Practical Research

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Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region IV-A CALABARZON
Division of Laguna
District of Majayjay
STA. CATALINA INTEGRATED NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
M. H. del Pilar St., Brgy. San Miguel, Majayjay, Laguna
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
Week 3 and 4
LEARNING TASKS:
Guide Questions:
Week 3 – Learning Task 1: Discuss the following terms:
1. Observation
2. Participant Observation
3. Non-Participation or Structured Observation
4. Interview
5. Structured Interview
6. Unstructured Interview
7. Semi-Structured Interview
8. Questionnaire
9. Postal Questionnaire
10. Self-Administered Questionnaire
Week 4 – Learning Task 2: Enumerate and explain the following:
1. Methods of Observation
2. Methods of Indirect Observation
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation
4. Approaches on Interview
5. Steps in Conducting an Interview
6. Purposes of a Questionnaire
7. Advantages and Disadvantages of a Questionnaire

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CHAPTER 6
Finding Answers through Data Collection
Lesson 1: Observation
Definition
Observation is a technique of gathering data whereby you personally watch,
interact or communicate with the subjects of your research. It lets you record what
people exactly do and say in their everyday life on Earth. Through this data
gathering technique, proofs to support your claims or conclusions about your topic
are obtained in a natural setting. Witnessing the subjects manages themselves in a
certain situation and interpreting or expressing your thoughts and feelings about
your observation, you tend to deal with the observation result in a subjective
manner. Some say this element of subjectivity makes observation inferior to other
techniques (Meng, 2012).
This is not so, according to others, your presence as the researcher in the area
where the subjects are situated, give authenticity to everything you get to observe
among the subjects. Watching and listening to your subjects then recording what
you’ve observed about them are the reasons many consider observation the
foundation of all research methods. Realistically speaking, this is logical, for
sensation precedes perception. Observation is the central method in qualitative
types of research, most especially, ethnography, in which you observe the lifestyle
of a cultural group (Letherby, 2013 and Snort, 2013).
Types
1. Participant Observation
The observer, who is the researcher, takes part in the activities of the
individual or group being observed. Your actual involvement enables you to
obtain firsthand knowledge about the subjects’ behavior and the way they
interact with one another. To record your findings through this type of
observation, use the diary method or logbook. The first part of the diary is called
descriptive observation. This initial part of the record describes the people,
places, events, conversation and other things involved in the activity or object
focused on by the research. The second part of the diary is called narrative
account that gives your interpretations or reflections about everything you
observed.
2. Non-Participation or Structured Observation
This type of observation completely detaches you from the target of your
observation. You just watch and listen to them do their own thing, without you
participating in any of their activities. Recording of non-participation

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observations happens through the use of a checklist. Others call this checklist
as an observation schedule.
These two observations types, participation and non-participation, can occur
in either of the covert or overt observation models. The first lets you observe the
subjects secretly; that is, you need to stay in a place where the subjects don’t get
sight of or feel your presence, much less, have the chance to converse with you. The
second permits you to divulge things about your research to the participants (Birks,
2014).
Methods of Observation
1. Direct Observation
This observation method makes you see or listen to everything that
happens in the area of observation. For instance, things happening in a
classroom, court trial, street trafficking and the like, come directly to your
senses. Remember, however, that to avoid waste of energy, time and effort in
observing, you have to stick to the questions that your research aims at
answering. What you ought to focus your attention to during the observation is
specified by your research problem in general as well as your specific research
questions.
2. Indirect Observations
This method is also called behavior archaeology because, here, you
observe traces of past events to get information or a measure of behavior, trait
or quality of your subject. Central to this method of observation are things you
listen to through tape recordings and those you see in pictures, letter, notice,
minutes of the meetings, business correspondence, and garbage cans and so
on. Indirect observation takes place in the following ways (Peggs, 2013 and
Maxwell, 2012).
Methods of Indirect Observation
1. Continuous Monitoring or CM
Here, you observe to evaluate the way people deal with one another.
As such, this is the main data gathering technique used in behavioral
psychology, where people’s worries, anxieties, habits and problems in
shopping malls, play areas, family homes or classrooms serve as the focus of
studies in this field of discipline.
2. Spot Sampling
This was done first by the behavioral psychologists in 1920 with a focus
on researching the extent of children’s nervous habits as they would go
through their regular personality development. For a continuous or
uninterrupted focus in the subjects, you record your observations through
spot sampling in an oral manner, not in a written way.

