Overview
The way we choose to collect data can influence, in many ways, the data that we actually collect.
Consider the situation where you are asked the following question: “when was the last time that you attended a sports event?”
Think of what might come to the responders' mind. What came to your mind?
Now have a look at document 1 and document 2 (attached files) and think of how the image might change the interpretation of the question, and the answers that we’ll obtain.
- What about the choice of data types?
Is it the same to ask how satisfied you are with this class by providing a list of choices (for instance, “not satisfied”, “somehow satisfied”, “satisfied”, “very satisfied”), or providing a Likert scale with 4 points?
And if you use a Likert scale, can the distance between the points introduce bias in the results?