Data Collection

Wendy Olsen is Senior Lecturer at Manchester University, Institute for Development Policy & Managementand Cathie Marsh Centre for Census & Survey Research.

′Good data collection is the foundation on which good research is built, but most texts in social research methods focus more on data analysis than the many issues involved in obtaining the data to analyze. Wendy Olsen′s lively and wide-ranging work does much to fill the gap′ - W. Paul Vogt, Professor of Research Methods and Evaluation, Illinois State University ′Written with freshness and energy, with copious examples drawn from research in the UK, USA, India and South Africa, this lively guide to data collection includes excellent sections often under-played by methods textbooks, such as the comparative method; data cleaning; survey weights; and secondary analysis. The seriousness and mission of the dedicated researcher shines through its approachable narrative, providing an outstanding example of what a balanced mixed methods perspective has to offer′ Geoff PayneProfessor of Sociology, Newcastle University, UK

• PART ONE: DATA COLLECTION: AN INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH PRACTICESResearch and Data CollectionFindingsDataCausesSamplingFurther Reading for Part OnePART TWO: COLLECTING QUALITATIVE DATAInterviewsTranscriptsCodingMeaningInterpretationObserver BiasRepresentationsFocus GroupsDocument AnalysisAccuracyEthical ClearanceFurther Reading for Part TwoPART THREE: OBSERVATION AND INVOLVED METHODSParticipationPraxisAction ResearchObservation MethodsOnline Data CollectionFurther Reading for Part ThreePART FOUR: EXPERIMENTAL AND SYSTEMATIC DATA COLLECTIONQuestionnaire DesignHandling Treatment DataThe Ethics of VolunteersMarket-Research TechniquesCreating Systematic Case Study DataFurther Reading for Part FourPART FIVE: SURVEY METHODS FOR DATA COLLECTIONOperationalisationMeasurementCausalityData CleaningData ExtractionOutliersSubsetting of DataSurvey WeightsFurther Reading for Part FivePART SIX: THE CASE STUDY METHOD OF DATA COLLECTIONCase Study ResearchComparative ResearchConfigurationsContingencyCausal MechanismsFurther Reading for Part SixPART SEVEN: CONCLUDING SUGGESTIONS ABOUT DATA COLLECTION CONCEPTSFactsRealityRetroductionFurther Reading for Part Seven