Data Types and methods of Data collection in Research

Learn how data originate from internal and external sources, including official records and census data, and how researchers collect primary data through focus groups, observation, experiments, and sampling.

Explore categorical data with practical examples like smoking status and survey responses using yes/no and Likert-style scales (strongly disagree to strongly agree), illustrating how researchers categorize feedback.

Identify categorical data types by illustrating nominal categories like gender, marital status, and smoking status, and ordinal scales such as a 1–5 happiness rating, including binary pass/fail outcomes.

Classify quantity data as discrete by identifying gaps between possible values, illustrated by stepwise values (1–7) and counts such as the number of patients, with male and female groupings.

Examples of discrete and continuous data show height in feet and inches, age in years and months, and values that exist between whole numbers, such as between five and six.

Collect primary data through interviews, questionnaires, and door-to-door surveys while ensuring unbiased questions and awareness of local conditions and languages; use participant and non-participant observation to capture authentic responses.

Explore secondary data sources and methods for collecting them, including published articles, official records, defense publications, and institutional datasets, while assessing reliability, adequacy, and suitability for research.

The lecture outlines primary data sources like speeches, interviews, letters, memos, and autobiographies, contrasts them with secondary sources such as encyclopaedias and biographies, and discusses cost and practicality issues.

Identify an appropriate data collection method by evaluating data importers and study requirements. Align the chosen method with research goals, budget, and precision needs for valid data collection.

Explore data types and data collection methods in research by examining how media, sources, and differing methods shape interpretations and dissent in midterm election contexts.