ABSTRACT
Observation, measurement, and recording comprise what many people think of as data collection. This chapter explores the different ways that data values are obtained, including data collected from electronic or mechanical instruments, data collected from existing databases, data abstracted from written documents, data collected by asking people questions, and data collected from observations of entities or phenomena. There are two basic options for observation and recording; each can be performed manually or via a device. Human observation is common in research. Human observation is complicated further when there is subjectivity or human judgment involved. Obtaining data by direct observation is different from obtaining data by asking those who directly observed or experienced something. Reliability is often assessed during instrument validation. Although accuracy, consistency, and systematic methods remain important for data observed and recorded by instrumentation, with instrumentation, there are different threats to data quality and thus different considerations for use of instrumentation in research.