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Named also scam sampling or time sampling, spot sampling comes in two
types: time allocation (TA) and experience sampling. In TA sampling, what go into the
record are the best activities of people you observed in undetermined places and
time. Experience sampling, on the other hand, lets you record people’s responses
anytime of the day or week to question their present activities, companions, feelings
and so on. Data gathering in this case is facilitated by modern electronic and
technological gadgets like cell phone, emails and other online communication
methods or techniques (Peggs, 2013 and Ritchie, 2014).
Advantages of Observation
1. It uses simple data collection technique and data recording method.
2. It is inclined to realizing its objectives because it just depends on watching
and listening to the subjects without experiencing worries as to whether or not
the people will say yes or no to your observation activities.
3. It offers fresh and firsthand knowledge that will help you come out with an
easy understanding and deep reflection of the data.
4. It is a quiet valuable in research studies about organizations that consider you,
the researcher, a part of such entity.
Disadvantages of Observation
1. It requires a long time for planning.
2. Engrossed in participating in the subjects’ activities, you may eclipse or
neglect the primary role of the research.
3. It is prone to your hearing derogatory statements from some people in the
group that will lead to your biased stand toward other group members.

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Lesson 2: Interview
Definition
In research, interview is a data gathering technique that makes you verbally
ask the subjects or respondents questions to give answers to what your research
study is trying to look for. Done mostly in qualitative research studies, interview
aims at knowing what the respondents think and feel about the topic of your
research.
Traditionally, viewed, this data gathering technique occurs between you, the
researcher and your respondents in a face-to-face situation. In this case, you speak
directly with your respondent, individually or collectively. On the other hand, by
using electronic or technological communication devices like the Internet, mobile
phones, e-mail, etc., interview can be considered as a modern tool of research. All
in all, be it a traditional or a modern type of interview, ‘it is a conversation with a
purpose” that gives direction to the question-answer activity between the
interviewer and the interviewee (Babbie, 2014, 137 and Rubin, 2011).
Types of Interview
1. Structured Interview
This is an interview that requires the use of an interview schedule or a
list of questions answerable with one or only item from a set of alternative
responses. Choosing one answer from the given set of answers, the
respondents are barred from giving answers that reflect from their own
thinking or emotions about the topic. You, the researcher, are completely
pegged at the interview schedule or prepared list of questions.
2. Unstructured Interview
In this type of interview, the respondents answer the questions based
on what they personally think and feel about it. There are no suggested
answers. They purely depend on the respondents’ decision-making skills,
giving them opportunity to think critically about the question.
3. Semi-Structured Interview
The characteristics of the first two types are found in the third type of
interview called semi-structured interview. Here, you prepare a schedule or a
list of questions that is accompanied by a list of expressions from where the
respondents can pick out the correct answer. However, after choosing one
from the suggested answers, the respondents answers another set of
questions to make them explain the reasons behind their choices. Allowing
freedom for you to change the questions and for the respondents to think of
their own answers, this semi-structured interview is a flexible and an
organized type of interview (Rubin, 2012 and Bernard, 2013).

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Interview Approaches
1. Individual Interview
Only one respondent is interviewed here. The reason behind this one-
on-one interview is the lack of trust the interviewees have among themselves.
One example of this is the refusal of one interviewee to let other interviewees
get a notion of or hear his or her responses to the questions. Hence, he or she
prefers to have an individual interview separate from the rest. This is a time-
consuming type of interview because you have to interview a group of
interviewees one by one.
2. Group Interview
In this interview approaches, you ask the question not to one person,
but to a group of people of the same time. The group members take turns in
answering the question. This approach is often used in the field of business,
specifically in marketing research. A researcher in this field, whose primary
aim in adhering to this interview approach is to know people’s food
preferences and consumer opinions; they also call this as focus group
interview. The chances of having some respondents getting influenced by the
other group members are on downside of this interview approach (Denzin,
2013 and Feinberd, 2013).
3. Mediated Interview
No face-to-face interview is true for this interview approach because
this takes place through electronic communication devices such as
telephones, mobile phones, e-mail, among others. Though mediated
interview disregard non-verbal communication (e.g., bodily movement,
gestures, facial expressions, feelings, eye contact, etc.) many, nonetheless,
consider this better because of the big number of respondents it is capable of
reaching despite the cost, distance and human disabilities affecting the
interview.
It is a synchronous mediated interview if you talk with the subjects
through the telephone, mobile phone or online chat and also find time to see
each other. It is asynchronous if only two persons are interviewed at different
time through the Internet, email, Faceboook, Twitter and other social network
media (Goodwin, 2014 and Barbour, 2014).
Steps in Conducting an Interview
▪ Step 1: Getting to Know Each Other
The interview starts from the time you, the interviewer and your
respondents see each other at the place of interview, that is, if this is a
traditional interview. Naturally, seeing each other to establish friendship and
a relaxed mood for both of you. Although, in some cases, the place is your
respondent’s residence, you have to show signs of appreciation and respect
for the chosen venue of the interview. Your warm acknowledgment for each

