Mode Of Data Collection Research Articles

Which Scale Direction is More Difficult for Respondents to Use? An Eye-tracking Study

Scale direction is found to affect response distributions by yielding more selections of scale points closer to the beginning of the scale. Although this phenomenon has been empirically demonstrated in different modes of data collection for respondents with different demographic characteristics, it is not clear which scale direction is cognitively difficult for respondents to use. Eye-tracking is used to address this research question because it provides a direct window into how respondents process survey questions. I compared dilation and fixation measures across scale direction and found that the satisfaction scale and the frequency scale running from “Never” to “Very Often” had more and longer fixations. In addition, the dissatisfaction options incurred larger dilations, more peak dilations, and more and longer fixations than the other parts of the scale. Findings of this paper shed light on how respondents process response scales and have practical implications for questionnaire design. Furthermore, findings of this paper demonstrate the utility and potential of using eye-tracking in general and dilation measures in particular to understand cognitive burden of answering survey questions.

Qualitative Data Collection Post-COVID-19: An Overview of the Conduction of Virtual Focus Groups and Interviews

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic required a virtual shift in qualitative data collection within research studies. The Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, a non-profit organization seeking to end human trafficking in Colorado, is one such institution that utilized online research modalities for the latest iteration of their longitudinal research study, the Colorado Project. Specifically, the 2023 iteration of the Colorado Project conducted focus groups and individual interviews via Zoom to explore how elements of trust, equity, and effectiveness function within the Colorado anti-human trafficking movement. The goal of this manuscript is to detail the process of implementing virtual focus groups and individual interviews in a large-scale, multidisciplinary research study. Our hope is that researchers can utilize our process of switching to a virtual, qualitative data collection modality to inform the creation of future virtual research studies.

Minimization of Aerial Cost and Mission Completion Time in Multi-UAV-Enabled IoT Networks

The application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in IoT networks, especially data collection, has received extensive attention. Due to the urgency of the mission and limitation of the network cost, the mission completion time and number of UAVs are research hotspots. Most studies mainly focus on the trajectory optimization of the UAV to shorten the mission completion time. However, under different data collection modes, flying mode (FM) and hovering mode (HM), the collection time will also greatly affect the mission completion time. This paper studies the data collection from ground IoT devices (GIDs) in Multi-UAV enabled IoT networks. The problem of data collection is formulated to minimize the aerial cost and maximum mission completion time of UAVs by optimizing mission allocation, UAV trajectory, and UAVs’ flying speeds. In view of the complexity and non-convexity of the formulated problem, we propose a heuristic-based approximation algorithm to optimize the mission allocation of UAVs. Then, we specifically optimize the trajectory of the UAV for GIDs to minimize the flight time and collection time. Since the UAV’s flying speed affects the mission completion time, the successive convex approximation (SCA) technique is adopted to optimize it. Simulation results show that our scheme achieves the performance of near-optimal solution.

The effect of survey administration mode on youth mental health measures: Social desirability bias and sensitive questions

AimResearch on trends in youth mental health is used to inform government policy and service funding decisions. It often uses interviewer-administered surveys, which may be affected by mode effects related to social desirability bias. This study sought to determine the impact of survey administration mode on mental health measures, comparing mode effects for sensitive mental health measures (psychological distress and wellbeing) and non-sensitive (physical activity) measures. MethodsData were from two large national community samples of young Australians aged 12–25 years conducted in 2020 (N = 6238) and 2022 (N = 4122), which used both interviewer-administered and self-report modes of data collection. ResultsResults showed participants reported lower psychological distress and higher wellbeing in the interviewer-assisted compared with the self-report mode. No mode effects were found for the non-sensitive physical activity measures. No interaction between mode and gender was found, but an age group by mode interaction revealed that those in the 18–21 and 22–25-year age groups were more strongly affected than younger adolescents. ConclusionsThese findings suggest underestimates of mental health issues from interview survey formats, particularly for young adults. The results show how even a weak mode effect can have a large impact on mental health prevalence indicators. Researchers and policy makers need to be aware of the impact social desirability bias can have on mental health measures and consider taking steps to mitigate this effect.

