This document discusses 5 methods of primary data collection: 1) Direct personal investigation where the investigator directly interviews subjects, 2) Indirect oral investigation where the investigator interviews intermediaries instead of subjects, 3) Information through local sources or correspondents where local people regularly provide data to the investigator, 4) Information through questionnaires mailed to informants to complete, and 5) Information through schedules filled out by enumerators who directly interview subjects. It also discusses sources of secondary data collection including published sources from governments, international organizations, and private institutions as well as unpublished sources.

1. Methods of DataCollection
PRESENATED BY NEELAM DHANWANI
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT ARYAN COLLEGE, AJMER

2. Methods of Primary Data Collection
 Direct Personal Investigation
 Indirect Oral Investigation
 Information through local sources or correspondents
 Information through Questionnaires to be filled by
informants./Mailed questionnaire method
 Information through Schedules to be filled by enumerators.
Aryan college

3. 1) Direct Personal Investigation
• The investigator can go to the field of investigation and collect data by
holding personal interviews directly with people.
• The data collected here is based on the experience of the investigator.
• For example, To get the information on what is the most sold
commodity in a canteen, the data collector can observe the counter and
achieve the required data.
Aryan college

4. Cont.
• Merits/ Qualities:
• Originality
• Accuracy
• Flexibility
• Uniformity
• Extensive Information
• Demerits/ Limitations:
• Bias
• Limited scope
• Waste of Resources
• Unnecessary
Aryan college

5. 2) Indirect Oral Investigation
• In this method of collection of data, information is gathered
by asking questions not from the units of inquiry but from
those people who possess the information regarding the
units of inquiry.
• For Example, To get the data of results of students of a
class, the class teacher is asked for the data and not each
student.
Aryan college

6. Cont.
• Merits/ Qualities:
• Less Biased
• Economy in Resources
• Wide Scope
• Representation of various Opinions
• Demerits/ Limitations:
• Lack of Accuracy
• Lack of Uniformity
• Lack of Informants
• Incomplete Information
Aryan college

7. 3) Information through Local source
or correspondents
• Sometimes, the information is required to be collected based on a certain time
period regularly like daily, weekly, monthly etc. so the investigator appoints
correspondents who collect information from time to time and send it to the
investigator.
• Govt., semi govt. and private, all types of institutions follow the same practice
for data collection. This method is suitable when greater accuracy is not
required.
Aryan college

8. Cont.
• Merits/ Qualities:
• Wide scope
• Economy of resources
• Demerits/ Limitations:
• Unreliability
• Lack of high degree of accuracy
• Lack of originality
Aryan college

9. 4)Information through Questionnaires to be
filled by informants
• In this method, the investigator prepares a questionnaire which is a list
of questions related to the inquiry. He then sends, by post, this
questionnaire along with a letter requesting the informant to fill in the
questionnaire and send it back in time. He also assures the informant
that the details sent will not be disclosed.
Aryan college

10. Cont.
• Merits/ Qualities:
• Wider scope
• Minimum Expenditure
• Saving of time originality
• Demerits/ Limitations:
• Incomplete or ambiguous information
• Problem of response
• Bias
• Heterogeneity
• Rigidity
• Intensive study not possible
Aryan college

11. 5)Information through Schedules to be filled by
enumerators
• Similar to a questionnaire, a list of questions
known as schedule is prepared which is filled in
by the enumerators themselves by visiting places
personally and asking questions. Enumerators are
persons appointed by the investigators who visit
places in order to collect information.
Aryan college

12. Cont.
• Merits/ Qualities:
• Availability of unambiguous and correct information
• Lack of hesitation
• Warm response
• Demerits/ Limitations:
• Limited scope
• Heavy cost
• More time
• Problem of contact
• Fear of bias
• Problem of investigation Aryan college

13. Sources of collection of secondary data
Published
Sources
Unpublished
Sources
Aryan college

14. Published Sources
1. Government publications
2. International publications
3. Semi-government publications
4. Publications of non government institutions
5. Publications of individual investigators
6. Magazines and newspapers
Aryan college