The document discusses various methods of primary data collection including observation, surveys, interviews and questionnaires. It provides details on each method, such as observational methods involving non-verbal analysis and linguistic analysis. Questionnaire design is also covered, noting the different types of closed-ended, open-ended and mixed questionnaires. Key steps in designing a questionnaire include deciding what information is needed, formulating question types, wording, and pre-testing the questionnaire. Secondary data sources and their characteristics are also briefly mentioned.

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14MBA23 – Research Methods
Module 4 – Research Methods
Syllabus – V T University – MBA 2nd Sem
Data Collection: Primary and Secondary data , Primary data
collection methods - Observations, survey, Interview and
Questionnaire, Qualitative Techniques of data collection.
Questionnaire design – Meaning - process of designing questionnaire.
Secondary data -Sources – advantages and disadvantages.
Measurement and Scaling Techniques: Basic measurement scales-
Nominal scale, Ordinal scale, Interval scale, Ratio scale. Attitude
measurement scale - Likert‟s Scale, Semantic Differential Scale,
Thurstone scale, Multi-Dimensional Scaling

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Data Collection and Measurement and
Scaling Techniques:
To Discuss
Is „Data and Information‟ has any difference and
if so WHAT????‟.
“Information makes Data
or
Data Makes information”
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Data Collection and Measurement and
Scaling Techniques:
Data are raw facts and statistics, which are in unorganized form
referred or represented by alphabets, numbers, or ideas or objects
While, Information, is the organized facts and statistics which was
ones a ‘Data’ and the same is used in organized manner which is
‘information’.
Example: 1. We say, the study was based on the data provided (its wrong to
say, based on the information) and the same data after analyzing it‟s „information‟.
2. Your „PC has lots of data‟ and it‟s not lots of information.
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Characteristics of Data:
1. Data are aggregate of facts. (Aggregate are the collective score or
amount made from several small groups)
2. Data is the collective of several controllable and uncontrollable
factors,
3. Data collection can be in structured and/ or unstructured method,
4. Data is collected in a systematic manner, for a predetermined
objective,
5. Data is related, comparable to one with other to yield, (Relationship
between the variables)
6. Data can be collected in quantitative or qualitative manner,
7. Data collected with quantitative techniques can yield reliable results. 4

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Sources of Data Collection: Data can be collected in
two basic sources:
1. Primary Data: Primary Data are the data which are preliminary,
collected personally, directly and it‟s a first hand report, for a specific
purpose of study/ objective, while
2. Secondary Data: Secondary Data are the data which were already
available in the form of text, audio or video are referred as
Secondary.
3. Tertiary Data: Tertiary Data are interpretation of the secondary Data.
These are data referred from where the secondary data was created.
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Sources of Data Collection: Data can be collected in
two basic sources:
1. Examples for Primary Data: Interview, Observation, focus
interview, Direct Video Shooting, performing experiment
in a laboratory and so on.
2. Secondary Data: Journals, Magazines, Posters,
Newspapers, Books, Publications, Reports of the firm sent
to the government and so on…
3. Tertiary Data: Bibliography, Dictionary , Directory,
Handbooks and so on…
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Features of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
1. Primary Sources of Data Collection:
i) Primary Sources are collected for the first time,
ii) Primary Sources may or may not be quantitative,
iii) Primary Sources is based on specific objective,
iv) Primary Sources include, Observation,
Questionnaire Methods.
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Features of Secondary Sources of Data Collection:
1. Secondary Sources of Data Collection:
i) Secondary Data are not original,
ii) Secondary Data include published Journals of the
Government or Government Bodies, Firms so on..
iii) Secondary Data may or may not be specific to
the researcher matching with the researcher‟s
objective,
iv) Secondary Data usually is statistically based.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
a) Observational Method,
b) Direct Personal Interview Method,
c) Indirect Personal Interview Method,
d) Information from correspondents,
e) Questionnaire methods,
f) Schedule Methods.
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Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
a) Observational Method: Observation Method is considered as a
scientific method of collection of data. This method is performed
without asking questions to the respondents, by observing the
natural behavior of the respondent/ environment. It is performed
with systematically planned and executed, using proper control
and to provide a valid and reliable information.
