Not all types of information are easily gathered using surveys. Surveys are self-report tools that take place at a single point in time, so exact measurements, external impressions of reactions, and data about things that happen over time can be difficult to capture. Nevertheless, these are important pieces of information that you may need, so let’s discuss a few of the other data collection tools you can use to better collect these types of data.

不是所有类型的信息都可以通过调查的方式轻松获取。调查是发生在单一时点的客观化的工具，那么一段时间内，对事物精确的测量，对事物反应外延性的展现和数据是很难获取的。然而，这些才是信息中你确实需要的那部分。让我们讨论其他的一些数据采集方式以便更好地采集这些种类的数据。

Direct Measurement

直接测量

There are some variables that should be measured rather than surveyed if you’re trying to obtain an exact, correct statistic. Many medical variables, for example, are difficult if not impossible to gather accurately using a survey. Let’s say you need to collect data on participants’ weight at the beginning of a study. There are a few common reasons someone might report an inaccurate number.

当你想获得精确的统计时，这样的变量应该是通过测量得来而不是通过调查。例如，许多医学数据是很难通过调查准确获取的。比方说，在一项研究的开始阶段你需要采集参与者的体重。肯定有很多常见的理由让参与者不报告正确的数值。

• Lack of information: they didn’t actually know how much they weighed when asked
• Social expectation: they felt there was a “correct” answer they were supposed to give
• Ease of response: they knew about how much they weighed but didn’t think the exact answer was needed; “I’m about 170 lbs, so I’ll say that.”

• 缺少信息：参与者确实不知道自己确切的体重
• 社会期望：参与者可能会感觉他们应该给出一个“正确的”答案
• 减弱回答：参与者可能知道确切的体重，但不认为需要准确回答。“我大约是170磅，我一般会这么回答。”

Whether your data need to be exact depends on how you’re using the the information. If you’re not concerned about having a precise measurement and an estimate will work, then a survey might be fine as long as it asks something people will be able to reasonably estimate. If you have a variable is likely to be incorrectly self-reported and it is important that these data are current and accurate, direct measurement should be used instead of a survey.

你对信息的使用方式决定了你是否需要数据是准确的。如果你不关心测量值精确度，一个估计值就可以的话，进行调查就可以了，调查问卷上的问题人们会给出一个合理的估计值。如果通过自己报告不能给出正确的数据，并且这些数据的及时性和准确性很重要的失手，应该使用直接测量而不是调查的方式。

In direct measurement, you use an appropriate device to measure the variable and then record the value in the dataset. This is often done for health-related variables that a person wouldn’t be able to “just know.” The measurements are usually captured on forms and the data is transferred from the forms into the dataset.

在直接测量中，你可以使用正确的设备进行测量并将数值记录到数据集中。这种方式经常会用在与健康相关的数据中，因为人们不可能“刚好知道”这些值。这些测量会被记录到表格中，数据会被从表格转换到数据集。

It is important for your forms to be clear about how you want the measurement to be recorded. You should indicate the preferred units and the precision you want the measurement captured with. One of the easiest ways to communicate this is by allotting a specific number of boxes so the person taking the measurement knows how many digits you want recorded.

你的表格能清晰的记录你的测量值是很重要的。你应该指明采集的测量值首选的数量单位和精度。一个最简单的办法去表达需要的测量精度就是给出填写的具体格子，测量人员就会知道需要精确到几位小数。

The image below shows an example for how we might set up a form for capturing adult weight. Here, we want the measurement in pounds, and we want the number recorded to two digits after the decimal place.

下图就说明了这个例子，我们应该如何建立一个表格去采集成年人的体重。这里我们想按磅来测量，精确到小数点后两位。

When relevant, include a place to record what device was used to take the measurement.

与这相关的就是该在哪里记录，该用什么设备来测量这些了。

Focus Groups

集中讨论

Sometimes it’s helpful to watch people while they’re responding to your questions, see their thought processes, and observe them interacting with others. You may also have a wider variety of topics you would like to cover than would make sense for a survey or you might not be sure exactly what questions need to be asked yet. Focus groups can help in all these situations.

