Data collection nursing

1. Data-Collection Methods

2. Questionnaires
• One of many data collection methods
• Only method for certain human response
data

3. The General Characteristics Of
Questionnaires

4. Questionnaire
• Paper-and-pencil format
• Answers given in writing

5. Questionnaire Development
• Development of a reliable and valid
questionnaire is difficult.
• Many literature resources available for use
in the construction

6. Questionnaires Measure
• Knowledge levels
• Opinions
• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Ideas
• Feelings
• Perceptions

7. Validity of Questionnaires
• Rests on validity of the data obtained
• Governed by the respondents’ willingness
or ability to provide accurate information

8. General Appearance of a
Questionnaire
• Neat and attractive
• Minimal length
• Grammatically correct
• No typing or spelling errors
• Clear margins and adequate spacing
• High-quality printing and paper

9. Questionnaire Guidelines
• Written in the respondents’ preferred
language
• Contain appropriate knowledge and
reading level
• Avoid slang expressions, colloquialisms,
and medical or nursing jargon

10. Formulas to Determine
Reading Level
• The Flesch Reading Ease
• The Fog Readability Formula
• The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
• SMOG (Simple Measure of
Gobbledygook)

11. Length of Questionnaires and
Question Construction
• Questionnaire length
– Limit required completion time to 10 minutes
or less
– Not longer than two or three pages
• Question construction
– Keep questions as short as possible
– Desirable length is fewer than 20 words.
– Divide a long question into two questions

12. Wording of Questions
• State questions in an affirmative rather
than a negative manner
• Avoid
– Ambiguous questions
– Double negative questions
– Double-barreled questions

13. Categories of Questions
• Demographic
• Open- and closed-ended
• Contingency
• Filler

14. Demographic Questions
• Gather data on the characteristics of the
sample
• Characteristics of sample = demographic
and attribute variables
• Examples
– Age
– Educational background
– Religious affiliation

15. Closed-Ended Questions
• Respondents are asked to choose from
given alternatives.
• Examples
– True-or-false questions
– Checklist type questions
– Multiple-choice questions
– Matching questions

16. Open-Ended Questions
• Respondents complete questions in their
own words.
• Examples
– Essay questions
– Fill-in-the-blank questions

17. Contingency Questions
• Are relevant for some respondents and not
for others
• Examples
– Have you ever been hospitalized before?
______Yes/No. (If No, go on to question
number 5)
– How would you rate the care you received
during your last hospitalization? ____ Poor
____ Fair ____ Good

18. Filler Questions
• Items in which the researcher has no
direct interest
• Included to reduce the emphasis on the
specific purpose of other questions

19. Placement of Questions
• Group all questions about a certain topic
together
• Put demographic questions at beginning
or end

20. A Cover Letter
• Should be written clearly with simple
instructions
• Important factor for motivation
• Accompanies all mailed questions

21. A Cover Letter (cont’d)
• Elements of a cover letter
– Identification of the researcher and any
sponsoring agency or person
– Purpose of the research
– How participant was selected
– Reason the respondent should answer the
questionnaire
– Length of time to complete the questionnaire
– How data will be used or made public

22. A Cover Letter (cont’d)
• Elements of a cover letter
– Deadline for return of questionnaire
– An offer to inform respondent of results of
study
– Researcher’s contact phone numbers,
address, or both
– Personal signature of the researcher

23. Completion Instructions
• Should be clear and concise
• Provide examples of the appropriate way
to respond to particular questions, if
needed

24. Distribution of Questionnaires
• Made available at a convenient location
• Through a mailing or distribution system
• Through Internet.

25. Factors Encouraging
Questionnaire Return Rate
• Time of mailing
• Hand-addressed outer envelopes
• Personal signature of the researcher
• Motivational information
• An incentive for completion

26. Factors Encouraging
Questionnaire Return Rate
• Neatness and clarity of the instrument
• Ease of completion
• Time required to complete the instrument
• Guarantee of anonymity
• Inclusion of a preaddressed, stamped
envelope

27. Advantages of Questionnaires
• Quick and generally inexpensive
• Easy to test for reliability and validity
• Administration is time efficient.
• Can obtain data from widespread
geographical areas
• Anonymity can be guaranteed in cover
letter.

28. Disadvantages of Questionnaires
• Costly to mail if there is a large volume
• Potential low response rate
• Respondents may provide socially
acceptable answers or fail to answer.

29. Disadvantages of Questionnaires
(cont’d)
• Respondents may not be representative of
the population.
• No opportunity to clarify items that may be
misunderstood
• Respondents must be literate.
• Respondents must have no prohibitory
physical handicap.

30. Interview
• Method of data collection
• Interviewer obtains responses.
• Face-to-face encounter, by telephone, or
through an Internet connection

31. Interview Purpose
• Obtain factual data about people
• Measure opinions, attitudes, and beliefs

32. Interview Schedule
• Contains a set of questions to be asked by
an interviewer

33. Recording Interview Data
• Entered directly on the interview schedule
• Recorded on a separate coding sheet
• Recorded on audiotape
• Recorded on videotape

34. Interviewer Training
• Responsibility of the study’s investigator
• Should be rigorous
• Should be carried out in groups

35. Interviewer Training (cont’d)
• Provide description of study, purpose, and
methodology
• Provide explanation of interview schedule,
purpose of each question, meanings of all
words, use of probes

36. Types of Interviews
• Unstructured
• Structured
• Semistructured

37. Unstructured Interviews
• Interviewer directs the course of the
interview.
• Conducted like a normal conversation
• Topics pursued at the discretion of the
interviewer

38. Unstructured Interviews (cont’d)
• Used in exploratory or qualitative research
studies
• Interviewer may start with a broad opening
statement.
• Further questions and probes may be
used.