Reflections beyond implementation: Evaluation of the project-based learning in the research curriculum of the Philippine Science High School - Luzon campuses

STEM schools have put priority on establishing research education as a core program that enables students to choose a topic of their choice, identify a problem, and find a solution to it through experimentation and other modes of data collection. At the Philippine Science High Schools, one of its key goals is to foster a research culture among its scholars, who will help to strengthen the country's academic and scientific workforce and contribute to its success in the future. To improve instructional teaching, the project-based learning (PBL) approach has been utilized in many academic courses. A cache of studies has delved into the use of project-based learning approaches in many academic courses but the research education. This research project aimed to evaluate the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) in the STEM Research curriculum of the Philippine Science High School – Luzon campuses. Select teachers from the Philippine Science High School have shared their thoughts through the qualitative interview tool. The use of qualitative interview tool is aimed to explore their thoughts and opinions regarding the various aspects of project-based learning (PBL) implementation within the PSHS research curriculum. Thematic analysis using phenomenological reduction shows emerging themes highlighting the benefits, challenges, and things that are needed to start to improve the implementation of the project-based learning approach within the research curriculum of the PSHS system.

How to use Zoom to collect data in mathematics educational research: A case study in assessing students’ online mathematics learning

During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers faced challenges conducting data collection. However, emerging communication technologies, such as web-conferencing platforms, provided an alternative mode of data collection. Among these platforms, Zoom stands out for its functional affordances and unique features that support data collection methods, including screen-capturing, digital photography, drawing, polling, and artifact-based interviews, which attempt to reveal a child's viewpoint and ability. In this article, we explore the feasibility of using Zoom to conduct educational research by investigating the mathematical learning experience among 26 primary 1 and 2 students in Hong Kong on two topics—understanding time and addition and subtraction. Five mathematics teachers were recruited to participate in 2-month online workshops with assessments among three groups of students to understand the suitability for data collection. Based on teachers’ observations and students’ responses, our findings suggest that Zoom is a viable and effective tool for qualitative data collection. It offers a cost-effective method for researchers and educators to examine students’ mathematical performance in an online environment. We also investigate students’ perceptions of online assessment strategies, perceived usefulness of various Zoom functions, and explore the benefits and challenges teachers and students perceived throughout mathematical education using Zoom. However, several technical difficulties were encountered, such as the digital literacy gap and privacy concerns. Therefore, improving students’ digital literacy for remote learning and triangulation is important for online mathematical data collection and assessments.

TANGO: A reliable, open-source, browser-based task to assess individual differences in gaze understanding in 3 to 5-year-old children and adults.

Traditional measures of social cognition used in developmental research often lack satisfactory psychometric properties and are not designed to capture variation between individuals. Here, we present theTANGO (Task for Assessing iNdividual differences in Gaze understanding-Open); a brief (approx. 5-10min), reliable, open-source task to quantify individual differences in the understanding of gaze cues. Localizing the attentional focus of an agent is crucial in inferring their mental states, building common ground, and thus, supporting cooperation. Our interactive browser-based task works across devices and enables in-person and remote testing. The implemented spatial layout allows for discrete and continuous measures of participants' click imprecision and is easily adaptable to different study requirements. Our task measures inter-individual differences in a child (N = 387) and an adult (N = 236) sample. Our two study versions and data collection modes yield comparable results that show substantial developmental gains: the older children are, the more accurately they locate the target. High internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates underline that the captured variation is systematic. Associations with social-environmental factors and language skills speak to the validity of the task. This work shows a promising way forward in studying individual differences in social cognition and will help us explore the structure and development of our core social-cognitive processes in greater detail.

THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF CULTURAL PARTICIPATION ON THE QUALITY OF HOME CARE AND WELL-BEING OF THE ELDERS

The purpose of this study was to determine the mediating effect of cultural participation on the relationship between the quality of home care and the well-being of the elderly. Utilizing quantitative, non-experimental design via correlational technique and mediation analysis, data were obtained from 300 elderly, in one of the cities in Davao Province. The researcher utilized a stratified sampling technique in selecting study participations and survey mode of data collection through standardized questionnaires. The researcher also utilized the statistical tools mean, Pearson r and Med-graph using Sobel z-test. From the results of the study, it was found out that there is a very high level of mean scores for quality home care, and well-being of the elderly while a high level of cultural participation. Also, results revealed that there are significant relationships between quality home care and cultural participation, between cultural participation and the well-being of the elderly and between quality home care and the well-being of the elderly. Further, it was revealed that cultural participation partially mediates the relationship between quality home care and the well-being of the elderly.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0091/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Data collection in pandemic times: the case of the Belgian COVID-19 health surveys

