DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES

1 P V Gopinadhan
Parameswaran M
Miji cherian
TOPICS COVERED

 Non sampling errors

 Reliability and validity

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ERRORS IN DATA COLLECTION
PROCEDURES

 Sampling errors- errors are statistical errors

arising out of drawing inferences from sample to
population

 Non-sampling errors- cover all errors other than

those due to sampling a subset of the population

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TYPES OF NON-SAMPLING ERRORS
Non-sampling errors can be of various types
 Coverage (or Frame) errors
 Non-response errors
 Measurement errors
 Data handling errors
* first more often applies to sample surveys, while the
last three apply to both surveys and censuses.

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1 COVERAGE (FRAME) ERRORS
In surveys, the sample is selected from a list, i.e. a
sampling frame, of all population members.
An inadequate frame leads to coverage errors. Often can
have either
 under-coverage (missing elements), or
 over-coverage (duplicates)

Both lead to biased results.

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MINIMISING FRAME ERRORS
For under-coverage, consider re-defining the population,
i.e. the target population is simply considered as the
population which can be accessed by the frame.
For duplicates, develop a system to identify the
duplicates, e.g. by using additional information on the
recording unit.
Both under & over-coverage are minimised by using up-to-
date frames

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2 NON-RESPONSE ERRORS
Non-response errors are all errors arising from:
 Unit non-response, i.e. failure to obtain information
from a pre-chosen sampling unit or population unit

 Item non-response, i.e. failure to get a response to a

specific question or item in the data recording form.

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3 MEASUREMENT ERRORS
Measurement errors arise when the recorded
response differs from the true value.
They can occur for a variety of reasons, e.g.
 by respondent (e.g. heads of households) giving an
incorrect answer
 because of instrument or question error
 by interviewer error.
Further, errors may be greater for some sub-groups
population, e.g. those less literate, or those unwilling to
co-operate.

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Respondent errors arise for many reasons e.g.
 respondent gives an incorrect answer, e.g. due to
prestige or competence implications, or due to
sensitivity or social undesirability of question
 respondent misunderstands the requirements
 lack of motivation to give an accurate answer
 “lazy” respondent gives an “average” answer
 question requires memory/recall
 proxy respondents are used, i.e. taking answers from
someone other than the respondent.

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Instrument/question errors arise when

 The question is unclear, ambiguous or difficult to

answer
 the list of possible answers suggested in the
recording instrument is incomplete
 the definitions used by the survey are different
from those used by the respondent

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Interviewer errors arise when
 different interviewers administer a survey in
different ways
 differences occur in reactions of respondents to
different interviewers, e.g. to interviewers of their
own sex or own ethnic group
 inadequate training of interviewers
 inadequate attention to the selection of
interviewers
 there is too high a workload for the interviewer

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4 DATA HANDLING ERRORS
Data handling errors can occur from the stage of data
collection up to the final stages of data analysis. Types of
errors that can arise include:-
 errors in transmission of data from the field to
the office
 errors in preparing the data in a suitable format
for computerisation, e.g. during coding of
qualitative answers
 errors in computerisation of the data
 errors during data analysis, e.g. imputation and
weighting.

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 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
OF
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES

 Validity and reliability in data collection

procedures relates not only to Accuracy in the
data items that are measured but its accuracy
with respect to the purpose for which it was
collected.
 There are several methods to check the validity
consistency and stability of measurements and
procedures

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INTERVIEWS

 Establishment of rapport -Status and origin of

respondent
 Women and younger people – elicits better

 Experience of interviewer – skills

 Carefully designed structures

 Judgment of experts

 Restating and repeating – consistency ,reliability

 Interview bias

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OBSERVATION

 Significant incidence of behaviour

 Skill of researcher supplemented by experts

 Researchers see what they expect – distorts

observation
 Independent observer

 Joint observation

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QUESTIONNAIRE

 Ask the right questions

 Phrase them in the least ambigous manner

 Clearly define the important terms

 Rate the content validity

 Obtain predictive validation

 Administer the questionnaire twice

 Consult experts

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SUMMARY

 Data Collection Procedures

1.Primary data
observation
interviews
questionnaires
Projective techniques
2.Secondary data
3.Non sampling Errors
4. Validity and reliability
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 REFERENCES
Management research methodology K.N.Krishnaswamy,A I
Sivakumar and M .Mathirajan
Research methodology ,C.R Kothari and G.Garg

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