Research Tools in Performance Assessment

5 Questions

What are research tools primarily used for?

To collect information for performance assessments

Define data collection in research.

Data collection in research is the systematic process of gathering detailed information from selected samples.

Primary data collection involves personal direct contact.

True

Observation is obtained by direct ___ of investigators without asking questions.

observations

Match the type of interview with its description:

Structured Interview = Predetermined questions and high standardized recording methods Unstructured Interview = Flexibility of questioning and recording methods Focused Interview = Focus on given responses Clinical Interview = Concerned with diagnostic and assessment data

Study Notes

Research Tools

Research tools are instruments used to collect information for performance assessments, self-evaluations, and external evaluations.
Different instruments are used to conduct assessment forms for gathering data according to the nature of the information.

What are Research Tools

Research tools are instruments for measuring events and used for data collection.
They should be measurable for data analysis and interpretation.

Principles of Research Tools

Research tools should have concise, complete, and definite question words.
The order of questions is important, and one question should not influence other questions.
Research tools should not be too long or too short, with a maximum completion time of 30 minutes.

What is Data

Data are meaningful information collected through a systematic process from a selected sample.

Data Collection

Primary data collection involves personal direct contact, such as in-person surveys, interviews, focus groups, and direct observation.
Secondary data collection involves no direct contact, such as government publications, websites, books, and journal articles.

Methods of Data Collection

Observation: obtained by direct observations of investigators without asking questions, used for behavioral studies.
Interview: oral communication and response, which can be personal or telephone-based.
Questionnaire: questions prepared by the researcher and filled by the respondent, often used for large data sets.
Documents and records: collecting data from existing documents and records.

How to Choose the Method

The choice of method depends on the nature of the study, size of the sample, scale of the survey, educational level of respondents, and type and depth of information to be collected.

Observation Method

Types of observations: structured and unstructured.
Tools for observation: field notes, checklist.
Advantages of observation: no subject bias, relates to what is happening, and independent of respondents.
Disadvantages of observation: expensive, limited information, and unforeseen factors may interfere with observation.

Interview Method

Classifications of interviews: personal (structured, unstructured, focused, clinical) and telephone-based.
Advantages of personal interview: flexibility, accuracy, and adequacy of data.
Disadvantages of personal interview: demands knowledge and skills, difficult analysis of data, and time-consuming.
Advantages of telephone interview: flexibility, fast, easy, simple, and economic.
Disadvantages of telephone interview: restricted to availability of telephone.

Questionnaire Method

Advantages of questionnaire: can be posted, e-mailed, or faxed, large number of respondents, quick, and inexpensive.
Disadvantages of questionnaire: design problems, time-consuming, literacy problems, and no control over completion.
Structure of questions: open-ended, close-ended, dichotomous, multi-choice, rank order, rating, and checklist.
Closed-ended questions: limit response, easy analysis.
Visual analogue scales: assessing perception of physical stimuli as pain, sleep, etc.

Physiological Measurements

Physical measures: temperature, volume, pressure, etc.
Chemical measures: hormones levels, blood sugar or urea, etc.
Microbiological measures: bacterial count, etc.
Anatomical measure: X-ray, tissue biopsies, etc.