This method can be performed in a structured or unstructured manner.
But the vital role is on observation and validity of the information
collected.
TYPES OF OBSERVATION can include, NON VERBAL
ANALYSIS, LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS AND SO ON….
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Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
The Observational Method types will include,
i) Type of activity under observation: (Verbal, Non Verbal, Linguistic and so on)
ii) Directness of the observation: (Observation can be Direct or indirect
observations),
iii) Concealment: (It’s the act of Hiding certain issues of the respondent)
iv) Participation: (Participant Observation means the presence of the observer and his
involvement is seen in research setting),
v) Definiteness of structure: (The definiteness of structure means the observation can
be a structured or unstructured one, if a structured one it shall have a definite structure
in observation, its recordings, extent of accuracy required and So on)
vi) Extent of control: (This states that the observation can be done in a controlled and
uncontrolled settings)
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Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection: The
merits and demerits of Observational Method include:
MERITS: It‟s a common method, Simple, Realistic, Helps to
formulate the Hypothesis, and has greater reliability.,
DEMERITS: It includes, certain objects cannot be observed
(Attitude, Emotions), Illusory Observations (What we see
may not be true as we see in our own perception), Slow in
investigations, Expensive Methodology, May be inadequate,
the results are usually subjective than objective.
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Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
b) Direct Personal Interview Method: This method is otherwise
called as the „Face to Face Contact‟.
This include face to face, or/ and telephonic interview with
respondents. This is a very popular method.
i) This is a very expensive method of data collection,
ii) There is a greater chance of bias responses, and
iii) This requires the interviewer need to be trained to collect the
relevant responses required for the research.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
c) Indirect Personal Interview Method: This is a very popular
method and is also called as „Indirect Oral Interview‟.
The correctness of this method depends on several factors:
i) This observation may with a pre-planned objective,
ii) There is possibilities of Bribe/ Nepotism (Use of power to get
the responses).,
iii) There are also more possibilities of Bias/ unrealistic data
collection.
In brief, the success of this method relies on both the observer and the
respondent, as both need to be reliable for final conclusion. 14

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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
d) Information from correspondents: Correspondents are the various
agents appointed by the researcher/ agent, to gather information
from different places required for the study. The correspondents
collect the data and is been forwarded to the agent/ researcher who
consolidates the same for arriving at conclusions.
Examples for such data collections takes places during elections,
communal clashes, strikes, event of an accidents and so on
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Questionnaire methods,: This is one of the most popular method
and is used by almost all the researchers. Here if the questions are
formularized and the collection of data is systematic it is called as
Scheduled Questionnaire Method.
Here in the questionnaire method, the respondent need to select the
best option, if it is an Closed Ended Questionnaire or need to
express his views in a descriptive method which is called as the
Open Ended Questionnaire. These can also be in a Mixed form,
which will include the Closed Ended Questions and the Open
Ended Questions.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Questionnaire methods,: The Closed Ended Questionnaire are
otherwise called as the Structured Questionnaire,
The Open Ended Questionnaire are also called as the Unstructured
Questionnaire.,
And the mixture of both Closed Ended Questions and the Open Ended
Questions are called as the Mixed Questionnaire.
In Questionnaire method, the researcher need to draft the questionnaire
in simple words which are easy to understand, time for collection
of data too matters, analyzing the data is also a task also to get the
right respondent.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Questionnaire methods,: This method‟s merits include:
i) Widely used and reliable,
ii) Economical and requires less administrative skills,
iii) Simple and uniform,
iv) Less errors and time savings,
The demerits include on selecting the right respondent, time, language
barriers, scientific analyze and so on.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,: A Questionnaire is a set of questions
pertaining to the issue or progress , to study on the opinion of
people. Ex: Opinion Polls.
Designing a questionnaire: There are 4 basic steps in Designing a
Questionnaire,
STEP 1: Deciding the information to be collected,
STEP 2: Formulating the questions, (OEQ or CEQ or Mixed)
STEP 3: Decide on wordings and design of the questions,
STEP 4: Pre-Testing (Pilot Test) the questionnaire
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,:
STEP 1: Deciding the information to be collected,: This would be
based on the „objective of the study‟, Hypothesis framed and
Variables to be explored.
