Data collection methods in Nursing research

Introduction
 Data are the observable and measurable facts
that provide information about the
phenomenon under study
 Primary and secondary data

 Interview
 Questioning
 Observation
 Bio physiological measurements
 Psychosocial measurement scales
 Record analysis

CONCEPT
Data collection involves gathering relevant
data in order to achieve an answer to the
problem stated. There are various methods of
data collection which can be used by the
investigator depending upon the nature of
study undertaken.

PURPOSES OF DATA
COLLECTION
 identify variables/facts
 measure variable/ phenomena
 describe behaviour
 obtain empirical evidence (objective, reliable,
valid)
Data is meaningless as by itself it does not
explain or cause change, information does.
Therefore, the aim of gathering and summarizing
data is to transform this into information in order to:

FIVE ‘W’s OF DATA COLLECTION
 What data to collect? (Consideration on type of
data)
 From whom data is to be collected
 Who will collect data
 From where the data will be collected
 When is the data to be collected

The number of data to be collected will depend
on:
 Type of study
 Hypothesis to be tested
 Number of variables
 Type of statistical computation
 In an experimental study the number will also be
determined by the number of experimental and
control groups. One needs also to consider the
method of administration, the nature of treatment
and the schedule.

SOURCES OF DATA
 Documentary- primary and secondary
 Field sources
 Include living persons who have a fund of
knowledge about or have been in intimate contact
with social conditions and changes over a
considerable period of time.
 These people are in a position to describe not only
the existing state of affairs but also the observable
trends and significant milestones in a social
process.

HISTORICAL DATA
 These consist of documents and various
historical sources to which the historian himself
has access.
 Materials of cultural history and analytical
history.
 Personal sources of authentic observers and
witnesses.
 These can be oral, written evidence, artifacts
etc.
Historical data is a combination of primary &
secondary and field sources.

Methods and tools
 Methods- steps or strategies
 Technique- means of gathering data with the
use of specific tools that are used in given
methods
 Instrument/ tools- instrument is a device used
to measure the concept that researcher uses
to collect data

TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS
 Observation  Observation check
list (structured
unstructured)
 Rating scales,
anecdotes
 Machineries, i.e.
Video tape/ Films,
electrocardiogram,
closed circuit T.V.
TOOLS
Instrument procedure
TECHNIQUES
Method of collecting
data

 Questioning- self
report
 Questionnaire,
 opinionnaire,
 Attitude Scale
 Tests on
psychomotor skills
 Standardized tools
 Physiological
measurements.

 Biophysical
measurements.
 Interview
In vivo
In vitro
Physical
measurements –
e.g. temperature
Chemical
measurements- e.g.
hormone, sugar
Microbiological
measurements-e.g.
bacterial count
 Interview Schedule

 Record Analysis
(Content)
 Others –
 Computer assisted
measurement
 Q sorts projective
techniques &
Vignettes

Selection of methods of data
collection
 Nature of phenomenon under study
 Type of research subjects
 Type of research study
 Purpose
 Size of sample
 Distribution of target population
 Time frame of study
 Literacy level of the subjects
 Availability of resources and manpower
 Researchers knowledge level and competence

Criteria of evaluation/ assessment
of collection methods
 Accuracy and completeness
 Compatibility with educational level, socio
cultural values and beliefs
 In accordance with nature of phenomenon,
purpose, time frame and resources

RECORD ANALYSIS
 Records are compilation of writings and figures that
individuals have collected.
 Records are a valuable and lucrative source of
nursing research data.
 Records are ever-present source of material.
 Records are found everywhere in homes, offices,
places of leisure, hospitals, museum (Relics &
artifacts), personal diaries and letters, speeches,
Articles, documents etc.
 Records are available in every department,
institution, organizations & Individuals.
 Data sources may be primary or secondary.
INTRODUCTION

ADVANTAGES
 Records are unbiased collected.
 Records cover a long period of times, therefore
research can discover events and trends.
 Records are inexpensive. All available at one
time.
 Records are convenient & time saving and
available in their pure form, complied in neat
and orderly fashioned. Records provide readily
available data.
 Researcher can not bias the subjects as the
records have been already collected.

Existence of large quantity of records allows
researcher a considerable choice of data.
Data are obtained by an unobtrusive method
Records can provide personal information about
subjects, beliefs, attitudes and feelings
concerning the topic of interest.
Records don’t rely on recall but were recorded
when they occurred.

DISADVANTAGES
 Amount of information is limited to what is
available. Researcher can not get more data as
subjects are not present. If record is incomplete,
no way to complete it.
 No one sure under which conditions data were
collected. Was more than one person involved in
compilation? How careful they were to handle
facts & figures.
 No assurance of accuracy of the records,
 People who presented the original records were
not aware whether it would be used for research.
Therefore, researcher has to admit any error into
the study that was built in the original records.

