This document discusses various methods for collecting qualitative data, including observation, interviews, and document analysis. It provides details on the different roles a researcher can take during observation (passive observer, active observer, participant observer). It also explains structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews. Finally, it lists various sources that can be analyzed as documents and discusses advantages and disadvantages of document analysis.

1. Lecturer: Yee Bee Choo
IPGKTHO
Topic 8

2. 2
Interview
structured,
semi-
structured,
unstructured
Document Analysis
Data-document
Observation
Observer,
participant-
observer,
participant
Data Collection Methods

3. 1. Observation
• Observation is the process of gathering open-
ended, firsthand information by observing people
and places at a research site (Creswell, 2012)
• Teachers observe as a normal component of their
teaching, monitoring and adjusting instruction
based on the verbal and nonverbal interactions in
their classroom (Mills, 2014)
• Involves active looking, improving memory,
informal interviewing, writing detailed field notes,
and patience (5 senses)
• Technique of obtaining data through direct contact
with a person or group of persons

4. OBSERVATION
Role of Researcher
1. Observation

5. 1. Observation
Passive Observer
• Keep distance from subjects
• Simply gather documents without
disturbing
• Researcher is unobtrusive
• For example: collecting e-mails or essays
written by subjects or learning journals of
students, the researcher examines them
without being involved

6. 1. Observation
Active Observer
• Participation is allowed but limited
• The researcher tries as far as possible to
be passive
• For example, a researcher interested in
television viewing habits may enter a
household, eat with the family, play with
the children and take part in family
activities.

7. 1. Observation
Participant Observer
• The researcher participates in the activities of the
persons being observed – as observer and as
participant
• Seek to gain what is called an “emic” perspective
or the native’s point of view
• The researcher records detailed field notes,
conduct interview based on open-ended questions
and gather whatever site documents might be
available in the setting
• For example, the researcher could show a film or
video to stimulate discussion or question subjects
and observe how they would react to the stimulus

8. OBSERVATION
• Engage in activities
• Observe activities, people and
physical aspects
Participant
observer
• A teacher’s aid during specialists’
time
Active
observer
• Present only to observe what’s
going on
Passive
observer
1. Observation

9. 1. Observation
Advantages
• Record information as it occurs in a setting
• Study actual behaviour
• Study individuals who have difficullty verbalising
their ideas (e.g. preschool children)
(Creswell, 2012)
• Cost effective and easy to implement. Researcher
may use a tally sheet to categorise reoccurring
behaviour according to criteria sheet.

10. 1. Observation
Disadvantages
• Highly subjective
• Not all observations are equal or expert
• Observations can easily become dominated
by researcher bias as the researcher decides
what phenomena to observe and what to
ignore.
• Potential deception by people being observed
• Difficulty to establish rapport with individuals
if you are not familiar with the research site

11. • Observer bias refers to the possibility that certain
characteristics or ideas of observers may bias
what they “see.”
• It is important to have a second observer as a
check on one’s conclusion to avoid observer bias.
1. Observation
(Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012, p.480)

12. 2. Interview
• A qualitative interview occurs when researchers
ask one or more participants general, open-ended
questions and record their answers (Creswell,
2012).
• Interviewing (i.e., the careful asking of relevant
questions) is an important way for a researcher to
check the accuracy of—to verify or refute—the
impressions he or she has gained through
observation (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012,
p.482).
• The purpose of interviewing people is to find out
what is on their mind – what they think or how they
feel about something (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun,
2012, p.483).

13. 2. Interview
Structured interviews
• Widely used in qualitative research
• Use an interview schedule that is similar to
the survey questionnaire
• All participants are given the same series of
questions
• Phrase the question in such a way so that
you have a limited range of responses
• For example, “Do you think the image of
teachers in society has gone down?” with set
answers: Strongly agree, agree, somewhat
agree, agree and strongly agree.

14. 2. Interview
Structured interviews
• Use both “open-ended” and “closed”
questions
• Closed (convergent) questions allows for a
brief response such as “Yes/No.”
• Open-ended (divergent) questions can
conclude with an “Other comments”
section, or a request for the interviewees
to “add anything else” they would like to.

15. 2. Interview
Semi-structured interviews
• Widely used in qualitative research
• Consist of a list of open-ended questions
based on the topic areas
• Provides opportunities for both the
interviewer and interviewee to discuss
certain topics in more details
• If the interviewee has difficulty answering
a question or hesitates, the interviewer will
probe

16. 2. Interview
Semi-structured interviews
Probes
• Detailed-oriented probe
– When did it happen to you?
– Who was with you?
• Elaboration probe
– Tell me more about the incident.
– Can you give an example.
• Clarification probe
– I’m not sure I understand what you mean by ‘hanging out’,
can you explain?
– You said that your principal is extremely autocratic, can
you please explain?

17. 2. Interview
Unstructured interviews
• Aim to obtain in depth interviews of persons
interviewed
• A limited number of topics are discussed
• Has no structure or preconceived plan or
expectation as to how the interview will proceed
• For example:
• The interview may begin with a question such
as “I’d like to hear your views of school
discipline.” Subsequent questions would follow
from the interviewee’s responses.

18. 2. Interview
Informal Interview
• A little more than a casual conversation that
allows the teacher, in a conversational style,
to inquire into something that has presented
itself as an opportunity to learn about their
practice.
• Use “5 Ws and H”: who, what, where, when,
why and how.
• Teacher may briefly jot down in a plan book
or anecdotal record a summary of what the
students had to say.