有时观察其他人对你问题的反应是有用的。理解他们的思考过程，观察他们他人间的交互。你可能有更为多样的主题想去讨论而不是像调查表那样看似合理的题目，或者你还不知道应该问什么样的问题。集中讨论对这些情形都很有帮助的。

A basic focus group works a lot like a facilitated book club meeting. A small group of people (usually 6 to 12 individuals) is gathered to discuss their thoughts on a specific topic, and this discussion is led by a trained moderator. The moderator asks a variety of questions in order to get more in-depth opinions than a survey would answer alone. Focus groups often have more flexibility than surveys in that the questions are not entirely pre-determined. The moderator has more freedom to explore the answers the respondents provide and formulate new questions based on those responses. Additionally, since participants are in a group, the answers one person gives may cause another to think of answers they might not have otherwise.

一个基本的集中讨论组就想便利图书讨论会。一小组人（通常6至12人）聚在一起讨论针对一个主题进行讨论，这种讨论需要一个训练有素的主持人。主持人通过问各种各样的问题来获取有深度的评价观点，而不是像调查问卷那种单一的答案。对于那些还未完全设定好的问题，集中讨论比于调查问卷具有更多的灵活性。主持人有更大的空间对参与者的答案进行挖掘，接下来利用参与者回答来设定新的问题。另外，由于参与其中，一个人的答案可能给了其他人新的思路。

However, both the group setting and the presence of the moderator can create bias in participant responses. It is important to keep this in mind when reviewing and analyzing focus group data.

然而，讨论组的设置和主持人的表达可能会使参与者的回答产生影响。在复查和分析集中讨论的数据时，这种影响应该考虑进去。

Observation

观察

Sometimes the data you need to collect are a matter of observation. Let’s go back to Fictionals Ice Cream Parlour for a moment. You recently purchased new furniture for the store, and you’re considering a couple of different layouts for it. You want to see which layout seems to work best for customer flow, so you set up the furniture one way for a few days and record your personal observations about customer movement within the shop. Then you switch the furniture to the other layout and again record what you notice. These data can help you figure out what other questions you might want to ask or what other data you need before making your decision.

有时候你需要的数据是一种观察。让我们再回到Fictionals冰淇淋店，你最近为店里购买了一些新的家具，你考了了几种摆放的方式。你希望知道哪种摆放方式更方便客户在店内浏览。所以，你按某种方式把家具摆放几天，这几天里你会通过观察顾客在店内的活动。接下来你调整家具到另外一种摆放方式，再次通过观察来进行记录。这些数据可以帮助你认清哪些问题可能是你想问的，或者，在做出决定前还需要哪些数据。

You can use observation in this way to gain insight into naturalistic behavior. This can be especially useful if your subjects of interest are not human and can’t answer survey questions: scientists rely on observation as a data collection technique all the time!

你就可以通过这种方式来获取对自然行为的认识。假如你关注的课题不是人，并且不能对调查问卷的问题进行回答的时候，这种方式会很有用。科学家一直是依靠观察作为数据获取的方式。

One of the major shortcomings of this method is that the presence of an observer changes an observation. Every person sees an event from their own perspective, and their report of that event is influenced by that perspective. You can decrease this bias by having several observers so that the data gathered represents multiple viewpoints.

观察这种方式的最大缺点是结果因人而异。每个人看待事物都有他自己的视角，他们对事情的报告也必然会受到这种视角的影响。可以用多个观察者来降低这种影响，采集到的数据代表了多种观点。

Examination of Existing Documents

通过现有文档进行提取

In some cases, the data that you need already exist as parts of other documents and your data collection is really a matter of getting all of that information into one place.

在一些案例中，你需要的数据是已经存在于文档中，或者是需要将多种数据汇集到一起。

As the manager of Fictionals Ice Cream Parlour, you want to take a look back at your sales for the last six months to see if your recently-added menu items have been profitable. This information is already available to you through your receipts or POS software data. You just have to get it set up in a way that allows you to easily work with and analyze it.