 Some serious draw backs may be there in data
recording. For e.g. the person who recorded the
data may not have recorded adequately.
 Search for very old records and extracting
information from records may be time
consuming.
 Requesting people who are not involved in the
research work to provide records, may be
intrusion into their work schedule.

PROBLEMS
 Permission has to be sought from concerned
People to study records.
 Difficult to trace if not kept in order & well
organised.
 Authorities/ Concerned people/ Officer may not
like their records to be disturbed for the fear of
misplacing, pulling out information (loss of
paper from files)
 Organisation/ Institution may not like anyone to
go through their pvt. Files other than selected
individuals.

 Researcher will require help to retrieve the
data.
 Researcher may require interpretation of
records (Meaning of words, symbols, figures
etc)
 Records research may be a disagreeable task
as records are stored in basements, stores,
boxes etc. Seems difficult to locate & find
records for the period needed.
 Another problem with records is item
equivalency. Are records based on same
criteria ? Records from two institutions may
not have data on a particular variable in the
same manner.

 Some records are seldom used after their
compilation. People who compiled might have
died or left the institution or moved away. So
value of such records is forgotten and for all
practical purposes they are lost.
 Organizations may give permission to use
records provided a copy of final research
report is given to them.
 It is important to maintain anonymity,
privacy, truth and accuracy and a
consideration for the personal preferences of
the individuals involved.

GUIDELINES IN USE OF RECORDS
 Both primary & secondary sources of data can
be used. Prefer primary source
 Essential to establish authenticity, accuracy,
validity & reliability of data sources (external
and internal criticism)

QUESTIONNAIRE
 Most common research instrument
 It is a paper-pencil approach to data collection
 Can be used with some other tools too in a
single study
 Comprised of a series of questions that are filled
in by all subjects in the sample.
 May be distributed to subjects in the classroom,
on the streets, on campus, home or at work;
 Can be mailed to those who live in a large
geographical area as it is expensive and time
consuming to reach individuals directly.

PURPOSES
 To elicit information from subjects to
supplement findings
 Explore a new topic
 Assess knowledge, attitude, practices, beliefs,
opinions & feelings.

ADVANTAGES
 Relatively simple method of collecting data.
Items can be constructed easily by beginning
researcher.
 Rapid and efficient method of gathering data
 Collect data from a widely scattered
population
 Inexpensive to distribute
 Easy to tabulate data from close ended items
 Respondents can remain anonymous
 Simple procedure to explore a new topic
 Easiest tool to test for validity & reliability

 Questionnaire can be flexible concerning type
of item, order of items and topics covered by
the researcher.
 Subjects have time to contemplate their
response to each question
 Measurement is enhanced because all
subjects respond to the same questions.
 Easy accomplishment of data analysis and
interpretation.

DISADVANTAGES
 Inability to probe a topic in-depth unless the
questionnaire is lengthy.
 Respondents may omit or disregard any item
that they choose without giving any explanation
 Some items may force subjects to choose
response that are not their actual choice
(Forced-choice items).
 Amount of information gathered is limited by
subjects’ time & interest span. Usually people
don’t like to take more than 25 minutes to
answer a questionnaire. (Length of
questionnaire should not be more than 60

 Printing may be costly if questionnaire
lengthy and printed on good quality of paper.
 Addressing outside envelops and postage are
time consuming and expensive respectively.
 Data are limited to information given
voluntarily by the subject. Not all subjects
comply with request to participate
 Some items may be misunderstood.
 Questionnaire use limited to literate.
 Subjects’ non-verbal cues cannot be
observed.

 it is impossible to know who returned the
questionnaires in case follow up is needed.
 Special efforts must be made to test the validity
and reliability of the questionnaire.
 Researcher has no opportunity to interact with
respondents.
 Subjects can express their views/opinions
better while speaking than writing.

Types of Questionnaire
 Close Ended (fixed Alternatives)
 Open Ended.

Close Ended
 After questions respondents are given a number
of alternatives to either mark a “Yes” or “No”,
check an item from list of suggested responses.
 Items may be forced choice type e.g.
Do you still beat your wife? “Yes”
 Advantage : Easy to fill, tabulate, analyze and
data suited many statistical analysis.
 Disadvantage: Limited to specific topic to be
answered in a specific way.

Open Ended Questions
 Have no choices from which respondents
select their response. Respondent must
“Create” their response.
Example: Why did you choose to take your
graduate work at this university?
Advantage : Stimulate thought, solicit
suggestions, probe people’s memories.