BackgroundSurvey data were needed to assess the mental and social health, health related behaviors and compliance with preventive measures of the population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the pandemic challenged classical survey methods. Time and budgetary constraints at the beginning of the pandemic led to ad hoc recruitment of participants and easily manageable data collection modes. This paper describes the methodological choices and results in terms of participation for the COVID-19 health surveys conducted in Belgium.MethodsThe COVID-19 health surveys refer to a series of ten non-probability web surveys organized between April 2020 and March 2022. The applied recruitment strategies were diverse including, amongst others, a launch through the website and the social media of the organizing research institute. In addition, the survey links were shared in articles published in the national press and participants were requested to share the surveys in their network. Furthermore, participants were asked consent to be re-contacted for next survey editions using e-mail invitations.ResultsThese mixed approaches allowed to reach a substantial number of participants per edition ranging from 49339 in survey 1 to 13882 in survey 10. In addition, a longitudinal component was created; a large share of the same individuals were followed up over time; 12599 participants completed at least 5 surveys. There were, however, sex, age, educational level and regional differences in participation. Post-stratification weighting on socio-demographic factors was applied to at least partly take this into account.ConclusionThe COVID-19 health surveys allowed rapid data collection after the onset of the pandemic. Data from these non-probability web surveys had their limitations in terms of representativeness due to self-selection but were an important information source as there were few alternatives. Moreover, by following-up the same individuals over time it was possible to study the effect of the different crisis phases on, amongst others, the mental health. It is important to draw lessons from these experiences: initiatives in order to create a survey infrastructure better equipped for future crises are needed.

Practical considerations for the analysis of time-resolved x-ray data.

The field of time-resolved macromolecular crystallography has been expanding rapidly after free electron lasers for hard x rays (XFELs) became available. Techniques to collect and process data from XFELs spread to synchrotron light sources. Although time-scales and data collection modalities can differ substantially between these types of light sources, the analysis of the resulting x-ray data proceeds essentially along the same pathway. At the base of a successful time-resolved experiment is a difference electron density (DED) map that contains chemically meaningful signal. If such a difference map cannot be obtained, the experiment has failed. Here, a practical approach is presented to calculate DED maps and use them to determine structural models.

Social Background of North Zone Slums in Mysore - A Sociological Observation

Slums are the abodes of India's poor. On account of inequality, people often face problems like poverty, social backwardness and unemployment, which have led to the birth of slums in cities. Slums are often referred to as housing estates where low-caste residents dwell. The Census of India defines a slum as “A compact area of at least 300 people or about 60-70 families”. Illegally emerged slums on government or private land have further exacerbated the problems of hygienic civic amenities. The number of slums is increasing year by year on account of unemployment problems in the mofussil areas. This study focuses on the background and the material conditions of slums. Seven slums of Mysore city were selected and analyzed through the mode of primary data collection.

Robust and language-independent acoustic features in Parkinson's disease.

The analysis of vocal samples from patients with Parkinson's disease (PDP) can be relevant in supporting early diagnosis and disease monitoring. Intriguingly, speech analysis embeds several complexities influenced by speaker characteristics (e.g., gender and language) and recording conditions (e.g., professional microphones or smartphones, supervised, or non-supervised data collection). Moreover, the set of vocal tasks performed, such as sustained phonation, reading text, or monologue, strongly affects the speech dimension investigated, the feature extracted, and, as a consequence, the performance of the overall algorithm. We employed six datasets, including a cohort of 176 Healthy Control (HC) participants and 178 PDP from different nationalities (i.e., Italian, Spanish, Czech), recorded in variable scenarios through various devices (i.e., professional microphones and smartphones), and performing several speech exercises (i.e., vowel phonation, sentence repetition). Aiming to identify the effectiveness of different vocal tasks and the trustworthiness of features independent of external co-factors such as language, gender, and data collection modality, we performed several intra- and inter-corpora statistical analyses. In addition, we compared the performance of different feature selection and classification models to evaluate the most robust and performing pipeline. According to our results, the combined use of sustained phonation and sentence repetition should be preferred over a single exercise. As for the set of features, the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients demonstrated to be among the most effective parameters in discriminating between HC and PDP, also in the presence of heterogeneous languages and acquisition techniques. Even though preliminary, the results of this work can be exploited to define a speech protocol that can effectively capture vocal alterations while minimizing the effort required to the patient. Moreover, the statistical analysis identified a set of features minimally dependent on gender, language, and recording modalities. This discloses the feasibility of extensive cross-corpora tests to develop robust and reliable tools for disease monitoring and staging and PDP follow-up.

