The following paper provides insight to some of the issues to consider when conducting telephone interviews;

Irvine, A. (2011) Duration, dominance and depth in telephone and face-to-face interviews: a comparative exploration, International Journal of Qualitative Methods 10(3): 202–220.

Identify the advantages and potential disadvantages of interviews as a method of data collection. You may find it helpful to read the remainder of the chapter first and then consider interviews in the context of the advantages and disadvantages of the other methods of data collection discussed in this chapter.

What do you think? Do you think that informed consent should be obtained from all those who are likely to be involved, or just those who are the focus of the observation?

To help you decide, consider the following example:

Observations are to be carried out in a hospital canteen to observe junior nurses on their lunch break. The purpose of the research is to understand their behaviours and actions. Should informed consent be obtained just from the nurses? Or all those likely to be present during the observation such as canteen staff, relatives and other health care professionals?

What are possible implications of the different decisions that could be taken?

Identify the advantages and potential disadvantages of observations as a method of data collection. You may find it helpful to read the remainder of the chapter first and then consider observations in the context of the advantages and disadvantages of the other methods of data collection discussed in this chapter.

Identify the advantages and potential disadvantages of focus groups as a method of data collection. You may find it helpful to read the remainder of the chapter first and then consider focus groups in the context of the advantages and disadvantages of the other methods of data collection discussed in this chapter.

Identify the advantages and potential disadvantages of diaries as a method of data collection. You may find it helpful to read the remainder of the chapter first and then consider diaries in the context of the advantages and disadvantages of the other methods of data collection discussed in this chapter.

The following papers describe the use of vignettes:

Hunter, B. and Warren, L. (2014) Midwives' experiences of workplace resilience, Midwifery 30(8): 926–934.

Paddam, A. Barnes, D. and Langdon, D. (2010) Constructing vignettes to investigate anger in multiple sclerosis, Nurse Researcher 17(2): 60–73.

The following papers describe the use of Q-sort:

Gallagher, K. and Porock, D. (2010) The use of interviews in Q Methodology, Nursing Research 59(4): 295–300.

Tarabulsy, G.M. Provost, M.A. Larose, S. Moss, E. Lemelin, J-P. Moran, G. Forbes, L. and Pederson, D.R. (2008) Similarities and differences in mothers’ and observers’ ratings of infant security on the Attachment Q-sort, Infant Behavior and Development 31(1): 10–22.

Nikolaus, S. Bode, C. Taal, E. and Mart, A.F.J. van de Laar (2010) Four different patterns of fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis patients: results of a Q-sort study, Rheumatology 49(11): 2191–2199.

The following papers discuss the use of art-based methods of data collection:

Driessnack, M. and Furukawa, R. (2012) Arts based data collection techniques used in child research, Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing 17(1): 3–9

Harder, M. Christensson, K. and Söderbäck, M. (2015) Undergoing an immunization is effortlessly, manageable or difficult according to five-year-old children, Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science 29(2): 268–276.

Fournier, B. Bridge, A. Mill, J. Alibhai, A. Pritchard Kennedy, A. and Konde-Lule, J. (2014) Turning the camera back: a Photovoice project with Ugandan children who are orphaned and living with HIV, Sage Open April–June: 1–10. 

The class of 2016 have been asked to plan the following studies:

1. A phenomenological study – What is the lived experience of teenagers with chronic renal failure?
    
2. An ethnographic study – How do midwives support breast-feeding mothers?
    

• Suggest the most appropriate data collection method for the proposed studies and give a rationale for your decision.
  ​
• Develop a short data collection tool. 

The following papers describe combining methods of data collection:

Guise, V. Chambers, M. Välimäki, M. and Makkonen, P. (2010) A mixed-mode approach to data collection: combining web and paper questionnaires to examine nurses’ attitudes to mental illness, Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(7): 1623–1632.

Way, S. (2011) The combined use of diaries and interviewing for the collection of data in midwifery research, Evidence Based Midwifery 9(2): 66–70.