作为Ficitonals冰淇淋店的经理，你想要看看之前六个月的销售情况，来了解一下新增的菜品是否有利可图。账本上的入款项或者POS软件上的数据就可以提供给你这些。你仅需要通过某种方式设置一下就可以很容易的获取并分析这些数据。

Other existing documents that are frequently used to compile information include books, newspapers, web traffic logs, and webpages. There are also entire datasets that are available for use. These are covered in more detail in the chapter on Finding External Data.

如图书、报纸、网络日志和网页都是我们经常用来收集信息的地方。这些地方有完整的数据集提供给我们。在第六章（寻找外部数据）对这部分会有更详细的阐述。

When you’re using other documents as the main source of your data, you should first set up a data collection plan, much the way that you design a survey. The plan should detail what pieces of data you’re looking for, the level of measurement you want to capture them at, the time frame you need (e.g. do you only want data from the last 6 months? the last 12?), and how much data you need (e.g. do you want to look at all the receipts or just a sample of them?).

当用其他文档作为你数据的主要来源的时候，你应该先做一个数据收集的计划，这比你做调查时的手段多了很多。计划应该明确哪些数据是你在寻找的，所采集的数据的测量水平，你需要的时间段，（例如，你是否就想要最近6个月的数据？还是最近12个月的？）以及你需要多少数据（例如，你是希望查看所有的入款项还是仅仅采样收集？）。

If any of the sources are ones that you don’t own, make sure to properly cite them. It’s important to credit others’ work, and it’s also important to be able to support your research if anyone challenges your information later on.

如果这些数据的来源不是你所有的，还要确定你引用的正确性。对于他人工作的感谢是很重要的，当有其他人之后质疑你的信息的时候，这也会支持你的研究。

Diaries

日常记录

Diary forms can be useful if you’re collecting data from people about things that are happening over extended periods of time. They are particularly helpful if you them to record a lot of details that could easily be misremembered or forgotten.

如果你是从记录时间段里经历这些事的那人采集数据，日常记录的表格会很有用。这种表格对于记录一些细节特别有帮助，否则这些细节很容易被记错或者忘掉。

You might have seen something similar to this before:

你可能以前见过类似下图的表格：

Diary forms are often used for tracking things like meals, medications, or exercise but can be used for anything you want to record over time. They can be paper forms or computerized, but should follow the same design principles as surveys. Fields should be well-labelled and the instructions should be very clear about how (and how often) the diary should be completed.

日常记录表格通常被用来跟踪记录像肉、药物、或者锻炼这类事，也可以用来在一段时间你想记录的任何事。这种表格既可以是纸质的也可以用电脑来记录，但是应该像调查表一样有一个固定的模板。标题应该准确，还应该清晰说明表达怎样（以及间隔多久）来记录表格。

Using Multiple Collection Methods

使用多种采集方式

When you’re considering a project as a whole, it is possible that not all the research questions you’re trying to address can be answered using data collected from just one of the methods discussed so far. You may find that your survey will need to be supplemented with some direct measurements, or you may need to have your focus group participants complete diary forms.

当全面的思考一个项目时，仅仅用一种之前所讨论过的方法得到的数据，无法满足你所有试图去解决的问题要求。你可能会发现你的调查会需要一些直接测量来进行补充，或许你可能需要你的集中讨论组的参与者完成日常表格的记录。

Just as you can benefit from a combination of survey types, you can also benefit from incorporating multiple types of data collection if the data you need would most appropriately be gathered in different ways. Consider what approaches make the most sense for the data you need, and then select the best choices that are practical within your budgetary and time constraints.

正如你可以从多类型的组合调查表中获益一样，当你需要的数据可以通过多种类型来整合时，你也可以从多种方式采集数据中获益。考虑一下什么方法最适合你需要的数据，然后你经济和时间允许的范围内选择一个最实际方法。