Experience with similar Studies: Literature Review,
Pretesting: Pilot Test
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,:
STEP 2: Formulating the questions: The questions should be as
follows:
i) OED, CEQ or Mixed Questionnaire,
ii) ii) Dichotomous Questions: Two alternatives therefore the
respondents, can select their answers,
iii) iii) MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions, Likert Scaling),
iv) iv) Checklist Questions (Selection of time and space for asking
questions),
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,:
STEP 2: Formulating the questions: The questions should be as
follows:
v) Ranking Questions: Ranking from 1 to 5 etc,
vi) Positively and Negatively worded questions (Two extremes),
vii) vii) Avoid Double Barrel Questions (One question having 2
answers),
viii) Ambiguous Questions (Ex: Ranking sentimental issues makes
respondent to get confused),
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,:
STEP 2: Formulating the questions: The questions should be as
follows:
ix) Memory Related Questions (Recalling the memory may be
difficult)
x) Over loaded Questions (One question, too lengthy and more
questions in one question)
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,:
STEP 3: Decide on wordings and design of the questions,: The
wordings and design need to be SIMPLE, DIRECT,
UNPERSONAL, NOT DOUBLE BARREL, OVER LOADED
QUESTIONS OR AMBIGUITY QUESTIONS.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
e) Designing a Questionnaire,:
STEP 4: Pre-Testing (Pilot Test) the questionnaire: Questionnaire can
be asked to your classmate, researcher, to test the questionnaire is
drafted in a chronological manner.
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
f) Schedule Methods: (Already basic points are been discussed in the
questionnaire method)
Schedule Method depends on four schedules
i) Rating Schedule (Rate the attitude, preferences, and opinion),
ii) Interview Schedule: (Organized questionnaire in a platform),
iii) Document Schedule (Based on scripts autography or diary),
iv) Observation Schedule. (Recoding activities)
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Data Collection:
Methods of Primary Sources of Data Collection:
f) Schedule Methods Characteristics: The characteristics of
Scheduled method help the researcher, as follows:
i) The communication is accurate.,
ii) The questionnaire is chronologically arranged, having a
continued link, from one question to the other.,
iii) The questions are also suggestive (more specific) to
encourage the researcher for getting the right/ correct response for
each question asked.
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Data Collection:
2) SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA: There are two
basic types of secondary sources of data:
i) Published Sources,
ii) Unpublished Sources.,
Published sources include, all those data/ statistical data available for
public view by the local government, state government, union
government, international institutions, universities, firms and so on.
Unpublished sources include, those data/ statistical figures which are
available by the above mentioned offices but are not been published.
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Data Collection:
2) SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA:
Examples for Primary Sources, include Journals, Newspapers, Books,
Magazines, Bulletin, Annual reports of firms, Government,
International bodies and so on..,
Examples for Secondary Sources include, data/ statistical data which are
yet to be submitted to appropriate authorities for to get it registered or
scholars/ intellectuals, research findings/ papers yet to be submitted to
the universities/ institutions.
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Data Collection:
2) Precautions in Secondary Source: Secondary sources
are those data, which are already been published and it is required that
the researcher need to identify the genuineness of the data, before he
actually implements the same. Hence there are certain precautions to
be taken by the researcher.
The precautions include: a) Suitability of data for his research, b)
Accuracy of data for his research, and c) Reliability of data for the
research.
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Data Collection:
SURVEY: Survey is a research technique in which information is
gathered from a given sample using a questionnaire, through
personal discussion, or by post/ mail, or by telephone. It is the
method of gathering primary information based on
communication with the representative sample of individuals.
Respondent: A respondent is one, who is asked questions to be
answered. These questions may be verbal or in written form.
Sample Survey: A sample survey is the purpose of contacting
respondents to obtain a representative sample of a target
population.
