Whether a study is qualitative or quantitative, the process of data collection is not as orderly as it may seem when described in published research reports, articles, or books. Data collection may be more challenging when conducting research across national and linguistic borders. In this article, I share and reflect upon the complex and messy…

Uses three specific studies to analyze methods of data collection from children, including participant observation, focus groups, interviews, and structured activities. Points out the effective and ineffective aspects of each method, and deals with methodological issues such as parental consent, access to children, privacy, and confidentiality.…

The practice of interviewing individuals rather than groups has been based largely upon methodological concerns for preventing contamination of data. The assumptions that (1) the data provided by individuals can, in aggregate, yield social truth; (2) individuals are conscious of social phenomena; and (3) the whole of social reality is equal to the…