Disadvantage: Not suited for mailed
questionnaire
- Difficult to construct meaningful variables
for statistical analysis.
- Analysis is often problematic and time
consuming

Partially closed ended questions –
provide a compromise
 Though answer choices provided, but subjects
have the option of creating their own response.
Example :
For what reasons did you retire before the age of
58?
(i) Health reasons (ii) desire for more free time
(iii) Was assured of more than adequate income
(iv) Please list as many other reasons as you can
think of.

Factors to consider
Sampl
e
• Who are u going to ask
Metho
d
• How are u going to ask
Questio
nnaire
• What are u going to ask
Result • What will u do with the data
Cost
• How much do u want to pay for the
answer
Time
scale
• By when u need the data

Methods of questionnaire
administration
Postal
Phone
Electronic
Personally administered

Framing Questions
 Question Content
– based on researcher’s aims, concepts under
study.
 Question Wording
- Clarity
- Ability of respondents to reply
- Bias
- Handling sensitive or personal information.

 Response Alternatives:
- Select appropriate response alternatives,
- Ordering responses rationally
- Response length – Not too lengthy as it
is inefficient and cumbersome to read
detailed replies.
 Organization – Plan question sequence (order of
question and schedule format)
- Items should relate to topic

- Items organized into units
- Questions to be specific.
- Items to elicit demographic data.
- Schedule format – questionnaire schedule
affects the accuracy of the response.
Formats that are easy to follow and pleasing to
the eye are completed by respondents.

 Introduction and Instructions:
- State the nature and purpose of the
study in introduction.
- Why the subjects are being questioned.
- Directions for respondents to respond.
- Confidentiality and anonymity should be
assured.

- Personal data – Age, Sex, Education.
- Back ground data – Family income,
occupation, living environment etc.
- Content – Knowledge, opinion, belief,
attitude etc.
- Acknowledging participation.

Writing Good Questions
 Use words that are simple, direct and familiar to all.
 Question – Clear and Specific
 Define or quality the term that can be easily be
misinterpreted.
 Avoid double barreled questions.
 Do you think that students should have more classes
about history and culture?
 Beware of double negatives (Are you against not
allowing nurses to strike?)
 Underline a word if you wish to indicate special
emphasis.
e.g. should all schools offer a modern foreign
language?

 Avoid questions that are leading or suggest the
expected answer.
e.g. you don’t approve of strikes, do you?
 Be sure alternatives are enough and
appropriate.
 Reason for asking personal question should be
given.
 Problem words – lead to confusion in subject’s
mind.
e.g. How many patients did you care for last
week?

Administration of Questionnaire
 Self administered:
- Individual / Group administration
- Maximizes the return rate.
- Allow researcher to clarify any doubts
while responding.
 Mailing distribution – Mailed to respondents with
a request letter.
Advantage : Can cover large widely scattered
population

Disadvantage: Some items may need
clarification
- Completion rate tend to be low
- Low returns
- Monitoring return.
 Acceptable response rate
- 50% Adequate
- 60% Good
-70% or more is very good.

 Follow up Mailing – Provides stimuli for
responding
- Three mailings seem the most efficient.
- Timing of follow up (2 -3 weeks is a
reasonable space between mailings).
- Sending follow up letters.

Interview – Technique of Data Collection
• Second most common method of data collection
• Face to face interpersonal role situation.
• Interview schedule – structured, semi-
structured, unstructured.
• Interview schedule is an oral questionnaire that
is read to the respondent by the researcher
whereas interview guide provides ideas but
allows the interviewer freedom to pursue topics
in depth.
• Interviewer has an ability to control over the
level of questioning

Advantages
• Data from each interview are usable, whereas
not true for each questionnaire returned.
• In-depth data can be obtained, since researcher
can pursue any question of special interest.
• Interview offers protection against ambiguous or
confusing questions.
• Respondents are less likely to give “don’t know”
responses or leave a question unanswered
• Flexibility
• Permit greater control over the sample

• Suitable for probing complex situations and
sensitive issues.
• Higher proportion of responses are obtained
from potential respondents.
• Saves interviewee’s time as she/he doesn’t have
to go through the process of returning the
instrument.

• Useful for both literate & illiterates and also
broader group of individuals i.e. young children,
blind, very elderly etc.
• Face to face interviews have an advantage in
their ability to produce additional data through
observation (non-verbal)
• Telephones/videos may be used for soliciting
some types of interview data, especially when
time period for gathering information is short.

Disadvantages
• It is time consuming and costly
• Rapport and interpersonal relationships are
important aspect of this technique. Therefore,
element of bias can be from both interviewer
and interviewee.
• Interviewer usually has little or no choice in the
data or place of the interview
• Difficult to make a comparison of data collected
by one interviewer’s with another unless a rigid
procedure is followed. In large research
projects, training of interviewers adds to the
expense of the project

• When more than one interviewer collect data of
a study, the influence of personal bias of
interviewers may affect objectivity.
• Recording may be biased, incomplete or
selective

Conducting the Interview
• Interviews can be conducted by
Face to face meeting
Telephonically
Video-recording
• Conduct in a quiet peaceful atmosphere
• Subject to be seated in a comfortable position
• Subject should be informed before hand as to
how much time interview will take.

