Class on 27 July - Data Collection

The class was on the topic Data Collection Techniques. It dealt with 4 important points:
• How to collect data
• Pros and cons of questionnaire
• Dos and Don’ts of questionnaire
• Observational technique

How to collect data :
Questionnaire is the most common method of data collection. While designing a questionnaire, care should be taken in case of the grammar, scale, etc used and the translation done. the length of the questionnaire should be such that it can be administered properly.
Nowadays, questionnaire is not the only tool for collecting data. People have also started using social networking sites. But, while using technology for data collection one should be careful that every point of data collected is saved properly for future analysis.
In this context, the problem with data collection in the dark chocolate case was also discussed.
Another technique for data collection is Focused Group Interview. In this , the member size is between 8-12 .

Pros and Cons of questionnaire:
Pros :
o If monitored properly, the work becomes easy.
o It can become a one-stop solution .
Cons :
If not administered properly, the above 2 points will turn negative.

Dos and Don’ts of questionnaire:
Designing of a questionnaire is both an art as well as science. Care should eb taken that questionnaire doesn’t turn into a boring one for the respondent.

Observational Techniques :
In this technique, generally the behavior of respondents is studied by observation.The example of Zara market research was discussed for this.

Greeshma