The integration of observations made through field research can be integrated with data interviews as well as other sources in form of auxiliary or confirmatory research (Halldén, Haglund, & Strömdahl, 2007). One of the key advantages of collecting observational data is that researchers may focus on multiple study sites as part of their data collection process. Consequently, this means that the use of observation as an auxiliary to other forms of data collection may aid in confirming whether indeed the data collected from other data collection methods is accurate. Researchers would seek to make use of observational data with the aim of having to confirm the validity of the data that they may have collected from interviews or other sources. From this point of view, it is clear that observation data is an important part of any study irrespective of the primary data collection method that is used as part of the study.
The sample of subjects, which refers to a subset of the entire population that is being studied, is of great importance similar to the data collection method because the sample consists of one or more observations that refers to the population. In that retrospect, it can be argued that selecting a valid sample of subjects is one of the key priorities that ought to be considered as part of the overall research process. Selecting a wrong sample of subjects would mean that the entire study is rendered invalid. In that same view, ‘how’ data is collected is key towards determining success in any given study, as the method used determines the type of data that researchers are likely to gather. That shows the need for having to ensure that researchers take extra caution when selecting a data collection method, as this may have a significant impact on the projected outcomes of the study.
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References
Halldén, O., Haglund, L., & Strömdahl, H. (2007). Conceptions and contexts: On the interpretation of interview and observational data. Educational Psychologist , 42 (1), 25-40.