39. Unstructured Interviews (cont’d)
• Give more freedom in question format
• Produce more in-depth information
• Conducted more like a normal
conversation
• Discuss topics at the discretion of the
interviewer

40. Structured Interviews
• Use a structured set of questions
• Ask same questions, in same order, in
same manner
• Very objective

41. Semistructured Interviews
• Interviewers ask a certain number of
specific questions.
• Additional probes are allowed or
encouraged.
• Closed-ended and open-ended questions

42. Interview Phases
• Prior to the interview
• During the interview
• After the interview

43. Interviewer Tasks:
Prior to the Interview
• Introduce self
• Explain study purpose
• Explain how participant was selected
• Explain how obtained information will be
used
• Tell how long the interview will last

44. Interviewer Tasks:
During the Interview
• Make the participant comfortable
• Provide privacy
• Control unnecessary noises
• Use language that is clearly understood

45. Interviewer Tasks:
During the Interview (cont’d)
• Talk in a conversational tone
• Inform participant that there are no right or
wrong answers
• Do not pressure participant for answers
• Leave sensitive questions until the end of
the interview

46. Interviewer Tasks:
After the Interview
• Ask participants if they have any questions
• Provide further explanations of the study if
necessary
• Thank the participants for their contribution
• Provide compensation if appropriate
• Indicate how participants may obtain study
results

47. Interviewer Influence
• Nonexperimental research: Rosenthal
effect
• Experimental studies: experimenter effect

48. Influencing Factors in
Face-to-Face Interviews
• Ethnic background
• Age
• Gender
• Manner of speaking
• Manner of dress

49. Influencing Factors in
Telephone Interviews
• Tone of voice
• Dialect

50. Interview Advantages
• High response rate
• In-depth responses
• Wide range of participants
• High percentage of usable data
• Ability to observe verbal and nonverbal
behavior

51. Interview Disadvantages
• Time consuming
• Expensive
• Arrangements may be difficult.

52. Interview Disadvantages (cont’d)
• Participants may
– Be influenced by the interviewers’
characteristics
– Intentionally provide socially acceptable
responses
– Be anxious because answers are being
recorded

53. Observational Research
• Data gathered through visual observation
• Nurses are well qualified to use this
method.
• Carefully developed plan is essential.

54. Researcher Decisions in
Observational Research
• What behaviors will be observed?
• Who will observe the behaviors?
• What observational procedure will be
used?
• What type of relationship will exist
between the observer and the subjects?

55. Observable Behavior Examples
• Psychomotor skills
• Personal habits
• Nonverbal communication patterns
• Interrater reliability
– The degree to which two or more raters or
observers assign the same rating or score to
an observation

56. Types of Observations
• Range from very structured to very
unstructured

57. Structured Observation Research
• Data-collection tool, usually some kind of
checklist
• Expected behaviors are identified on the
checklist.
• Observer indicates the frequency of
behavior occurrence.

58. Unstructured Observation Research
• Researcher attempts to describe events or
behaviors freely.
• Process requires a high degree of
concentration and attention.

59. Combination of Observational
Methods
• Utilizes observation guide
• Designed with some preconceived
categories
• Also allows the observer to record
additional behaviors
• Provides both quantitative and qualitative
data

60. Classification of Observational
Research
• Event sampling
• Time sampling

61. Event Sampling Versus Time
Sampling
• Event sampling
– Involves observation of an entire event
– Example: change of shift report
• Time sampling
– Involves observations of events or behaviors
during certain specified times
– Example: 2 hours after dinner

62. Physiological Measures
• Involve the collection of physical data from
subjects
• Measures are objective and accurate.
• Advantage—precision and accuracy
• Disadvantage—expertise required for
using devices

63. Attitude Scales
• Self-report data-collection instruments
• Respondents report attitudes or feelings.
• Score given for the item responses
• Totals may be obtained for individual
subject or a group.
• Types of attitude scales
– The Likert scale
– The semantic differential scale

64. The Likert Scale
• Usually contains five or seven responses
for each item
• Responses range from strongly agree to
strongly disagree.
• Equal number of positive and negative
worded items important

65. The Likert Scale (cont’d)
• Scores assigned to each response
– Positive items scored in positive direction
– Negative items scored in reverse direction
– Total scores are obtained.

66. The Semantic Differential Scale
• Subjects give their position or attitude
about the concept.
• Continuum exists between two adjectives
or phrases presented.
• Positions on continuum vary from 5 to 9.
• Scores then calculated for all the subjects

67. The Delphi Technique
• Uses several rounds of questions
• Seeks a consensus on a particular topic
from a group of experts
• Not necessary to bring experts together in
a face-to-face meeting

68. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
• Presents subjects with a straight line
drawn on a piece of paper
• The line is anchored on each end by
words or short phrases.
• Phenomenon extremes are listed at the
ends of the line.
• Subjects are asked to make a mark on the
line at the point that corresponds to their
experience of the phenomenon.

69. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
• The line is usually100 mm in length.
• Quantitative data is obtained from
measurements of the responses.

70. Preexisting Data
• Data is used from previous research.
• Existing information is reanalyzed for new
research.
• Preexisting data sources
– Patient charts
– Records from agencies and organizations
– Personal documents
– Almanacs
– Professional journals