Types of tool in data collection

Types of tool

Questionnaire or Interview Schedule

INTRODUCTION

Questionnaire and interviews are probably the most frequently used data collection methods in nursing research.

The questioning method for data collection is a method in which the researcher obtains her data by posing a verbal question for the respondent

One of the sources of data is subject himself or herself when the data collection procedure requires self-reporting through some form of questioning either a questionnaire or an interview schedule can be used for the same.

DEFINATION:

Questionnaire is a paper and pencil, self reporting instrument can be used to measure knowledge levels, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, ideas, feelings and perceptions, as well as gather factual information about the respondents.

Questionnaire is the most common research instrument and is comprised a series of questions that are answered by all the participants in a sample.

Interview Schedule: Interview schedule, in a sense is an oral questionnaires. Here researcher (interview\ver.) orally asks questions to the participant (or interviewee) in the study, either in face to face meeting or over the telephone/ video recording.

ELEMENTS OF A QUESTIONING METHOD

In using questioning method, there are three elements to consider:

·      Content of questioning.

·      The question which can be defined as the verbal stimulus to which the respondent will be exposed.

·      Provision for answering, which refers to the response the respondent will be expected.

1)   Content of questioning: The researcher must decide what to ask?, who are the sample?, for selecting content of questioning. It is useful to fully develop blueprint of various aspects of the situation about which question must be asked. Identification of all possible areas for questioning and proportional allocation of time must be done. Selection of content should be based not only upon researcher's knowledge of research situation but upon the literature in the problem area as well. Therefore, in developing the blueprint, literature reviewed should be both the research and non -research.

2)   The question: The heart of the questioning method and its most significant element is the question itself. For research purpose the question must be clear to the' respondent. For a clear question to serve an effective stimulus must have following characteristics:

            I.            Clarity of language: This means that the researcher' must relate the vocabulary, language, structure, conceptual level and ‘sophistication of the Information subsumed in her question to the ability and background of her respondent.

         II.            Singleness of purpose: This characteristic is intended to assure that each  question seeks one and only one piece or bit of information. A frequent error in questioning is to seek more than one piece of information. For example, researcher wants to get an opinion about quality/satisfaction of hospital care and frequency of visit to hospital. Posed correctly these are two separate questions the first dealing with quality/satisfaction of hospital care, the second question dealing with frequency of visit to hospital

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      III.            Freedom from suggestions: There should be nothing in language of the question which suggest to the respondents that some answers are expected or some are more desirable or acceptable than others.

      IV.            Linguistic completeness and grammatical consistency: There are two different aspects to developing questions of linguistic quality-making certain that the question unit provides a complete cue to the linguistic nature of response and writing questions in such a way that the answer desired is grammatically consistent with the question.

3)   Provision for Answering

There are two major types of responses to research question. One is free-response type in which the researcher asks the questions and gives freedom to respondent to answer. The second is the structured type in which researcher both asks the questions and suggests some alternative answers. There are obvious research implications in both the types of answering the questions. The researcher has to decide according to objectives of research study.

TECHNIQUES OF QUESTIONING METHODS

                                                                                    

1.    Paper and Pencil Technique: The most familiar single research technique is questionnaire, a series of printed questions given to respondent to be answered. Either structured or unstructured questions can be used but since researcher is generally not present when the respondent completes the questionnaire, a premium is placed upon clarity and specificity. One key advantage is that researcher is able to assume that her respondent will give - free and frank responses. It can also be given to large sample.                       

2.  Face to Face Technique: In contrast to paper and pencil testing is interview in which researcher poses series of question to respondent in a face to face verbal interaction.  

TYPES AND STRUCTURE:

The design of a useful schedule normally involves extensive planning, Consultation with colleagues and experts, pretesting and revising. Some of the major considerations that to be kept in mind when constructing a questionnaire and or interview schedule are:

i) Form of Schedule

Schedules vary in extent to which they are structured. These can be structured, semi-structured, unstructured. Majority of the interview schedule and questionnaire fall in between these two extremes of rigid standardization (structured) and total absence of structure (unstructured)

ii) Form of Question

Review the forms of question which could be close-ended, open-ended and partially close-ended questions.

iii)Question Content

The content of questions will naturally be guided by the films and needs of the researcher. Direct questioning is particularly useful for obtaining information on knowledge, beliefs And  practices. In. deciding on the question content, the researcher should not lose sight of initial goals and objectives of the project, as it is not uncommon to have a schedule get out- of-hand in terms of its length, coverage and complexity.

iv) Question Wording

Number of considerations that should be borne. in mind are :

·         Clarity

·         Ability of respondents to reply

·         Bias

Handling sensitive or .personal information (will be dealt in detail in the section on writing good questions)

 v) Consideration for Responses

Few general considerations to be kept in mind are:

a)Coverage of ·alternatives.:- responses should adequately encompass all of  significant alternatives

b)   Ordering responses- There should be some underlying rational for the ordering which alternatives are presented to the respondents.

c)Response Length- The response alternatives should not be too lengthy since It IS inefficient and cumbersome for the subjects to read detailed replies.

vi) Organization

In organization of the schedule the researcher must plan on the questioning sequence (order of questions) and the schedule format.