• Recording of responses should be done
simultaneously.
Sometimes with subject’s permission, interviewer
may record responses by use of tape
recorder/video recording.
Ofcourse experience of writing in shorthand is
useful.
• Interviewer must ask the questions in a similar
fashion throughout the data gathering process.

• Build Rapport with the interviewee by –
Introducing self,
Nature and purpose of study
Ask permission to interview
Create a friendly and pleasant atmosphere for the
subjects
Assure interviewee’s anonymity and
confidentiality of responses
Request for frank opinions/feeling etc.
Should not pressure the individual to answer.
They should be told they need not answer
embarrassing questions if they don’t wish to do
so.

Problems
• Ineffective procedure for obtaining actual
behaviour patterns
• Some interviewees may have faulty memories
and either can not remember a certain fact or
guess what seems to be a reasonable answer.
• Subjects may give answers which is
representative of a group rather than their own
ideas
• Presence of interviewer may influence the
subjects, so that they answer questions
differently than they would if filling a
questionnaire

• Sample mortality. (Not everyone in the expected
sample may be present)
• Some respondents may not be qualified to
answer some questions asked to them. May not
recognize their own problems.
• Respondents get nervous seeing their responses
being written.
• Time is lost, when interviewer has to record
responses. In haste, he may make some
mechanical mistake.

• Interviewee may lose his train of thoughts while
waiting the interviewer to finish writing the last
response. Thus some data may be lost.
• Interviewer is likely to overlook/become
unaware of non-verbal cues while getting busy
with interview guide or schedule.

OBSERVATION TECHNIQUE
 It is one of the basic and oldest method to
gather data
 Is systematically planned and recorded.
 It is a technique to acquire information
through occurrence that can be observed
through senses with or without mechanical
devices.
 It is a two part process i.e. someone is
observing and there is something to observe
(observer; observed)

Four Broad Questions in observation
 What should be observed?
 How should observation be recorded ?
 What procedures should be used to try to assure the
accuracy of observation ?
 What relationship should exist between the observer
and the observed, and how can such relationship be
established?

Phenomena Amenable to Observation
 Characteristics and conditions of individuals –
People’s attributes, status, Physiological conditions
(Through senses and apparatus)
 Verbal communication behaviour – linguistic
behaviour, content & structure of conversation,
entire process of social interaction.
 Non-verbal communication behaviour – Facial
expressions, touch posture, gesture, body
movements, Linguistic behaviour – manner of
speaking, loudness, continuity of speech

 Activities – People’s behaviour that communicates
overt state. Actions indicative of health status –
Physical and emotional functioning; study of
activities of health personnel etc.
 Skill attainment and Performance- Nursing skills-
Procedures, Techniques.
 Environmental characteristics/Attributes – noise
levels, cleanliness, ventilation, odour, water
supply, mosquito breeding, Infrastructure.

Units of Observation
Two basic approaches for making decision
concerning what constitutes a unit.
 Molar Approach – Observation of large units of
behaviour and treating them as a whole. (Study of
psychiatric patients swings in verbal & non verbal
behaviour on one hand and passive behaviour on
the other hand.
 Molecular Approach – Observation of small and
highly specific behaviour e.g. observation of each
movement, gesture, action & treating each action
separately or perhaps breaking it further into
smaller units.

Types
 Structured interview
 Unstructured interview
 Semi structured interview
 In depth interview
 Focused group interview
 Telephone interview

Interviewing process
 Preparation for interview
 Pre interview introduction
 Developing rapport
 Carrying the interview forward
 Recording the interview
 Closing the interview

Observation methods
 Unstructured observation – is made to provide
as complete and non-selective a description as
possible of an event –or behaviour observed.
Techniques used for unstructured method of
observation :-
Participant observation – involves researcher
to participate in the functioning of social
group under investigation.
Researcher attempts not to interject his
views & meaning into the social situation
under observation.

Unstructured observation method
 Provides rich and deep understanding of human
behaviour.
 Observer bias and influence are prominent
difficulties
 Memory distortions represent another possible
source of inaccuracy.

 Log and field notes
 Anecdotes
 Field diaries
 Video and tape recording

Logs, Field Notes, Anecdotes
 Logs – is a record of events & conversation,
maintained on daily basis.
 Field Notes – include daily log but tend to be
much broader, more analytic and include more
interpretation than mere listing of occurrences.
Essential to record simultaneously because of
memory failure.
 Anecdotes – Focus on behaviour of particular
interest. Anecdote typically selects specific kind of
events and behaviours for observation before
hand. Observer objectively and accurately records
the observation.

