Constructing a Research tool for data collection
Research tool may be defined as:
Anything that becomes a means of collecting information for your study is called a research tool or a research instrument. For example, observation forms, interview schedules, questionnaires, and interview guides are all classified as research tools.
Constructing a research tool is the first practical step in carrying out research process. You will need to decide how you will collect the data then you construct a research instrument for this.
If you are planning to collect data specifically for your research then you have to develop a research instrument or select an already developed one.
If you are using a secondary data (information already collected for other purposes), develop a form to extract required data.
Field testing a research tool is an important part. But as a rule, field testing should not be carried out on the sample of your study but on a similar population.
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