CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
INSTRUMENTATION
17.1 Objectives
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
i. explain the concept of research instruments
ii. describe the measuring devices: paper and pencil; observation; questionnaire and interview
iii. explain the types of interviews and questionnaire
iv. mention the merits and demerits of interview and questionnaire
17.2 Introduction
Instrumentation is the process of selecting or creating measurement instruments for collecting required data in a research endeavor. Research instruments are the measuring devices created during the instrumentation process. According to (Sambo, 2008), four frequent data gathering methods in education research are: (i.) paper and pencil achievement tests; (ii) observation; (iii) interviews; and (iv) questionnaires.
17.3 Research Instrument
According to (Sambo, 2008), four frequent data gathering methods in education research are: I paper and pencil achievement tests; (ii) observation; (iii) interviews; and (iv) questionnaires.
17.3.1 Paper and Pencil Test of Achievement
It is also known as psychometric and is a typical evaluation tool used by researchers to test cognitive levels or individual growth. To determine the level of the learning that has occurred over a period of time, academic achievement tests, quantitative and verbal aptitude tests may be used. In general, tests are designed to assess a broad range of behavioral patterns, including mental capacity or intellect, accomplishment, unique abilities, aptitude, creativity, and curiosity. In achievement test have pretest, posttest and post-posttest.
17.3.2 Observation
Questionnaire is the process of systematically observing persons, events, or circumstances in order to gather information about certain characteristics of such individuals, events, or situations. These are the two sorts of observations:
Participant: - The observer is a component of the situation or environment in which the observation is conducted.
Non-participant: - the observer in this circumstance is not a participant in the situation being observed.
17.3.3 Interview
An interview is a (face-to-face or telephone) conversation that is conducted with the intent of acquiring trustworthy and valid information from one or more respondents. There are organized and unstructured interview formats.
This is a tightly structured and extremely formal interview format. Multiple responders are provided with the same questions. The respondent must select his response from a list of options presented by the interviewer. Structured interviews are more scientific than unstructured ones because the standardized technique allows for scientific generalizations to be drawn from the data collected. The rigidity of organized interviews impedes the researcher's ability to conduct sufficiently in-depth inquiries.
This sort of interview is flexible and permits the interviewee to disclose more information than the others. This interview format is neither too rigorous nor too relaxed. It is a moderate form that can generate a considerable deal of information from the interviewee. It is challenging to quantify the obtained data while using unstructured kind. The inability to compare respondent data may preclude the possibility of generalizations with broader relevance. As a result, it is rarely employed to collect data required for testing hypotheses.
Benefits of the Interview Method
Whether organized or unstructured, the Interview technique of data collecting provides the following advantages:
1. It is adaptable and relevant to a variety of issue kinds.
2. The interviewer can observe both the content and delivery of the interviewee's responses.
3. It is really beneficial for gathering personal and supplementary information, if necessary.
4. When a respondent is motivated to accept the reasons for the interview, the interview might be highly successful.
Disadvantage of Interview
The downsides of the interview technique of data collecting are as follows:
1. It is frequently challenging to generalize from unstructured interviews.
2. The interviewer's own prejudices, biases, attitudes, and beliefs may influence the outcome of the interview.
3. The procedure is time-consuming.
4. The interviewer's race, tribe, age, sex, religion, language, accent, cultural background, or socioeconomic status might be influenced by the respondents' answers. These considerations must be taken into account while selecting interviewers.
The analysis of unstructured oral interviews is difficult to measure.
Student Exercise
1. What is a research instrument?
2. List the benefits of interviewing as a data collecting strategy.
3. What is an unstructured interview?
4. What are the features and benefits of a structured interview?
17.3.4 Questionnaires
It is a form including one or more questions about a topic or problem that asks an individual to declare his sentiments, beliefs, experiences, or attitudes toward addressing the issue or finding a solution to a particular problem by filling out the form in accordance with specific instructions. They are intended to generate precise information to satisfy a specific requirement for research data on a particular issue. This definition highlights several characteristics of the questionnaire. These consist of:
1. It is a form constructed with questions or things provided to the respondent on paper rather than orally.
2. It may include one or more elements, depending on the breadth or depth of the topic about which the researcher seeks information or data.
3. The information sought should have to do with opinion, sentiment, attitude, perception, or others, as opposed to cognitive realm.
4. The information is written down by the responder or his aide, as opposed to the researcher during an interview.
Variations on Questionnaire
There are several methods to categorize the questionnaire. Here, we will categorize the questionnaire according to the required response type. On this basis, we may distinguish between two sorts of questionnaires: fixed-response and open-ended.
Fixed-Response Questionnaire
In this form of inquiry, the responder is given a number of possible replies from which he is supposed to pick the one that best expresses his opinion, sentiment, or attitude. Therefore, the respondent is not free to select and order his own replies. Below is an illustration of this type:
Example: Section A focuses on personal information, whereas Section B tries to extract the respondent's perspective on the functioning of continuous evaluation.
Instruction: Select the proper option.
1. School Type a. all-male b. all-female c. mixed
2. Respondent's Gender: a. Male b. Female
3. Respondent's Age; a. below 20years; b. 20-30years; c. 20years or older
4. Qualification a. NCE
Which of these resources for adopting C.A. in your school are available? a. Calculators b. Progression graph c. Folder
This style of questionnaire provides a number of advantages, a few of which are given below:
§ It is simple to accomplish. Since choices are presented, even respondents with little education or language difficulties can readily complete this form of survey.
