Data collection techniques - status quo

Nothing to do with aging, three-chord, denim-clad rockers - before I begin working through unit 4's material on Data Collection Techniques I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on my experiences in this area so far.

As an undergraduate student of Communication Studies I have the feeling that research wasn't talked about as much as it could have been. I had one class in reseach methods and during my exchange semester in the USA was able to take an additional two classes on this area. As a branch of the social sciences I think there was a (natural) bias towards qualitative methods although whilst I was in America we did also get taught more empirical topics about sample sizes, reliability, Anova, and t-tests. Unfortunately, as I decided to write my dissertation as an analysis of literature (on propaganda in school history books, for those who are curious) I didn't make use of any of these tools.

When I did my first research for the BOE degree during the Customised Study module I had to go back to my notes and refresh my memory on research techniques. I decided to use an online survey as my data collection instrument - probably for the same reason most students choose them: 

• Surveys are quick to create and carry out
• Online survey tools do all the number-crunching for you
• No need to go out into the cold and actually talk to people
• No waste paper

On the other hand, I did also discover the drawbacks to using a survey, and in particular a web-based survey:

• Little control of your target audience
• Reliant on student good-will for their participation
• Not possible to explain questions if they are unclear
• Little possibility for getting qualitative feedback
• No possibility to ask additional questions

 For the eager researcher then, the question has to be, "Do these advantages outweigh the disadvantages?". In my case, as I wasn't wanting to make any profound scientific observations based on my results I think it was okay. Students here who are researching for the Bachelor also tend to reach for online survey tools and then make sweeping statements based on the results. I think this is due to us not having a compulsory course on research methods, in other words, a lot of them don't know any better!

Personally, I find this a really interesting area and am looking forward to the unit and reporting back on what I have learnt.

Neil