Powell Ch. 5 Data Collection Techniques
Questionnaires and interviews are frequently used for obtaining information about a person's perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and so on.
Observational methods are best suited for describing and understanding behavior as it occurs.
No one method is likely to be perfect for a given situation, but it should be possible to select one technique as the best alternative, given the objectives, subject, priorities, and limitations of the investigation.
Wildemuth Ch 18 Transaction Logs
Log data are used by researchers to study user-system interaction behaviors, such as search and browse behaviors, as well as system-mediated interpersonal interactions, such as reference and support chat services.
Trans log analysis is used to study many different types of systems, including online library catalogs, digital libraries, specific Web sites, and Web search engines
Ch 19 Think-aloud Protocols
Think-aloud protocols are a research method used to understand the subjects' cognitive processes based on their verbal reports of their thought during experiments. You request subjects to speak aloud, reporting what they are thinking while they are performing tasks during an experiment.
Compared to other data collection methods, the process of collecting think-aloud protocols is simple, but you will be able to collect valid data only when your study is designed well.
Ch 20 Direct Observation
The primary purpose of observation is to find out what people do; that is, this method of data collection is focused on the behaviors of participants in a particular setting.
Despite recent technological advances of data collection, direct observation will remain used as long as researchers are interested in what and how people think about experiences - seemingly indefinitely.
Ch 21 Participant Observation
In participant observation the researcher is a participant in the setting, such participation leads to a better understanding of the people and social processes that occur within that setting, and this understanding can lead to better theories about social processes in that setting and similar settings.
If this is done well it should appear as if the researcher is just hanging out with the subjects.
Ch 22 Research Diaries
Research diary can conceptually and physically resemble other data collection methods such as the questionnaire, the interview, or observation, but what makes it unique is that diary protocols require participants to make self-reports repeatedly over time.
There may be some limitations to diary studies (significant amount of time and commitment they can require from participants & researchers) careful design can mitigate these limitations.
Ch 23 Unstructured Interviews
In an unstructured interview the researcher comes to the interview with no predefined theoretical framework and thus no hypotheses and questions about the social realities under investigation; rather, the researcher has conversations with interviewees and generates questions in response to the interviewees' narration.
They are most useful when you want to gain an in-depth understanding of a particular phenomenon within a particular cultural context.
Ch 24 Semistructred Interview
Has predetermined questions, but the order can be modified based upon the interviewer's perception of what seems most appropriate.
One of the most useful data collection methods for studying a wide range of information behaviors.
Ch 25 Focus Groups
A group of individuals selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on, from personal experience, the topic that is the subject of the research
One of the core strengths of focus group is that participants can compare their views with those of other participants in the group, rather than simply reporting their views to an interviewer.
Ch 26 Survey Research
The design of effective survey research involved "many decisions which need to fit together and support one another in a way that encourages most people to respond and minimizes inaccurate or inadequate answers".
Survey research design is dependent on careful planning that necessitates attention to a series of critical components to ensure effective data collection and implementation.
Ch 27 Measuring Cognitive and Affective Variables
Many ILS studies involve cognitive or affective variables that cannot be directly observed. In such situations, psychological assessment approaches can be used to measure cognitive or affective variables such as a person's attitudes, interests, beliefs, or feelings.
The most efficient way to ensure that our measures are reliable and valid is to use existing measures that have been implemented and evaluated in past studies.
Ch 28 Developing New Measures
While such research efforts are oriented toward methodological issues, rather than other types of research questions, they are of great importance to research and evaluation in ILS.
The main objective of measurement, especially measurement of cognitive and affective attributes, is to quantify the amount or level of a particular construct associated with each study participant.
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