§ It saves time for the responder; • Since the replies are already organized into distinct categories, coding and quantification will be simpler. This made it easier to analyze the obtained data.
These disadvantages are connected with this sort of questionnaire:
§ It is probable that the researcher will be unable to request or receive all potential replies to items.
§ This style of questionnaire does not provide the researcher with the opportunity to collect additional information from respondents.
§ It is challenging to compose this sort of questionnaire item. This requires much time and mental work.
Fixed-response questionnaires may result in what is known as response set, in which respondents provide the same response pattern regardless of whether or not the items demand a distinct response pattern.
Open-End Questionnaire
It is a questionnaire style in which no response options are supplied. He is free to choose and organize his response in whatever way he feels fit and no constraint.
Examples of open-end questionnaire are given below:
1. Types of school-----------------------
2. Sex of Respondent--------------------------
3. Qualification: ------------------------------------
4. List the materials that are used in your for implementing C.A:--------------
Some merits are.
§ It affords the researcher the opportunity of obtaining additional information from the respondent.
§ It is easy and timesaving to construct
§ This type could not lead to response set
Demerits of open-end questionnaire are:
§ It is difficult and time consuming to complete by the respondent
§ It requires the ability of the respondent to communicate effectively
§ Coding and quantification of data are very difficult to the researcher.
Student Activity
1. Explain the meaning of a questionnaire
2. Explain what an open-end questionnaire is.
3. Provide an example of an open-end questionnaire item
4. Which of these statements is true or false?
a. The fixed-response questionnaire is easy to construct
b. It is more difficult to code and quantify responses from fixed-response questionnaire
c. The fixed-response questionnaire can be used with people of little education.
d. All the possible responses are included in fixed-responses questionnaire
5. What is an instrument in research?
6. Enumerate the merits if interview as a method of data collection.
7. What is an unstructured interview?
8. What are the characteristics and advantages of structured interview?
17.4 Validation of Instrument
A measuring instrument might be a questionnaire, an observation or interview, or a paper-and-pencil test (i.e., achievement test). The validity and reliability of a measurement equipment should be high. It should also be useable in terms of ease, appropriateness, storage capacity, and interpretability. A measuring instrument is legitimate if it measures the quality or ability it is supposed to assess properly and precisely. As a researcher, if you wish to test intellect, attitude, achievement, and aptitude, among other factors, you should consider the following: The instrument is legitimate if it accomplishes its intended function. Four primary categories of validity can be distinguished.
Face, content, criterion-related, and construct validity are examples.
Face Validity: Recognizing a mathematical performance exam based just on its appearance. Mehren and Lehmann (1975) define face validity as whether the test seems to be legitimate at first glance. This involves exhibiting the instrument to the specialists and asking them to determine its function. A face-valid instrument offers no question regarding the sort of information it wants.
It refers to the extent to which the instrument covers the realm of interest to the investigation with precision. To guarantee that the test is legitimate in terms of its content, a table of specifications must be utilized to choose test items.
Criterion-Related Validity: The amount to which an instrument corresponds with the behavior of interest or the result of interest. That is the correlation between IQ test results and academic achievement.
Developing Validity: It pertains to the most complex instrument validation procedure. In areas where information is so restricted that other validation procedures are ineffective, it is frequently employed in research. It attempts to explain what the variables in the research signify and whether the test accurately represents their true meaning.
17.5 Measurement Error
Error in measurement may result from malfunctioning instruments, inaccurate interpretations of the results collected, or inconsistency in the respondents' or examinees' behavior. These inaccuracies may be sporadic or systematic.
17.5.1 Error Systematic
When measured values diverge from the actual score, a systematic mistake might arise. Consider, for example, your office's wall clock, which is perpetually adding time or running faster than the actual time, or a standardized test that consistently reports very high marks for every student.
17.5.2 Random Errors
When measurement values diverge from the real score, random mistakes can occur as frequently in either direction. If you take the clock as an example, you will notice that it sometimes gains time and sometimes loses time. Therefore, the extent to which the instrument measures the genuine score is indicative of two crucial factors. Validity and dependability are examples.
17.6 Reliability
This is a popular term used in daily life. In mathematics education research, however, it refers to the degree to which an instrument consistently assesses what it is intended to measure. The correlation coefficient is an essential metric for measuring the level of dependability. Methods for measuring reliability include test-retest, alternate form, divided halves, and interval consistency.
17.7 Summary
In this chapter, you learned about instruments and techniques of validity, as well as methods for estimating reliability. There are three primary forms of validity, including face validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity.
Explained was measurement inaccuracy that may result from a defective instrument. Error may be systematic or arbitrary. Reliability is the degree to which an instrument consistently measures what it is measuring. Test-retest, alternate form, split-halves, and the internal consistency approach are the techniques for measuring reliability.
Students Activity
1. a. What do you understand by the following terms?
b. Research Instrumentation
c. Face Validity
d. Content Validity
2. State and discuss the characteristics of a good measuring instrument.
3. What is reliability of an instrument?
4. What are the methods of estimating reliability?
5. List two types of measurement error?
6. Explain word validity of instrument in research study
References
Aliyu, A. (1996). Fundamentals of research in education Awka: Meks Publishers (Nigeria).
Ogomaka, P.M.C (1998). Descriptive statistics for research students, Owerri: Peacewise.
National Teachers’Institute, Kudana & National Open University of Nigeria, (2016). General education courses