Conducting Online Focus Group Interviews With Two Generations: Methodological Experiences and Reflections From the Pandemic Context

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many research projects were forced to adapt their design and conduct interviews online. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using online focus groups with participants representing different generations and cultural and social backgrounds. Based on the researchers’ experiences and field notes from a three-country comparative project, aiming at analysing the extent to which previous experience of state surveillance impacted attitudes to commercial monitoring and tracking of online behaviour among two generational cohorts, the paper identifies seven aspects where the move from offline to online interviewing interfered with the original research design. The paper suggests that most of these interferences resulted in a need to adjust the methodology to better fit the online setting. We reflect critically upon the issues of technological preconditions and digital skills, recruitment, group size, degrees of previous acquaintance, the role of the interviewer, participants’ household status and media environment, and ethical considerations concerning privacy and data management. Based on these methodological insights, we conclude that future online focus group research would benefit from using smaller groups and adjusted moderation, flexibility in interviewing tools and channels, and new, online-specific ethical considerations when planning, executing, and analysing interviews. The paper advocates the complementarity between in-person and online focus groups as two modalities of data collection and argues for the normalization of hybrid methods.

THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKPLACE RESILIENCE AND TEACHER PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY

The purpose of this study was to determine the mediating effect of organizational commitment on the relationship between workplace resilience and teacher professional identity. Utilizing quantitative, non-experimental design via correlational technique, data were obtained from 300 respondents who are public elementary school teachers of the three national high schools in the province of Davao Del Sur. The researcher utilized a stratified random sampling technique and an online survey mode of data collection. The researcher also utilized the statistical tools mean, Pearson r, and Medgraph using Sobel z-test. From the results of the study, it was found out that there is a very high level of mean score for workplace resilience, a very high level of mean score for teacher professional identity and a high level of organizational commitment. Also, results revealed that there is a significant relationship between workplace resilience and teacher professional identity, a significant relationship between workplace resilience and organizational commitment and a significant relationship between organizational commitment and teacher professional identity. Further, it was revealed that there was full mediation on the effect of organizational commitment on the relationship between workplace resilience and teacher professional identity.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0005/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Online Interviews as New Methodological Normalcy and a Space of Ethics: An Autoethnographic Investigation into Covid-19 Educational Research

Worldwide travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic abruptly changed the norms of conducting qualitative research. Online interviews, long regarded as a second choice to their offline counterparts, are no longer seen as supplementary since they emerged as the dominant mode of data collection during the pandemic. This study employs an autoethnographic approach to investigate the authors’ experiences of adjusting to alternative methodological approaches. The investigation critically reflects on how the author’s agencies in allocating and gathering instructional, social, and economic resources led to a researcher identity reconfigured by choices in making ethical commitment in data collection. This article also sheds light on how the authors, constrained by limited resources, gained better understanding of ethics in practice through negotiation with participants and obtained rich data by exercising their agencies. The article argues that researchers need to place both online and offline methods on equal footing to facilitate a more ethically sensitive approach to data collection.

Comparison of Preferences and Data Quality between Discrete Choice Experiments Conducted in Online and Face-to-Face Respondents.

Discrete choice experiments (DCE) are increasingly being conducted using online panels. However, the comparability of such DCE-based preferences to traditional modes of data collection (e.g., in-person) is not well established. In this study, supervised, face-to-face DCE was compared with its unsupervised, online facsimile on face validity, respondent behavior, and modeled preferences. Data from face-to-face and online EQ-5D-5L health state valuation studies were compared, in which each used the same experimental design and quota sampling procedure. Respondents completed 7 binary DCE tasks comparing 2 EQ-5D-5L health states presented side by side (health states A and B). Data face validity was assessed by comparing preference patterns as a function of the severity difference between 2 health states within a task. The prevalence of potentially suspicious choice patterns (i.e., all As, all Bs, and alternating As/Bs) was compared between studies. Preference data were modeled using multinomial logit regression and compared based on dimensional contribution to overall scale and importance ranking of dimension-levels. One thousand five Online respondents and 1,099 face-to-face screened (F2FS) respondents were included in the main comparison of DCE tasks. Online respondents reported more problems on all EQ-5D dimensions except for Mobility. The face validity of the data was similar between comparators. Online respondents had a greater prevalence of potentially suspicious DCE choice patterns ([Online]: 5.3% [F2FS] 2.9%, P = 0.005). When modeled, the relative contribution of each EQ-5D dimension differed between modes of administration. Online respondents weighed Mobility more importantly and Anxiety/Depression less importantly. Although assessments of face validity were similar between Online and F2FS, modeled preferences differed. Future analyses are needed to clarify whether differences are attributable to preference or data quality variation between modes of data collection.

