1. Week 8: Instruments of research
An important decision for every researcher to make
during the planning phase of an investigation is what
kind(s) of data he/she intends to collect;
The device(s) or tool(s), such as a test, a
questionnaire, an interview guide, or a form of field
note or observation check list, the researcher uses to
collect the data are called instruments of research;
Thus, instruments of research are the scientific tools
or the things operationally used to collect the data;
2. • The whole process of preparing and developing
instruments of research to collect the data is called
instrumentation;
• Instrumentation involves not only then selection or
design of the instruments but also the procedures and
the conditions under which the instruments will be
administrated;
• It is a mistake to think that that researchers need only
locate or develop a “good” instrument, but he/she does
not seriously give attention to time, frequency,
administration of data collection;
• A researcher’s decisions about time, frequency, and
administration are always affected by the kind(s) of
instrument to be used;
3. • The quality of instrumentation and the instrument
itself determine the quality of data obtained in a
research;
• An instrument of research must be valid, reliable,
objective, and practical;
• A valid instrument is that it measures what is
supposed to be measure;
• A reliable instrument is one that gives consistent
results;
• An objective instrument is one that is absence of
subjectivity;
• A practical instrument is one that is easy to be used
and understandable;
4. • Who provides the information (data) for a research?
(i) Researchers themselves; it is also called researcher
instruments;
(ii) Directly from the subjects of the study; it is also
called subject instruments;
(iii) From others (informants or respondents); it also
called informant/respondents instruments;
(iv) Documents or manuscripts; they are in forms of
written documents or manuscripts;
(v) Social media and/or internets; they may be in the
form of written data or audio-visual data;
5. • Some tips about developing a research instrument:
(i) Be sure you are clear about what variables are to
be assessed;
(ii) Review existing instruments that measure similar
variables in order to decide upon a format and to
obtain ideas on specific items;
(iii) Decide on a format for each variable; different
variables often require different formats;
(iv) Begin compiling and/or writing items; try to ensure
that the vocabulary is appropriate for the intended
informants or respondents;
(v) …
6. (v) Have colleagues review the items for logical validity;
supply colleagues with a copy of definitions and
description of the intended respondents. Be sure to have
them evaluate format as well the content; For beginners,
please use expert validator;
(vi) Revise items based on colleague feed back. At this
point, try to have about twice as many items as
researchers intend to use in the final form. Remember
that more items generally provide higher reliability;
(vii) Locate a group of people with experience appropriate
to your study; Have them review the items for logical
validity; make any revision needed, and complete the
items;
(viii) …
7. (viii) Try out the instrument with a group of respondents
who are as similar as possible to the study respondents;
(ix) If feasible, conduct a statistical item analysis (item
discrimination and/or item difficulty) with the try-out
data;
(x) Select and revise items as necessary until the researcher
has the number he/she wants;
Notes:
(i) a good and appropriate instrument may obtain and
collect the valid and reliable data;
(ii) Quality of data depends on the quality of instrument(s)
