subject: Research Design and Data Collection [print this page] Research Design and Data Collection Research Design and Data Collection
Data collection through internet is fast becoming popular due to vast and rapid reach of internet. It facilitates various option of instrument design, questioning format, and different sequencing options etc. Exchange of information is quick and inexpensive compared to conventional form of communications.
But there are drawbacks of collecting data online as well. Vastness of internet itself is a handicap since many people can not be located and on other hand many people still do not have access to internet. Internet suffers from major limitations when it comes to data collection and its ability to facilitate certain research design, most prominent among them are poor coverage and accessibility, technological variations, participation of ineligible cases and invalid response.
Steps that you should follow in order to do your project are discussed here. This is very important part of your project because if any mistake is made in carrying out the project; your research has the risk of turning invalid and unreliable. The process to be followed can be broken into four steps.
First is the basic task of defining your research problem by reviewing the relevant existing literature on the topic, which is used to formulate the research questions.
Second step is to establish a correct plan to ensure that the investigation is carried out. This is a research design phase and involves planning of type of research and approach that you will take for research. This is the stage where you will have to consider the reliability and validity of your project as these issues can seriously undermine your research.
Third step is about the process of collecting data and methods and research instrument you will need to consider how you are actually going to collect your data. Finally, all of this will be reported in the methodology section of your project.
It is obvious that research part of the project is very important work that you are required to do, among them mainly about designing your research, procedure of carrying it out and then reporting it. This requires you to make a number of key decisions about the method of doing research and where to find the relevant data. The resources provided in this section will help you to make these decisions.
They provide information on:
Research design principles namely the type of questions and the best way of answering, which will eventually determine the approach to be taken to the study.
Type of study like different approaches that need to be considered for carrying out research and when deciding how to collect data. The final will be fundamental to the success of the research.
Methods of data collection It is about approaches associated with particular types of data collection methods. It is important to select the right data collection method(s) that will meet the objectives of the research.
Methodological reporting so that research can be evaluated fully.
Next section is about several sources that can help you to design and carry out your research.
Introductory materials sources on research design which provide initial ideas about the ways of answering research questions. These sources cover the concepts of reliability and validity in the design of your research.
There are a few sources which highlight the basic difference between qualitative and quantitative research this will help you to make your choice of approach.
There are several sources that deal with the design and data collection strategies of qualitative research. These provide information on the type of techniques that can be used to collect data.
Alternatively, there are also several sources that consider similar issues for quantitative research.
There are sources that describe about the methodology and how it was analyzed. This is important because the method of data collection affects the results, validity and reliability of your research.