Question Sequence (Order):

     Some thoughts should be given to the sequencing of the questions so as to arrive at an order that is psychologically meaningful to the response and encourages them to answer all questions. The order in which questions are asked affect the responses as well as the overall data collection activity. Responses given by subjects will tend to be more accurate and representative of the sample when certain principles are followed:

·Every item in a questionnaire should relate to the topic under study.

·Items should be organized into units.

·         General questions should lead to specific ones_

·         One questions should not influence the other.

·         Personal background information' such as age, educational level, marital status etc. usually included in the questionnaire either in the beginning or end.

    Schedule Format (Lay-out): The way a questionnaire/interview schedule is laid may affect response rate and the accuracy of the responses given. Formats that  are easy to fit

PARTS OF A QUESTIONNAIRE OR INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

A questionnaire or an interview schedule contain the following parts:

a)      Introduction and  Instructions:

Questionnaire/interview schedules are not complete without an introduction. Subject have the right to know the purpose of the study and why they are being questioned. Each schedule must be prefaced by some introductory comments regarding the purpose of the study. For self-administered questionnaires, it is also essential incorporate clear instructions on the schedule itself, indicating how the respondent to answer questions. Directions for completion of items should be efficient and unambiguous so that respondents understand what the researcher wants. Interview schedules require directions for the interviewer completing the· form. Confidential and anonymity should be assured.

b)     Personal data information contains items such as age, sex, education, etc.

c)      Background  data include items such as family income, father’s occupation, living environment, etc.

d)     Content  areas may cover knowledge, opinion, belief, attitude, practices, etc

e)      End with an acknowledgment for the participation, e.g. “thank you”

STEPS DEVELOPING A QUESTIONNAIRE OR INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

a)      Preliminary Decisions:

Decide on the form that the schedule will take e.g. structured, unstructured, semi -structured.

Decide on type of information that needs to be collected.

List and operationally define the variables.

Develop pattern of coding and recording.

b)      Drafting the Schedule:

Wording of each question needs to be carefully monitored.

Decide how to sequence the questions.

c)      Revising and Pretesting:

Draft of the instrument should be critically discussed by experts both who are knowledgeable about the topic under study as well as those who are capable of detecting technical difficulties to develop content validity.

A pretest of an instrument is a trial run to determine, in so far as' possible,

its clarity, research adequacy and freedom from bias. Pretest should be administered to individuals who are similar in attributes to those who will participate in actual study.

A pretest does not obtain information on the reliability of the responses of t9-e questions asked.

Establishing the Reliability of the Instrument

Reliability coefficient is estimated statistically and is usually assessed by 1) examining the internal consistency. by test-retest method, split-half method or by Kudar-Richardson formula, and (2) repeated administration of questionnaire on two or more occasions.

d)     Translation of Tool (if required):

Translate the tool from English to any other language concerned. One of  the way adopted to establish reliability is to translate it back to English language to examine the correctness of first question.

e)      Coding'

Coding is an important part of questionnaire development. It helps in processing data. All items are stated in such a way that some classification of answers is possible, e.g. "Yes" is coded as [I] and 'No" as [2] and the respondent is asked to enter [I] or [2] for yes or no answer.

By coding responses may be conveniently punched into computer or tallied by hand.

f)       Plan for Scoring:

It is essential to plan the scoring technique in Qrder to examine the type of data and the possible statistical computation. Ultimately the choice of question type would depend largely up to the subject matter of the study, verbal ability of respondents and amount of time available

WRITING GOOD QUESTIONS

a)      Use the words that are simple, direct and familiar to all; select the words of questions according to your respondents' understanding.

b)     Question should be as clear and specific as possible.

c)      Define or qualify the term that can easily be misinterpreted.

d)     Avoid double barrelled questions

e)      Beware of double negatives. 

f)       Underline a word if you wish to indicate special emphasis

g)      . Avoid questions that are leading or suggest the answer that is expected

h)     Be sure that the alternatives are enough and appropriate for the intended respondent.

i)        Problem Words: Some words present problems because they are confusing; one of these is "you". For example, "How many patients did you care for last week?" Instead write "What was the nurse-patient ratio in medical ward on Monday last?”

j)       Characteristics of a Good Questionnaire/Interview Schedule.

·         Deals with matter that is significant to the topic under study.

·         Seeks information which cannot be obtained from other sources e.g. school reports.

·         Is as short as possible, i.e. only long enough to get essential data. A questionnaire should not take more than 20-25 minutes and an interview not more than one hour to complete.

·         Should be attractive in appearance neatly arranged clearly duplicated or printed.

·         Directions are clear, and complete, important terms are defined.' Each item deals with a single idea, all questions are worded simply and clearly.

·         Is objective, with no leading -suggestions as to the responses described.  

·         It is easy to tabulate and interpret. It is advisable to construct "dummy tables".