Technical Communication DATA COLLECTION Technical Communication

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION YOUR OWN DATA FROM OWN INVESTIGATION PRIMARY SOURCES FROM PUBLICATIONS, RECENT REPORTS NEWSLETTERS ETC SCONDARY SOURCES

How to collect primary Data Document-secondary sources Observation Surveys Experiments

Creating Good Interview and Survey Questions Questions to be avoided: Double-barreled questions DBQ: Do you agree that campus parking is a problem and that the administration should be working diligently on a solution RQ:: Is campus parking is a problem Questions that assume what they ask BQ: There are many people who believe that campus parking is a problem. Are you one of them? RQ: Do you agree or diisagree that campus parking is a problem? BIASED QUESTIONS BQ: Don’t you agree that campus parkingis a problem? RQ: Is parking on campus a problem?

CONT… Confusing or wordy question CQ: What do you think about the parking? RQ: What is your opinion of the parking situation on campus? Confusing or wordy question UQ: have you ever encountered problems in the parking garage on campus? Do you dislike the bus system? Questions that not relate to what you want to learn?

TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONS OPEN ENDED QUESTION How would you describe the condition of the vans provided by UTHM? EITHER OR Do you think the van drivers obey the Safety Regulation while driving on the road? YES/NO MULTIPLE CHOICE What is the best way to educate the van drivers? (Choose only ONE) a. UTHM should often give a reminder b. Distribute flyers and brochures to the drivers

CONT… Scale Please mark an X on the scale to indicate how you feel regarding your safety while travelling 1 2 3 4 5 Key 1 Very safe 3 Moderate 5 Very unsafe 2 Safe 4 Unsafe Checklist Which movie/s have you watched in the past 3 months (tick / all that apply) i. Shrek 3 ( ) ii. The Incredibles ( )

CONT… Ranking Rank these movies according to your preferences: from 1 (most Preferred) to 5 ( Least Preferred) 1. Shrek 3 ( ) 2.The Incredibles ( ) 3. Terminator 111 ( )

GUIDELINES WHEN MAKING SURVEY QUESTIONS Provide Clear instructions Keep the questions short and easy to answer Create questions that are easy to tabulate/analyse Ask only one thing at one time Pretest the questionnaire on a sample group

TRY THIS.. In pairs, You boss asked you to carry out a market survey on Brand X shampoo by using questionnaires. Prepare at least 3 different questions using different types of survey questions. Test the validity of the questions with other members.

Groupwork (4th Assessment 10%) Prepare a sample of questions for your research according to the topic that you have chosen. It should consists of 15 questions of all types.