Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research

The paper is based on a study that compares data collected from two methods, namely, individuals acting as respondents and individuals acting as informants. The former involves self-rating while the later asks individuals to rate other’s beliefs, preferences, and actions. The study objective was to...

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Main Authors:	Singh, RBN, Hassan, Arif
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	HA29 Theory and method of social science statistics
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/1/Draft_Melbourne_2012_Program.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/2/19_IBR_Conf_Paper.pdf

id	iium-27495
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-274952012-12-31T07:50:41Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/ Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research Singh, RBN Hassan, Arif HA29 Theory and method of social science statistics The paper is based on a study that compares data collected from two methods, namely, individuals acting as respondents and individuals acting as informants. The former involves self-rating while the later asks individuals to rate other’s beliefs, preferences, and actions. The study objective was to examine the role of social desirability factor in self-rating method of data collection. Good number of business and management studies uses self-rating questionnaires and interviews which may not yield data that truly reflect the reality due to respondents’ tendency to present himself/herself in a socially desirable manner. This may be even more pronounced in a collectivistic culture where individual’s thoughts and perception are deeply influenced by the social norms and values. No such study has been conducted that compares the two method of data collection in a single study, providing the justification for this research. A sample of 100 adults of mix background from India and 127 students from Malaysia rated predominantly positive and negative description of beliefs, values and preferences twice--first for the people residing around them and then for themselves. They also rated themselves on a scale of social desirability. The findings confirmed that the respondents attributed negative cognitions (beliefs, values and preferences) to the people more than themselves. They attributed predominantly positive beliefs, values and preferences to themselves and people, although a shade more to themselves. The social desirability orientation was meaningfully related to respondents’ self but not to people’s related perceptions. The findings thus favored the use of respondents in informants’ role of judging people’s cognitions of social reality. 2012 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/1/Draft_Melbourne_2012_Program.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/2/19_IBR_Conf_Paper.pdf Singh, RBN and Hassan, Arif (2012) Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research. In: 19 International Business Research Conference, 19-21, November 2012, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. (Unpublished)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English English
topic	HA29 Theory and method of social science statistics
spellingShingle	HA29 Theory and method of social science statistics Singh, RBN Hassan, Arif Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research
description	The paper is based on a study that compares data collected from two methods, namely, individuals acting as respondents and individuals acting as informants. The former involves self-rating while the later asks individuals to rate other’s beliefs, preferences, and actions. The study objective was to examine the role of social desirability factor in self-rating method of data collection. Good number of business and management studies uses self-rating questionnaires and interviews which may not yield data that truly reflect the reality due to respondents’ tendency to present himself/herself in a socially desirable manner. This may be even more pronounced in a collectivistic culture where individual’s thoughts and perception are deeply influenced by the social norms and values. No such study has been conducted that compares the two method of data collection in a single study, providing the justification for this research. A sample of 100 adults of mix background from India and 127 students from Malaysia rated predominantly positive and negative description of beliefs, values and preferences twice--first for the people residing around them and then for themselves. They also rated themselves on a scale of social desirability. The findings confirmed that the respondents attributed negative cognitions (beliefs, values and preferences) to the people more than themselves. They attributed predominantly positive beliefs, values and preferences to themselves and people, although a shade more to themselves. The social desirability orientation was meaningfully related to respondents’ self but not to people’s related perceptions. The findings thus favored the use of respondents in informants’ role of judging people’s cognitions of social reality.
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Singh, RBN Hassan, Arif
author_facet	Singh, RBN Hassan, Arif
author_sort	Singh, RBN
title	Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research
title_short	Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research
title_full	Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research
title_fullStr	Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research
title_full_unstemmed	Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research
title_sort	respondents versus informants methods of data collection: implications for business research
publishDate	2012
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/1/Draft_Melbourne_2012_Program.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/27495/2/19_IBR_Conf_Paper.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:40:50Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:40:50Z
_version_	1777409354037723136

Respondents versus Informants Methods of Data Collection: Implications for Business Research

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