Structured Observation
 Excellent method of data collection.
 Indicates presence or absence of pre-specified behaviour /
attribute.
 More subjects can be observed in much less time
 Checklists, rating scales and category system are commonly
used tools in structured observation.
 Sampling by time and event are common strategies for
observational sampling.
Frequency and duration of activity/event/ behaviour needs
to be determined.
 Category system represents an attempt to designate in a
systematic or quantitative fashion the qualitative
behaviours and events transpiring within the observations
setting.

 Check list
 Rating scales
 Category system

 Considerations in category system
Careful and explicit definition of behaviours
and characterstics
Referrant behaviour should be mutually
exclusive.
Developing a system of coding.
Pilot run of constructed category system to
assess its suitability for intended study.
Developing, refining and retesting of new
category system.

Types
Participant
 Live or work in the
field
 Unstructured tools
Non participant
 Observe without
interaction
 Children and
animals

Types of Observation
 No concealment and participant
 Concealment and participant
 Concealment and non-participant
 No concealment and non-participant

 No concealment and participant observation
 Observer make no alteration in the social setting
 Doesn’t make observation covertly.
 Subjects are aware of researcher’s presence but not
aware of researcher’s underlying motive.
 Drawbacks are –
- Hawthorne effect (subjects awareness of
being observed).
- Interaction between the observed & observer
alters the subjects’ behaviour.

 Concealment and participant observation
Researcher observes subjects’ behaviour
in their natural setting but adopts a
passive role as otherwise it may alter
subjects behaviour.
Researcher observes and records
observation with minimum intervention.
The problem of behaviour distortion with
presence of observer is known as reactive
measurement effect.

 Concealment and non- participant observation
 Researcher makes observation from the periphery of a
social setting in such a way that he is present but doesn’t
interact with others. (Also called lurking)
 Observer does not make his intentions known to the
group, nor does he make any effort to participate.
 Can collect great deal of information.
 If observer is not nearby, difficulty in hearing can lead to
misunderstanding.
 Question of violation of human rights – i.e. lack of
dignity in data collection because the observed are
neither aware of the observer nor being observed.

 No concealment and Non-participant observation
Extremely valuable in nursing research
intervention studies.
Observer’s presence known
Subjects aware of their participation in
the study and being observed.
Research Methods: A Modular Approach
By Sherri Jackson

Types
Depending on
the planning
structured
unstructured
Level of
involvement
participant
Non
participant
Level of
disguise
Concealment
No
concealment

Observation Sampling Technique
 Usually impossible to observe behaviour for
extended period of time because of fatigue and
boredom.
 Commonly used techniques are:-
Time sampling method
Event sampling
Time sampling – involves selection of time periods
during which observation will take place.
Researcher should decide duration & time when to
begin and when to stop

Event sampling
 Event sampling refers to a diverse class of specific
empirical methods for studying individual experiences
and social processes within their natural, spontaneous
context.
 Event sampling procedures are designed to obtain
reasonably detailed accounts of thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours as they occur in everyday life.

Difference
 Time sampling = When you set a designated amount
of time e.g. 30 seconds and observe what behaviour is
happening in these intervals. Here behaviour is
recorded at regular, preset interval.
 Event sampling = Watching all the time and marking
down when the specific behaviour is happening..

Steps in Developing An Observation
Schedule/ planning the observation
 Determine the focus- questions to be answered
 Selecting – aspects of behaviour to be observed.
 Defining the behaviour that fall with in a category.
 Design a system for data collection
 Recording sheet and checklists
 Observation guides-interactions, processes or behaviors
 Field notes
 Select the sites
 Select the observers
 Train observers.
 Quantify observations.
 Developing procedures to facilitate recording

 Testing of observation schedule by checking:
Inter-rater reliability (85% agreement
between two observers/raters)
Intrarater reliability – same rater observes
same behaviour/event on two or more
occasions. Involves multiple observations
extending over days and weeks. Test-retest
reliability is considered important for such
observational recordings.

Structured observations by
nonresearch observers
 Here the person completing the scale might be asked
to describe the attributes and behaviours of another
person.
 Mother might be asked to describe the behavior
problems of her preschool child
 Adv
 Economical
 Reactivity- an outsider observing
 Occurrence in private situations
 Infrequency ( sleep walking)

Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages
Important technique
for studying human
behaviour specially
where interventions are
used.
Provides depth and
variety of information.
Observation and
interpretation is a
demanding task requiring
attention, sensation,
perception and conception.

