Research Instrument and Source

of Information

by: John Clint D. Paquibut

What is Research Instrument?
-A Research Instrument is a tool used to collect,
measure, and analyze data related to your research
interests. These tools are most commonly used in
health sciences, social sciences, and education to assess
patients, clients, students, teachers, staff, etc. A
research instrument can include interviews, tests,
surveys, or checklists.
The Research Instrument is usually determined by
researcher and is tied to the study methodology.
This document offers some examples of research
instruments and study methods.
 Characteristic of a Good Research
Instrument
 The instrument must be valid and reliable
 It must be based upon the Conceptual Framework.
 It must gather data suitable for relevant to the research
topic.
 It must gather data would test the hypotheses or
answer the questions under investigation
 It should be free from all kinds of bias.
 It must be accompanied by a good cover letter.
 Types of Research Instrument
1. Interviews
-it is an interaction in which oral questions are posed by the
interviewer to elicit oral response from the interviewer.
a. Structured Interview
-The Structured Interviews are formal because, sets of questions
known as interview questionnaire are posed to each interviewer
visited and responses are recorded on a standardized schedule.
b. Unstructured Interview
-Is the less formal type in which although sets of questions may
be used, in the interviewer freely modifies the sequence of
questions, changes the wording and sometimes explains them or
adds them during the interactions
c. Non- Directive Interview
-The Non-Directive Interview or the unguided gives excessive freedom
for the respondent to express his or her ideas subjectively and
spontaneously as she chooses or is able to.
d. Focus Interview
-Focus Interview as the name suggests, focuses on the respondent's
subjective responses and experience on the subject matter to elicit more
information.

2. Observation
-is one of the very important methods for obtaining comprehensive data
in qualitative research especially when a composite of both oral and
visual data become vital to the research.
a. Participant Observer:
-in this type of observation the researcher lives as a member of the
subjects of the study while observing and keeping notes of the attributes
of the subject that is being researched so that he can directly experience,
the phenomenon being studied.
b. Non-participant Observer:
-in this approach the researcher does not live as a member of
subjects of the study. The researcher watches the subjects of his
or her study, with their knowledge of his status as a researcher,
but without taking in active part in the situation under study.

3. Questionnaire
-This is a data collection instrument mostly used in normative
surveys. This is a systematically prepared form or document with
a set of questions deliberately designed to elicit responses from
respondents or research informants for the purpose of collecting
data or information
-It is a form that contains a set of questions on a topic or group of
topics designed to be answered by the respondent.
Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to construct Cannot be used to illiterate
Distribution is easy and person
inexpensive Respondents may not return

Responses are easy to the filled up copies of the

tabulate questionnaire.
Respondents give a wrong
Respondent’s replies are free
information.
Confidential information may
Respondents may leave some
be given freely
many questions un-answered.
Respondents can fill out the
Number of choices may be so
questionnaire at will. limited that the respondents
Respondents can give more may be forced to select
accurate replies. responses that are not his
actual choice.
Steps in Preparing a Questionnaire
1. Doing library search.
2. Talking to knowledgeable people.
3. Mastering the guidelines.
4. Writing the questionnaire.
5. Editing the questionnaire.
6. Rewrite the questionnaire.
7. Pretesting the questionnaire.
 Guidelines in Formulating of questions
for a Questionnaire
1. Make all directions clear
2. Use correct grammar
3. Make all questions unequivocal
4. Avoid asking biased questions.
5. Objectify the responses.
6. Relate all questions to the topic under study
7. Create categories or classes for approximate answer.
8. Word carefully or avoid questions that deal with
confidential or embarrassing information
9. Explain and illustrate difficult questions
10. State all questions affirmatively
11. Make the respondents anonymous.
Sources Of Information
 Being able to research and use materials which back up
your study or offer different interpretations of your
study area is an essential aspect of studying and
learning. 
 Primarily you need to be aware of where to look for
information, how to access it and how to use it.  You
must also be able to scrutinise your sources to check
that they are relevant and of a suitable nature to be
included within your work.
You will learn about:
 Different types of information sources
 Types of information available through the library and
the internet
 How to choose the best resource for you research
Flow of Information
 When searching for information it is always important
to keep in mind the information timeline. Different
topics will require different types of information sources
Web Resources
 The web has become the largest repository of
information available to the public and plays an
important role in research for academics and for
everyday life. Keep in mind that not everything is
available on the web.
 Websites can be very good information sources, if you
know what to look for. You can find up-to-the-minute
news, information on current events, controversial
topics and more. Websites allow you to get information
direct from companies, organizations, and the
government.
 Web resources
 Information on web comes in different domains, which can
help you determine the type of information. You can
determine the domain by looking at the web address (URL).
(.com = Commercial)
www.nytimes.com
www.magportal.com

(.org = Organizational)
www.aspca.org
ww.wikipedie.org

(.edu = Educational)
www.wmcc.edu
www.plymouth.edu

(.gov = Governmental)
www.census.gov
www.loc.gov
Periodicals
 Periodicals are sources of information that are published
periodically that is , on a regular basis, on regular intervals.
(daily, weekly, monthly, etc)
 Newspaper are good sources for regional information,
current or historical events. They also are good for
editorials, expert or popular opinions.
 Example s in Print
- Cebu Daily News
- The Freeman
 Newspapers in Databases:

- ProQuest Central
- Ebscohost Newspaper Source
Magazines
 Magazines are generally about popular topics and
current events and are intended for a general audience.
These are non-scholarly resources. They are heavily
illustrated and contain advertising. The articles are
usually written by journalists, not scholarly experts.
 They can be found in print, and library databases.
Websites for magazines sometimes charge for access
and may contain some different articles than what is
published in print.
 Journals
 Journals are periodicals that publish articles and research in
specific academic or scholarly fields. They are written by
scholars and experts for other scholars in their field.
 Many scholarly journals are peered-reviewed. Articles are
reviewed and approved by other experts in the field before
being published.
 Journal articles are written in scholarly language and often
assume readers has background knowledge in the field.
 Journal articles are key sources of information for academic
assignments.
Books
 Books are written on many different topics and can be
considered fiction or non-fiction (aka Fact).
 Libraries divided books into reference sources and thus
found in the general collection.
 In order to find information for your research, it is
important to learn some common types of reference
and general collection books.
 Books are great to use when:
-You are looking for general information or on overview on a topic.
- You need established facts or theories.
- You need historical information.
Reference
 Reference materials are information sources that offer
concise, fact based information on a topic. They are
great for background information and can be helpful in
finding other sources on a topic or for developing
keywords.
 Reference sources include encyclopedias, dictionaries,
and fact books.
 They can be found in print or through library databases.
What do you need?
 Now that you know about the different sources of
information, you should be able to determine which
ones will be best for your research.
 Each topic requires different sources, and choosing a
variety of sources will enhance you argument and
provide the best support.
 Think about what you are trying to learn and write
about and pick the information sources that will best
help you.