Information Gathering INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS Information Gathering Zatil Ridh'wah Hj Darot

What is Information Gathering? Collecting information from various sources through ______________________ There are two main types of sources: Primary – first hand sources Secondary – information that can be found printed, in videos, audios and other materials that are available to the public

Who gathers information? Research specialists (Marketing and R&D departments) Trained and skilled to carry out the research Why gather information?: ________________of the organization For the development of particular skills To solve problems

Process of gathering information Analyzing the problem Identify sections of information gathering Set plan needed to be carried out Devise gathering methods and tools ________________ Review and record the data obtained

Methods to gather information Interviews Surveys Observation Focus groups

interviews An interaction that involves interviewer and participant(s) in which question presented are in person, over telephone or the internet. Questions are asked to obtain detailed information. Questions may be similar to those asked in a survey

interviews disadvantages advantages Time consuming Subjective interpretation Can be expensive Difficult to analyze Interviewer can know how people interprets the questions asked Able to ask for more details when needed Provide more detailed data

surveys A set of questions for participants to answers Can be administered in person, through mail, telephone or electronically. Can be administered to an individual or in groups Used to gain information about many individuals May include close-ended or open-ended questions.

surveys Can survey many people Inexpensive Objective interpretation advantages disadvantages Can survey many people Inexpensive Objective interpretation May be difficult with interpreting questions Difficult to obtain much details Sometimes lack of accuracy

observation Recordings that are taken of the participants without requiring interaction Recordings are made while participants engage in routine behaviors Used as an indicator of what _______________rather than rely on self-reports of participants’ behavior.

observation Objective interpretations advantages disadvantages Objective interpretations Low burden for people to provide information Time consuming Can be expensive

Focus group A kind of unstructured interview Gathering selected people to participate in __________________________________and receptive. Explore topics in-depth through group discussion Useful in evaluation and marketing

Focus group advantages disadvantages Able to interview multiple people at one time thus, cost effective Have multiple views at once Hard to coordinate Responses from one person may hinder others with different opinion

Problems of gathering information Duplicated data collected _______________________ Too little information acquired Conflicting data Language barriers Insufficient time Lack of equipment

Tutorial questions Give different situations in which methods of gathering information is best used.