Researcher is not
dependent on subjects
who consent to answer,
all subjects are
potential respondents.
Subjects are usually
available unlike
questionnaire where
one is dependent on
return of mailed
questionnaire.
It allows view of
complete situation first
hand and include
sequence of events.
Lack of consent to being
observed.
• Time and duration of event
can’t be predicted usually
observer may wait until an
event happens. Therefore it is
difficult to know when to be
present to observe key events.

All the data obtained by
the observation are
usable unlike
questionnaire where
irrelevant information
may be included
because respondents
misunderstand the
questions asked to
them.
It is most open to use of
recording devices such
as tape-recorders and
cameras.
Data obtained are vulnerable to
many distortions and biases.
Observed events are subjected
to researchers cultural
background and personal
interpretations.
Use of recording devices is
expensive.

One can make use of
assistants to carry out
observations.
Extensive training is necessary if
assistant observers are used.
Observers may get involved in the
situation which can cause threat to
the objectivity of the data collected.
Especially rating scales are susceptible
to two distinct type of errors.
‘Halo effect’ tendency of the rater to
be influenced by one characteristic in
rating other non-related
characteristics.
Error of leniency: Tendency of the
observer to rate everything positively.
Error of severity: tendency of the
observer to rate too harshly.

Ethics
Observation of human beings involves some
important ethical implications in terms of their rights,
willingness to be observed. Should they be observed
without their knowledge? Is it permissible to inform
the subjects that they are being observed? Subjects
should be assured of their anonymity, confidentiality.
Can we force the subjects to participate in the study ?
Is their unwillingness genuine ?

Polit describes three common ethical
requirements, which are : voluntary
participation/freedom from physical or psychological
harm and distress, and anonymity. Observation
without participants permission may not assume
subjects voluntary participation. Sudden disclosure of
being observed may cause distress and mental trauma
to some subjects. Therefore, researcher needs to
decide on these sensitive questioning prior to data
collection.

Examples
 Dichotomous q
 MCQ
 Cafeteria q
 Rank order q
 Contingency q
 Rating q
 Importance q
 Likert q
 Bipolar q
 Matrix q
 Double barreled
 Double negatives
 Leading q
 Long q
 Ambiguous q

Notes on
 Composite scales
 Likert scale
 Semantic differential scales
 Visual analogue scales
 With egs

Rating scales
 Express an opinion on person, object, situation or character
 In RS we judge object in absolute terms against specified
criteria without reference to other similar objects
 Refers to a scale with a set of opinion , which describes
varying degree of the dimensions of an attitude being
observed
 A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit
information about a quantitative or a qualitative attribute
 eg Likert scale
 3 point, 5 point or 7 point RS

Characteristics
 Value judgments about attributes of one person by another
person
 Carry out structured observations
 Quantitative judgment about a qualitative attribute
 Provide flexibility
 Guilford
 Clarity
 Relevance
 Variety
 Objectivity
 Uniqueness

Types
 Graphic rating scale
 Descriptive rating scales
 Numerical rating scales
 Comparative rating scales

Causes of distortion
 Central tendency bias
 a desire to avoid being perceived as having extremist
views -social desirability bias
 for questions early in a test, an expectation that
questions about which one has stronger views may
follow, such that on earlier questions one "leaves
room" for stronger responses later in the test.
 Acquiescence bias
 Agree with statements as presented

 Disagree with sentences as presented out of a
defensive desire to avoid making erroneous statements
and/or avoid negative consequences that respondents
may fear will result from their answers being used
against them
 Provide answers that they believe will be evaluated as
indicating strength or lack of weakness/dysfunction-
faking good
 Provide answers that they believe will be evaluated as
indicating weakness or presence of
impairment/pathology - faking bad

Adv
 Easy to administer and score
 Widely used in Nursing research
 Easier to make and less time consuming
 Can be used for a large group
 Also used in quantitative methods
 Evaluate skills
 Adaptable and flexible

Dis adv
 Difficult and dangerous to fix rating about many
aspects of an individual
 Misuse can result in decrease in objectivity
 Chances of subjectivity- unscientific and unreliable
scales

Likert scales
 LS is a composite measure of attitudes that involve
summation of scores on the set of items to which
respondents are asked to indicate their degree of
agreement or disagreement
 Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly involved in
research that employs questionnaires.
 A Likert item is simply a statement that the respondent is
asked to evaluate by giving it a quantitative value on any
kind of subjective or objective dimension, with level of
agreement/disagreement being the dimension most
commonly used.

Features
 Symmetry
 Balance
 The format of a typical five-level Likert item, for
example, could be:
 Strongly disagree
 Disagree
 Neither agree nor disagree
 Agree
 Strongly agree

 Bipolar scaling method, measuring either positive or
negative response to a statement
 The five response categories are often believed to
represent an Interval level of measurement.