19. 2. Interview
One-on-One Interview
• The most time-consuming and costly
approach
• The researcher asks questions to and
records answers from only one
participant in the study at a time
• It is ideal for interviewing participants
who are not hesitant to speak, who are
articulate, and who can share ideas
comfortably
(Creswell, 2012, p. 218)

20. 2. Interview
Focus Group Interview
• A group interview where you are trying to
“collect shared understanding from
several individuals as well as to get
views from specific people” (Creswell,
2012, p.218).
• Focus groups are a particularly useful
technique when the interaction between
individuals will lead to a shared
understanding of the questions being
posed by the researcher.

21. 2. Interview
Focus Group Interview
• When conducting focus groups it is
important to ensure that all participants
have their say and to nurture a group
agreement to take turns, that is, participants
understand that the focus group is a group-
sharing activity and not something to be
dominated by one or two participants.
• Using a structure or semi-structured
interview schedule, the teacher researcher
can pose questions to the group and
encourage all participants to respond.

22. 2. Interview
Focus Group Interview
Advantages
• Help to reveal consensus views
• May generate richer responses by
allowing participants to challenge one
another‘s views
• May be used to verify research ideas of
data gained through other methods and
may enhance the reliability of responses.

23. 2. Interview
Focus Group Interview
Disadvantages
• The views of quieter‘ people does not
come out. Certain members may
dominate the talk.
• Whatever opinions are expressed are
acceptable by the group irrespective of
their opinions contrary to it.
• Private opinion does not give importance.

24. 2. Interview
Steps in conducting interview
1. Identify the interviewees
2. Determine the type of interview you will use
3. During the interview, audiotape the questions and
responses
4. Take brief notes during the interview
5. Locate a quiet, suitable place for conducting the
interview
6. Obtain consent from the interviewee to participant in
the study
7. Have a plan, but be flexible
8. Use probes to obtain additional information
9. Be courteous and professional when the interview is
over
(Creswell, 2012, p. 221)

25. 2. Interview
Advantages
• Provides the opportunity for in-depth
conversation with respondents
• Can yield rich data
• Questions can be clarified if necessary
• Researcher can ask additional questions
• Useful for gathering data from younger
students

26. 2. Interview
Disadvantages
• Interviews and data analysis can be
time-consuming
• If the interview is poorly planned, the
data may be difficult to analyse
• Possibility of interviewer bias
• Data does not lend itself easily to
quantification

27. • Don’t ask more than one question at a time
2. Interview
(Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012, p.487)

28. 3. Document Analysis
• Documents consist of public and private
records (Creswell, 2012)
• Documents are written or printed materials
that have been produced in some form or
another (Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012)
• They may be:
– handwritten, printed, typewritten, drawn, or sketched
– published or unpublished
– intended for private or public consumption
– original works or copies
(Fraenkel, Wallen & Hyun, 2012)

29. 3. Document Analysis
• It is used as a main tool in historical
research but a subsidiary tool in
descriptive research and less used in
experimental research
• The focus of the study is the examination
of documents
• The teacher can use these sources of
data to gain valuable historical insights,
identify potential trends, and explain how
things got to be the way they are.

30. DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Sources for document analysis:
• student achievement data
• diagnostic assessment
• samples of student work
• attendance records
• anecdotal records
• standardised test scores
• behaviour records
• literature review
• web research
• journal
• lesson plans
• portfolio
• activity reports
• self-evaluation
• files
• newspaper
clippings
3. Document Analysis

31. 3. Document Analysis
Advantages
• They are written in the language and
words of the participants, who have
usually given thoughtful attention to
them.
• They are ready for analysis without the
necessary transcription that is required
with observational or interview data.
(Creswell, 2012, p. 223)

32. 3. Document Analysis
Disadvantages
• They are sometimes difficult to locate and
obtain.
• Information may not be available.
• They may be located in distant archives,
requiring the researcher to travel, which takes
time and can be expensive.
• The documents may be incomplete, inauthentic,
or inaccurate.
• Handwriting may be hard to read for personal
documents such as diaries or letters.
(Creswell, 2012, p. 223)

33. Tutorial 8a
Research Question:
Does the use of ICT-based instructional media encourage
pupils’ participation in the English language lessons?
Based on the research question above, discuss how you
would collect the data by using one of the methods below:
• Observation
• Interview
• Document analysis

34. Tutorial 8b (Individual Writing Task)
1. Illustrate with one example the concept of changing
observational roles i.e. when an observer becomes as a
participant observer and a nonparticipant observer or
vice versa when collecting data through observation.
2. Mr Lim is concerned about the ability of his Year 6
pupils to construct meaning as they read. He felt his
effort to promote good reading habits through NILAM
has now resulted in more emphasis on the volume of
books read rather than creating meaning while reading.
Mr Lim plans to study this matter more in depth.
– Propose and justify data collection methods and instruments
for Mr Lim to investigate the issue.

35. References
• Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research:
planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative
and qualitative research (4th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education Inc.
• Fraenkel, J.R., Wallen, N.E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012).
How to design and evaluate research in education
(8th ed.). London: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
• Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for
the teacher researcher (5th ed.). London: Pearson
Education Limited.