Precise
Confidentiality in responding
Space for more elaborate answers with the
structured answers

16. DEMERITS OF STRUCTURED
INTERVIEWS
Higher risk of misinterpretation of
questions and intentional withholding of
facts
There may be a bias by the researcher
due to close interaction with the
respondents.
There are chances of misreading the non
verbal communication

17. QUICK COUNTING ESTIMATES
• This is a data collection method close to
observation but the difference is that the
researchers is only concerned with collecting
numerical data from the observation such as the
number of items in a shop, the number of
customers in a supermarket, the number of items
bought and such like data
• The data collected is further analyzed
quantitatively such as ratios percentiles and
correlations

18. MERITS
Quick
Analysis of data very simple and straight forward
DEMERITS
Cannot be used to explain the non quantifiable aspects
such as what forms the decision to buy
Relies very heavily on the researchers recall and sight
such that any error on the researcher impacts on the study
Does not put into account studies in areas which are
inaccessible due to distance or other factors

19. B) QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
 PARTICIPATION
 DIRECT OBSERVATION
 IN DEPTH INTERVIEW
 ANALYSIS OF DOCUMENTS AND MATERIAL
CULTURE

20. PATICIPATION
• Also known as participant observation
• entails firsthand involvement in the social world
chosen for study.
• Immersion in the setting permits the researcher to
hear, to see, and to begin to experience reality as the
participants do
• Ideally, the researcher spends a considerable amount
of time in the setting, learning about daily life there
• This immersion offers the researcher the opportunity
to learn directly from his own experience as personal
reflections are integral to the emerging analysis of a
cultural group, because they provide the researcher
with new vantage points and with opportunities to
make the strange familiar and the familiar strange

21. MERITS
The researcher has a personal touch with the subject
matter and can often interpret the experiences
The researcher gets all the required facts as it does not
rely on a second party who may not disclose some
information
DEMERITS
Direct participation may expose the researcher to
emotional bias as there is no professional detachment with
the subject of study

22. DIRECT OBSERVATION
• Entails the systematic noting and recording of
events, behaviors, and artifacts (objects) in the
social setting chosen for study.
• Observational record is frequently referred to as
field notes—detailed, nonjudgmental, concrete
descriptions of what has been observed
• This method assumes that behavior is purposeful
and expressive of deeper values and beliefs
• Observation can range from a highly structured,
detailed notation of behavior structured by
checklists to a more holistic description of
events and behavior

23. MERITS
Collect data where and when an event or activity is occurring
Does not rely on people’s willingness to provide information
 Directly see what people do rather than relying on what they
say they do
DEMERITS
Susceptible to observer bias
Hawthorne effect – people usually perform better when they
know they are being observed
Does not increase understanding of why people behave the
way they do

24. IN DEPTH INTERVIEW
• Much more like conversations than formal events
with predetermined response
categories(Wengraf, 2001)
• The researcher explores a few general topics to
help uncover the participant’s views but
otherwise respects how the participant frames
and structures the responses
• A degree of systematization in questioning may
be necessary in, for example, a multisite case
study or when many participants are interviewed,
or at the analysis and interpretation stage when
the researcher is testing findings in more focused
and structured questioning.

25. TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
Ethnographic interviews
•The cognitive structures guiding participants’
worldviews
•Ethnographic questions are used by the
researcher to gather cultural data
•Uses all the three types of questions,
descriptive, structural, and contrast

26. Phenomenological interviews
• In-depth interviewing grounded in a
philosophical tradition.
• Phenomenology is the study of lived
experiences and the ways we understand those
experiences to develop a worldview.
• It rests on the assumption that there is a
structure and essence to shared experiences
that can be narrated.
• The purpose of this type of interviewing is to
describe the meaning of a concept or
phenomenon that several individuals share

27. MERITS
An interview yields data in quantity quickly
The interviewer has room to ask the question
again if not understood
There is both verbal and non verbal
communication involved thus easy to infer even
what is being withheld by the respondent
In case of group interviews, other members
prompt the respondents on aspects they may not
be conversant with

28. DEMERITS
 Interviewees may be unwilling or may be
uncomfortable sharing all that the interviewer hopes to
explore, or they may be unaware of recurring patterns
in their lives.
 The interviewer may not ask questions that evoke long
narratives from participants because of a lack of
expertise or familiarity with the local language or
because of a lack of skill.
 the interviewer may also not properly comprehend
responses to the questions or various elements of the
conversation.
 Finally , at times, interviewees may have good reason
not to be truthful

29. ANALYSIS OF DOCUMENTS AND
MATERIAL CULTURE
• This method of data collection is mostly used to collect the
background data before the actual study is shaped
• Here, the researcher gathers demographic data and
describes geographic and historical particulars.
• It is often done by reviewing previous studies, journals,
books and even web sites.
• Data collected through this method is often entailed in
chapters one, two and five of the research report

30. MERITS
An unobtrusive method, rich in portraying
the values and beliefs of participants in the
setting
It can be conducted without disturbing the
setting in any way
It is also non reactive
Data gathered through this method have
already been scientifically tested And verified

31. MERITS cont’d
Can be easily used for comparison as a large
amount of studies can be assessed and
compared as well as contrasted
Relatively inexpensive
Good source of background information
 Provides a “behind the scenes” look at a
program that may not be directly observable
May bring up issues not noted by other mean

32. DEMERITS
Some of the studies used may have been
overtaken by events thus reliance on obsolete
data
Historical data was gathered under limitations
and constraints thus having a level of bias on
the facts
Some sources especially web sites,
newspapers and magazines may not have
accurate data
Can be time consuming to collect, review, and
analyze many documents

33. REFFERENCE
Sukamolson S. (2005), Fundamentals of quantitative research
Unpublished seminar paper Chulalongkorn University
James R. (2002) An Overview of qualitative and quantitative Data
collection Methods, prentice publishers, London
Ersanilli E. (2011) Methodology for quantitative data collection,
Imaging Europe from outside
Carling J. (2010), Measuring Migration aspirations and intentions.
Unpublished Memo EUMAGINE project
Wolvesworth K. (2013) Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Techniques for Humanitarian needs assessment, ACAPS
Okombo C. (2012), Quantitative and qualitative research designs
for social sciences, unpublished seminar paper, University of
Nairobi