The Data Collection Methods

Direct Interviews and Surveys in Data Collection

Direct interviews and survey use are important strategies for gathering data, and each has distinguishable advantages and disadvantages. The benefit of doing interviews is the opportunity to obtain definitive information about the research from the participants. People typically have various viewpoints regarding any given topic (Blair, 2013). According to a study on the fundamentals of juvenile programs, the juvenile program has a detrimental impact on the child’s rehabilitation and won’t help the youngster stop committing the same offense (Yan, 2009). One justification offered is that our boys and daughters admitted to these programs are subject to negative influences from the supposedly evil people congregated in the juvenile departments. On the other hand, another individual can have contrary views. Such individuals can cite that the juvenile programs as a way of channeling the efforts of delinquent teens to something productive (Abrams, 2006). Direct interviews offer the chance to question the rationale of these perspectives before the researcher takes the feedback for further analysis and reporting. However, a weakness of the interview method is the level of trust required between the researcher and the participant. Before a person consents to volunteer information, they expect privacy to be upheld. However, many feel at risk volunteering such information as they can suffer other consequences like economic loss or even due to ego issues. With lack of trust between the researcher and the participant, there will be no free flow of communication, thereby putting the overall research at risk of failing.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Surveys

Conversely, a major strength of surveys is their inclusivity if a large sample population is considered in the study. Large numbers of people respond to surveys when they are implemented (Doody, 2013). This increases the likelihood of capturing the different types of people favorable by the study. For example, the surveys will include people from diverse nationalities, race or even social class if these were to be considered as differentiating factors in the study. Therefore, surveys provide a better description of the general population included in the research study. However, the disadvantage of using surveys is their inflexibility. When a researcher administers a survey, he/she has to use the same survey and the method of administering it from the beginning of the study. This inflexibility is undesired if the study involves changing a number of variables during the research to provide comparable statistics (Doody, 2013). Though surveys might provide inclusive data for large populations, they require inherent coordination and experience to realize the full benefits.

Developing Appropriate Scales or Coding Mechanisms

One of the most challenging parts of the qualitative research process is developing the appropriate scale or coding mechanism to measure the participant’s response. It is critical that we code the participants’ responses so that we can be able to analyze them further. These analysis help us understand the responses better and provide recommendations thereof. However, a bad scale spells bad interpretations, and a failed research in the end. This is undesirable considering the cost of the study. We can never fully capture the participant’s response in the real world. But developing a standard scale or coding scheme helps us understand these responses better, and even quantify them.

Choosing the Most Favorable Data Collection Method

After understanding the research topic, we can then decide the most favorable method for collecting necessary data. The research question gives the direction of our study. For example, my past assignment focused on the most appropriate method to deal with juvenile recidivism. I would prefer the use of surveys to answer the research question. I would be looking for inclusivity which necessitates use of surveys for data collection.

References

Abrams Abrams, L. S. (2006). Listening to juvenile offenders: Can residential treatment prevent recidivism? Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 23(1), 61-85.

Blair, J. C. (2013). Designing surveys: A guide to decisions and procedures. Sage Publications.

Doody, O. &. (2013). Preparing and conducting interviews to collect data. Nurse researcher, 20(5), 28-32.

Yan, J. (2009). A Multidisciplinary Study on Juvenile Recidivism and Multilevel Impacts. University of Missouri .