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other must lead you to discussing several aspects of the interview such as
where you have to do it, how comfortable both of you should be and how long
should the question-and-answer activity be.
▪ Step 2: Having an Idea of the Research
This second step requires you to tell the respondents about the nature
of the interview – its purpose, importance, scope and so on. Telling them of
these salient features of the activity enables them to anticipate not only the
kind of questions they will get to face, but also the appropriate answers they
will give. Things pertaining to the confidential treatment of responses are also
tackled in this second step of interview. It is also in this period when you have
to stress the idea to the respondents that the interview is for you to know and
hear their own views and to let them express their own understanding of the
topic of the question in their own words.
▪ Step 3: Starting the Interview
You open this step with a question to encourage the respondent to talk
about himself or herself, including his or her age, family, current activities
and other things you think appear special or interesting to him or her.
Following these self-introduction questions are questions on the subject’s
thoughts, attitudes or performance of his or her job or any current work
assignment. The respondent’s answers do not only help you get some clues
on his or her ways or techniques of responding to interview questions, but
also give you hints on the right ways to ask your subjects the questions that
will elicit the right data for your research.
▪ Step 4: Conducting the Interview Proper
Interview question in this step are on the interviewee’s open and
extensive talking of things related to the research theme or research
questions and on those anticipated by him/her or emanating from his/her
explanations, descriptions or narrations of things. Open or unstructured
questions asked in this step of the interview aim at investigating the
respondent’s interests and eliciting substantial or profuse responses to
questions. In asking a battery of questions, you see to it that you stick to the
main point of your study, to the proper phrasing of questions and to the
sufficient time allotment for answering each question.
List down on a piece of paper all questions you plan to ask your
respondent and call this list of prepared questions schedule. This helps you
construct or phrase your questions properly and enables you to foretell to
make changes on the questions to adjust them to some inevitable
circumstances caused by the respondent’s human nature. Lastly, this step of
the interview, where you ask a number of questions in relation to your
research problem is your time to determine how you should label the
responses with codes and present them with a certain style like graphical or
narrative presentation technique.

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▪ Step 5: Putting an End to the Interview
Signs of the approaching end of the interview work to alert the
respondent in winding up with his or her talking. For instance, using words
expressing your decision, wish or attempt to ask the very last question serve
as a clue for the respondent to think that the interview is nearing its end. This
step also reminds you of your responsibility to let the respondent be free in
airing whatever doubts or questions he or she has about the research design,
method, interview, time and other aspects of the interview.
▪ Step 6: Pondering Over Interview Afterthoughts
This last step of the interview gives the respondent the opportunity to
ask questions about the interview activity and let him or her have an idea
about what will happen next to the interview results (Denzin, 2013; Bernard,
2013 and Rubbin, 2012).
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a paper containing a list of questions including the specific
place and space in the paper where you write the answers to the questions. This
prepared set of questions elicits factual or opinionated answers from the
respondent’s through his or her acts of checking one chosen answer from several
options or of writing on a line provided for any opinionated answer (Babbie, 2013).
Purposes of a Questionnaire
1. To discover people’s thoughts and feelings about the topic of the research.
2. To assist you in conducting an effective face-to-face interview with your
respondents.
3. To help you plan how to obtain and record the answers to your questions.
4. To make the analysis, recording and coding of data easier and faster.
Types of Questionnaire
1. Postal Questionnaire
As the name connotes, this type of questionnaire goes to the
respondent through postal service or electronic mail. It is through the mail or
postal system that the accomplished questionnaires will be sent back to the
researchers. In some cases, the researcher can personally collect finished
questionnaires.
2. Self-Administered Questionnaire
This kind of questionnaire makes you act as the interviewer and the
interviewee at the same time. First, you ask the questions either in person or
through phone and then you will be writing the interviewee’s answers on a
piece of paper. A questionnaire like this fits a structured kind of interview
(Barbour, 2014).

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Advantages and Disadvantages of a Questionnaire
Coming from the references listed at the last part of this book are the
following paraphrased advantages and disadvantages of using a questionnaire:
Advantages
1. It is cheap as it does not require you to travel to hand the questionnaires to a
big number of respondents in faraway places.
2. It entails an easy distribution to respondents.
3. It offers more opportunity for the respondents to ponder on their responses.
4. It enables easy comparison of answers because of a certain degree of
uniformity among the questions.
5. It has the capacity to elicit spontaneous or genuine answers from the
respondents.
Disadvantages
1. There is a possibility that some questions you distributed do not go back to
you and this prevents you from getting the desired rate of response.
2. Confusing and uninteresting questions to respondents fail to elicit the desired
responses.
3. Owing to individual differences between the selected subjects and those in
the population, in general, the questionnaire is hard up in obtaining unbiased
results to represent the characteristics of the target population.
4. It prevents you from being with the respondents physically to help them
unlock some difficulties in their understanding of the questions.
Prepared by:
MICHAEL T. ARDIZONE, LPT, MAEd
Teacher II