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Data Collection: The Steps in Survey include: Every
researcher who select „Survey Method‟ performs the following 6
steps:
i) Develop Hypothesis; Decide on Type of Survey – By Face to face
questionnaire, or by Mail, or by telephone and decide on response
categories, design and so on.
ii) Plan how to record data, Pilot test survey instrument,
iii) Decide on Target Population, Sampling frame, Sampling Size,
iv) Locate the respondents and carefully collect and record the data,
v) Enter data in the systems, and perform Data Analysis,
vi) Describe the methods and findings in research reports.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
i) Scaling based on Subject Orientation.,
ii) Scaling based on Response form.,
iii) Scaling based on Subjectivity.,
iv) Scaling based on Properties.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
i) Scaling based on Subject Orientation.,
This scaling is based on the subject or respondent‟s
characteristics.,
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
ii) Scaling based on Response form.,
This scaling is scaled on the questionnaire, where the
respondent can respond as per rating - Categorically or
comparatively. In categorized the respondent responds on
rating scale, while in comparative, they respond on
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
iii) Scaling based on Subjectivity.,
These scaling are based on the respondents personal
choice and personal preferences.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
iv) Scaling based on Properties.
This is based on scaling on mathematical properties like
Nominal,
Ordinal,
Interval and
Ratio Scaling.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
iv) Scaling based on Properties.
This is based on scaling on mathematical properties like
(a) Nominal Scaling:, It‟s the weakest form of scaling, it
states ATTRIBUTES CAN ONLY BE NAMED. Ex:
Lables, Brand Name….
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
iv) Scaling based on Properties.
This is based on scaling on mathematical properties like
(b) Ordinal Scaling:, This scale states, that ATTRIBUTES
CAN BE ORDERED, Ex: First, Fifth, Tenth and so on
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
iv) Scaling based on Properties.
This is based on scaling on mathematical properties like
(c) Interval Scaling:, This states “DISTANCE IS MEANINGFUL”. Its also
called as RATING SCALE. Ex: Rating a object or person, event, INTERVAL
SCALING IS ALSO DONE BY RESEARCHERS WHO USE NOMINAL AND
ORDINAL SCALING.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Basis of scaling/ measurement :
iv) Scaling based on Properties.
This is based on scaling on mathematical properties like
(d) Ratio Scaling: This scaling states, ABSOLUTE ZERO,
as its error free, absolute, unique, accurate. Ex: 1:2, 2:10 and
so on…
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Attitude measurement scale –
a. Likert‟s Scale,
b. Semantic Differential Scale,
c. Thurstone scale,
d. Multi-Dimensional Scaling
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Attitude measurement scale –
a. Likert‟s Scale, : Developed by a American Psychologist, Rensis
Likert (1932). This scale is also called as Summated Scale (Summate
means „Something‟). Likert scale is scale to represent people’s
attitude. Likert‟s scale is also called as Psychometric scale (Show a
photo, Image and know their attitude). The attitudes are measured by
5 point scale like Strongly Approve, Approve, Undecided,
Disapprove and Strongly Disapprove.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Attitude measurement scale –
a. Semantic Differential Scale,: Developed by Charles E
Good and P H Taneenbumn – 1957. It measures Good Vs
Bad, Best Vs Worst, True Vs False….. +2, +1, 0, -1, -2 (5
Points Scaling). Its also called as S D Scale (Semantic
Differential Scale). Semantic means Describe things with
meaning of ‘Words or Sentences‟.
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Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Attitude measurement scale –
a. Thurstone scale,: Louis Leon Thurstone (1928), formed
this technique to measure „Attitude Towards Religion‟.
The measuring scale is usually, Agree or Disagree. It was
time consuming, accuracy was not relevant, and attitude
selection was generally the median, as it had more
disadvantages than advantages.
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46. 14MBA23 – RM – M4
Data Collection and Measurement and Scaling
Techniques:
MEASUREMENT AND SCALLING: Measurement and
scaling can be qualitative or quantitative.
Attitude measurement scale –
a. Multi-Dimensional Scaling: This MDS (Multi
Dimensional Scaling) is a computer based techniques, with
a multi dimensional space, based on one and more
respondents towards an object. This is used for the study of
Market Segmentation, Product life cycle, Advertisement
effectiveness, Products performance evaluation and so on…
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14MBA23 – Research Methods
End of Module 4
Sanjeev Kumar Singh
MBA Department,
V T University,
Please drop in your suggestions
Mob: +91 91640 76660,
Email: harsubhmys@yahoo.co.in