Briefly discuss the following methods of data collection,stating some of their merits and demerits: (i)census (ii)mailed questionnaire (iii)personal interviewiv)sampling

Briefly discuss the following methods of data collection,stating some of their merits and demerits: i)census
ii)mailed questionnaire
iii)personal interview
iv)sampling

i)Census-in this method, every single member of the population is examined and the value of a particular variable we are interested in is noted for each member. It is also referred to as complete enumeration method.
Advantage:-it gives accurate results.
Disadvantage:-it is tedious.
-it is time consuming
-it is expensive

ii)Mailed questionnaire- a list of questions pertaining to the survey known as questionnaires are prepared and sent to the informants(respondents) by post. A request is made to the informant through a covering letter within the specified time. It is important to notify them that their response will be confidential.
Advantage:-its cost is relatively low.
Disadvantages:-the informant could be illiterate.
-there is uncertainty about response.
-it is difficult to verify the accuracy of the response.

iii)Personal interview- this is a face to face contact with persons whom the information is to be obtained. The interviewer asks questions pertaining to the survey and collects desired information.
Advantages:-the information is accurate.
-supplementary information may be obtained.
-sensitive questions can be sandwiched.
Disadvantages:-it is costly and time consuming especially where respondents are widely spread.
-well trained and qualified interviewers will be required.

iv)Sampling- in this method, only a proportion of the population is examined. After analysis the results of the sample data, we draw conclusions of the characteristic of the population, for example, mean.
Advantages:-it saves time and money.
-it is useful when the population is very large.
-it is useful if enumeration involved destruction of items.
Disadvantages:-it is biased.
-it may result in inaccurate results.

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Hildah Wafula answered the question on April 2, 2019 at 07:57

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