Uses
 Measure attitudes, values and feelings of people about
specific concepts
 Quantifying a qualitative attribute
 Opinion about an abstract concept

Characteristics
 Psychological measurement tool
 Illustrative in nature
 Neutral statements
 Bipolar scaling method- alternative pos and neg
statements
 Positive- high score with agreement and vice versa
 Measurement of specific number of scaling categories

Adv
 Easy to construct
 More reliable and valid to measure psychosocial
variables
 Easy to administer since respondents only have to tick
 Less time consuming for construction and
administration

Dis adv
 Forced choice
 Real feelings of the researchers may not be assessed
 Difficulty in justifying the number of categories and
numerical assignments to these categories
 Casual approach can provide misleading data

VAS
 VAS is a bipolar scale used to determine the degree of
stimuli a patient is experiencing
 Usually 10 cms in length
 Horizontal or vertical line
 Two extremes at either end
 Eg: no pain to worst pain

Uses
 Measure level of pain, anxiety and mood
 Measure alertness, quality, severity of clinical
symptoms, functional ability and attitude
 Choose right dose of medicine . Eg: for pain
 Rating soft variables like skills, confidence, quality of
team work

Adv
 Reliable and valid tool to measure intensity of certain
sensations and feelings. Pain and anxiety
 Quantifying a qualitative attribute
 Can see changes within the individual

Dis adv
 Cannot be used for comparing results across a group of
individuals at the same time
 Reliability may be low in measuring sensations like
pain as the patient has to recall their initial pain
severity.

CHECKLISTS
 Performance evaluation
 It is a simple instrument consisting of a prepared list of
expected items of performance or attributes which are
checked by a researcher for their presence or absence.

Characteristics
 One at a time
 Clearly specify the characteristics of behavior to be
observed
 Observer should be trained

Construction
 Express each item in clear and simple language
 Type is determined by an intensive survey of literature
 List of items should be continuous and divided into
groups of related items
 Get advice from experts
 Avoid negative statements
 Clear responses should be there like yes or no, true or
false
 Completeness and comprehensiveness should be there

Adv
 Adaptable to subject matter areas
 Useful in evaluating learning activities, procedural
work
 Has objectivity to evaluate characteristics
 Decreases chances of error of observation

Dis adv
 Does not indicate quality of performance
 Limited use
 Only a limited component of overall clinical
performance can be evaluated
 Limited use in qualitative studies

Stapel
 Stapel scales ask consumers to rate entities along an
ordered continuum.

Semantic differential Scale
 Semantic differential is a type of a rating scale designed
to measure the connotative meaning of objects, events, and
concepts. The connotations are used to derive the attitude
towards the given object, event or concept.
 The respondent is asked to choose where his or her
position lies, on a scale between two bipolar adjectives.
 Eg: Adequate-Inadequate, Good-Evil or Valuable-
Worthless.
 Semantic differentials can be used to measure opinions,
attitudes and values on a psychometrically controlled
scale.

Dimension of affective meaning
 Evaluation, potency, and activity.
 Evaluation loads highest on the adjective pair 'good-
bad'.
 The 'strong-weak' adjective pair defines the potency
factor.
 Adjective pair 'active-passive' defines the activity
factor.
 10-12 adjective pairs not more than 20

Strong ____:____:____:____:____:____:____ Weak
Decisive ____:____:____:____:____:____:____ Indecisive
Good ____:____:____:____:____:____:____ Bad
Cheap ____:____:____:____:____:____:____ Expensive
Active ____:____:____:____:____:____:____ Passive
Lazy ____:____:____:____:____:____:____ Industrious
The respondent is asked to rate an object, person or any
concept, by putting a mark on one of the 7 spaces
along each dimension.

 Results can be presented in a figure or list the average
scores on each dimension, and then draw conclusions.

Biophysiological methods
 Purposes
 Basic physiology with relevance for nursing care
 Ways that nursing actions or medical interventions
affect patient health outcomes
 Evaluation of specific nursing procedures or
interventions testing a hypothesis
 Improving measurement and recording of bio
physiologic data collected by RN
 Correlation of physiologic function in patient with
health problems

USE OF BIOPHYSIOLOGIC
MEASURES IN NURSING RESEARCH
 Study of biophysiologic processes
 Effect of nursing intervention on human physiological
process
 Correlate physiologic functioning with health
outcomes

Major types
 In vivo
 Measurements performed directly with in or on living
organisms themselves
 May use complex instrumentation system with
computers
 May be simple – thermometer, pulse oximeter,
stethoscope

 In vitro
 Measurements performed outside the organism’s body
 Specimens collected and tested outside body
 Blood chemistries, microbiologic, cytologic specimens

