What do researchers take into account when selecting a data collection method?

What will be an ideal response?

Each data collection method has its own strengths and weaknesses. When selecting a data collection method, researchers consider whether to use available or empirical sources, published or unpublished sources, and instrument or observation sources. Using available sources generally saves money, effort, and time, and is also a more efficient way of achieving a large sample size. Data collected empirically, though, tends to be more relevant to the research topic.

When using available sources, using published sources saves time and money and allows relatively easy access, but only aggregate summaries may be presented, making secondary analysis difficult or impossible. Unpublished sources are often more helpful because they offer raw data and large sample sizes, but it can be difficult to gain access, especially when the data set contains sensitive questions or is considered confidential.

Research based on a prepared instrument generally saves time and cost in data collection, and the data tends to be more uniform, which facilitates analysis. However, gaining access to respondents is a potential challenge. Observational methods have relatively few problems with access, but involve a greater time commitment. They are more appropriate for finding out how people behave in public, and are less appropriate for learning how people behave in private or what people think. Observation approaches focus on reality rather than perceived reality.

Sometimes a combination of data collection methods may be used to enhance both the validity and reliability of the study and measures collected.