Methods of Data Collection

Interview

a social interaction with both parties sharing in constructing a story and its meanings; both are participants in the meaning-making process.

Transect Walk

a transect diagram is often created, and data from the walk can be triangulated with local maps and other kinds of local community information

Observation and fieldnotes

allows for the researcher to see and record firsthand the activities in which research participants are engaged in the context(s) in which these activities happen.

Community-based oral testimony

an ecological approach to data generation and collection that focuses on people's narration of their lived realities in a relational context.

Research instruments

can also be called protocols or guides, include the questions, prompts, and/or procedures that guide data collection

Emic

culturally and contextually embedded conceptualizations and descriptions of beliefs, behaviors, and ways of being that are meaningful and resonant to individuals and/or groups

Etic

descriptions of beliefs, behaviors, or ways of being or belief that are attributed by an outside observer (the researcher) that are not culturally embedded or necessarily organically conceptualized, articulated, or contextualized.

Descriptive observational fieldnotes

do not require the researcher to make inferences; rather, the idea is that the researcher observes and simply describes what has been observed as neutrally as possible.

Participant Observation

form of observation in which the researcher, establish a presence or role in the setting

Participatory Methods of Data Collection

forms of data collection in which researchers co-construct and co-generate data with participants

Evaluative observational fieldnotes

researcher is consciously making an inference and a judgment about the nature and motives of the behavior or events observed

Focus Group

sometimes referred to as group interviews, provide an opportunity to collect data that may not arise in an individual interview because of the group dynamics and interactions

Photovoice

the collaborative taking, interpretation, and discussion of photographs as contextualized data that participants generate

Mapping

useful and inexpensive tool for gathering community and institutional data from and with insiders that can be descriptive or diagnostic in nature

Reactivity

ways that the researcher affects the behaviors and processes observed in the research as a result of being there

groupthink

when an individual introduces a topic and the rest of the group focuses on this topic and ultimately generates a group understanding

Inferential observational fieldnotes

involves the researcher making inferences interpretations and assumptions beyond the data—about what is observed and the underlying motives, affect, or emotions of the events and behaviors observed

Survey Approach and Questionnaires

often used to gather information about individuals' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It is important to clarify that surveys are a design choice rather than a specific method

Documents and Archival Data

provide context and can also be used to explore people's meaning-making processes in relation to publicly consumed materials, images, and messages

Interview

provide deep, rich, individualized, and contextualized data that are centrally important to qualitative research.