ICT INDICATORS AND MUSIC PERFORMANCE OF MAPEH STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF TEACHING COMPETENCY

This study aimed to determine the mediating effect of teaching competency on the relationship between ICT Indicators and the music performance of MAPEH students. The researcher utilizes a quantitative, non-experimental design via a correlational technique. The researcher obtained data from 300 Grade 11 and 12 students of the three national high schools under the division of Davao del Sur in Region XI. The researcher utilized a stratified random sampling technique and an online survey mode of data collection. The researcher also utilized the statistical tools: mean, Pearson r, regression and med graph using the Sobel z- test. The study results found that there is a very high mean score of teaching competency, high levels of ICT indicators and music performance of MAPEH students. Furthermore, there are significant relationships between ICT indicators and music performance, ICT indicators and teaching competency and teaching competency and music performance of MAPEH students. Further, the result revealed that there was complete mediation on the effect of teaching competency on the relationship between ICT Indicators and the music performance of MAPEH students.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0005/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Analyzing the Effect of Regional Modality in Polling Surveys: A Case Study of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Results in Florida

Pre-election polls have been conducted using different modes of data collection with varying degrees of accuracy. As media’s appetite for horserace polling increased, the demand for all types of data collection increased, raising the price of achieving a representative sample. Mixing modes of data collection have been popular due to the increased cost of polling using traditional methods such as face-to-face interviews, mail-in surveys, or live operator phone surveys. Due to technological advances in self-administered surveys, other forms of data collection provide more cost-effective solutions. Florida Atlantic University’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative conducted political polls throughout the fall of 2020 in anticipation of the general election for President of the United States. This unique dataset from polls conducted in September and October of 2020 showed interactive voice response (IVR) landline polling to be the most accurate statewide and across most regions of Florida. The survey data collected via opt-in online panels and via mobile phone text messaging exhibited results outside of the margin of error for certain regions. However, given the trend of declining landline phones and greater instances of exclusive mobile phone usage, polling by way of online and mobile phone surveys is becoming increasingly important.

Society in sight: foundations, methods and current developments of visual social science

ABSTRACT This article presents a balanced account of visual social science in its successive emanations. It starts by defining the basic traits and assumptions of the visual study of culture and society and then moves to briefly sketch its origins in camera-based research and its gradual institutionalization. Then a discussion follows of the more recent period which is characterized by a broadening of the field of view in many respects: other non-camera based techniques have entered the scope, along with a more inclusive stance towards not directly visible referents. New technologies also have dramatically expanded the visual and spatial opportunities of visual research, and ways to include other senses than the visual are being considered. Next, the article moves to a concise discussion of different modes of visual data collection, production, and presentation. Four ‘vignettes’ complement this discussion by presenting applications of the main modes of visual social science: one about the study of found images, one involving researcher-produced images and another based on respondent-generated images, and lastly an excerpt of a visual essay. The final section examines some current challenges and opportunities of visual research in terms of navigating and partly overcoming several disciplinary and external expectations and constraints.

The Mode Effect of Web-Based Surveying on the 2018 U.S. Health and Retirement Study Measure of Cognitive Functioning.

Measuring cognition in an aging populabtion is a public health priority. A move towards survey measurement via the web (as opposed to phone or in-person) is cost-effective but challenging as it may induce bias in cognitive measures. We examine this possibility using an experiment embedded in the 2018 wave of data collection for the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We utilize techniques from multiple group item response theory to assess the effect of survey mode on performance on the HRS cognitive measure. We also study the problem of attrition by attempting to predict dropout and via approaches meant to minimize bias in subsequent inferences due to attrition. We find evidence of an increase in scores for HRS respondents who are randomly assigned to the web-based mode of data collection in 2018. Web-based respondents score higher in 2018 than experimentally matched phone-based respondents, and they show much larger gains relative to 2016 performance and subsequently larger declines in 2020. The differential in favor of web-based responding is observed across all items, but is most pronounced for the Serial 7 task and numeracy items. Due to the relative ease of the web-based mode, we suggest a cutscore of 12 being used to indicate CIND (cognitively impaired but not demented) status when using the web-based version rather than 11. The difference in mode may be nonignorable for many uses of the HRS cognitive measure. In particular, it may require reconsideration of some cutscore-based approaches to identify impairment.