Data collection instruments and technologies
Describe all data collection instruments, including their development, and if/how they changed over the course of the study. Cite relevant literatures, theories or conceptual frameworks as appropriate. Consider sharing the data collection instrument(s) or a detailed description of them in the article body, supplementary material, or published elsewhere.
“I publish my materials on the OSF and then describe and cite them in my articles.”Tim Westland - Researcher Describe the use of equipment for audio or video recording, reproduction of paper documents or computer files, or other processes in data collection.
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Why readers need this information
Describing instruments and equipment helps readers understand the full context in which data collection occurred and how this context might have affected data collection (e.g., the influence of recording devices on participants’ behaviors; the nature of inferences drawn from live vs. recorded events).
Examples
To facilitate the discussion and to maintain consistency over different sets of discussions, key trigger questions were devised prior to the discussion. The opening trigger question was: ‘Thinking back to some of your best clinical learning placements in 4th and 5th year. What was it about those clinical placements that provided good opportunities for learning?’
Interviews included discussion of the expectations, processes and consequences of AEE [authentic early experiences]. The interview schedule was derived following identification of questions that could not be fully answered in a systematic review of previous empirical or theoretical literature. It comprised a sequence of topic areas including experiences in action, and areas of frustration in Medical Education such as the learning of content knowledge, achieving functional knowledge, and transfer of knowledge.[REF]… Interested readers can request a copy of the schedules from the corresponding author. Interviews lasted between 20 and 90 min. and discussion groups between 60 and 90 min. All interviews and discussion groups were conducted in private rooms at the participant’s workplace—the medical school for students and faculty, and individual places of work for workplace supervisors (except for one who chose to be interviewed at the medical school). All data were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim.
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