Considerations for physiologic
measurements
 Will measure yield good information? Does it fit
research questions/hypotheses and variables of study?
 What other methods of measurement could be used?
Invasive & noninvasive
 Equipment and supply costs; reliability of equipment
and complexity of operation
 Training of personnel

ADVANTAGES
 Accurate precise & sensitive
 Objective
 Instrument used are valid and reliable
 Biophysiologic measures are not expensive but there
can be expensive tests

DISADVANTAGES
 Interferences that create artifacts in Biophysiologic
measures
 High degree of interaction among the major
Biophysiologic system

Projective techniques
 Rorschach inkblot test; thematic apperception test
(tell a story based on a picture)
 Eg
 The associative imagery technique is a qualitative tool
with which researchers use carefully selected
photographs or images to trigger participants’
responses to explain difficult behavioural and social
concepts.

 Researchers describe the development and
implementation of the associative imagery method in
focus groups to understand the complex relationships
between homecare workers and their clients as part of
a larger health and safety intervention project.
 116 homecare workers and clients were recruited
 They found that participants used images mainly in
two ways.
 The images served to remind participants of specific
persons, events, and/or objects.
 The images facilitated recollections and reflections that
allowed participants to metaphorically describe their
experiences, feelings, and emotions.
 Both usages of imagery generated comments that
answered the research question in a more relevant,
descriptive, and vivid way.

Q sorts
 William Stephenson introduced Q Method in 1935.
He said it offered psychology as a scientific approach
through which a systematic examination &
understanding of individuals’ subjectivity could be
achieved.
 His contemporaries disagreed and there was severe
criticism of the method, due to its departure from
traditional factor analysis.
 Q Method fell out on 1940-1960,but revived by US in
1970 & and UK in 1980

Q sorts
 It consists of cards often as many as 40 or 50.
 The goal is to sort the cards into one of five columns.
The qualities in each column are then recorded and
the results are used to assist the patient in determining
issues he or she wishes to work in treatment.
 Subject asked to sort statements into piles according to
importance to subject or most positive to least positive
 Forced –choice arrangement distributed into piles of
bell-shaped curve
 Time-consuming and difficult for some respondents

 It is a ranking of variables
 presented as statements printed on small cards—according
to some "condition of instruction."
 For example, in a Q study of people's views of a nursing, a
subject might be given statements like “It is a deeply noble
profession" and “It is altruistic in nature," or “ It is
submissive” and asked to sort them from "most like how I
think about this profession" to "least like how I think about
this profession."
 The use of ranking, rather than asking subjects to rate their
agreement with statements individually, is meant to
capture the idea that people think about ideas in relation to
other ideas, rather than in isolation.

Delphi or nominal technique
 Measures the judgments of a group of experts, assess
priorities or make forecasts

Steps
 Identify panel of experts to answer questions
 Develop questionnaire – mostly closed-ended
 Questionnaires completed and returned by experts
and results analyzed
 Statistical analysis and 2nd questionnaire sent to
experts and returned
 Steps 3 & 4 repeated until data reflects the consensus
of the experts

Vignettes
 Vignettes are simulations of real events which can be
used in research studies to elicit subject's knowledge,
attitudes or opinions according to how they state they
would behave in the hypothetical situation depicted.
validity.

Advantages
 the ability to collect information simultaneously from
large numbers of subjects,
 to manipulate a number of variables at once in a
manner that would not be possible in observation
studies,
 absence of observer effect
 avoidance of the ethical dilemmas commonly
encountered during observation.

 Difficulties include problems establishing reliability
and validity, especially external validity

Pilot study
 Small scale version or trial run designed to test the
methods to be used in a larger, more rigorous study
 Purpose is to prevent an expensive fiasco- that is a
costly but flawed large scale study
 Called feasibility studies

Functions
 Adequacy of study method and procedures
 Likely success of a participant recruitment strategy
 Appropriateness and quality of instruments- validity
and reliability of tools
 Strength of relationships between key variables so that
sample size can be estimated
 Identification of confounding variables

Functions
 Potential problem of losing participants
 Extent to which the preliminary evidence justifies
more rigorous research
 Refine methodology
 Plan for data analysis and interpretation
 Project costs for budgeting purpose
 Test for the intervention itself

Pilot testing an intervention
 Acceptability of the intervention to the intended
beneficiaries, intervention agents and administrators
 Adequacy comprehensiveness and clarity of
intervention protocols
 Appropriateness of the dose of intervention
 Extent to which intervention fidelity can be
maintained- faithfulness
 Rate of retention in the intervention
 Safety of the intervention: any unforeseen side effects

 Pilot study gives us lessons
 Should seek funding only after pilot

Data collection methods in Nursing research

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