Objectivity in data collection aims to be free from personal opinion. Which option reflects this idea?

Objectivity in data collection aims to be free from personal opinion. Which option reflects this idea?

• A. Not influenced by personal opinion
• B. Influenced by personal opinion
• C. Collected from secondary sources
• D. Requires random sampling

Answer: (A)

Objectivity in data collection means conducting measurements or observations in a way that personal opinions or feelings don’t affect what is recorded. The best reflection of this is the option that states data is not influenced by personal opinion. That captures the idea of neutral, repeatable methods where findings come from the data itself, not from the researcher’s views. The other ideas don’t match objectivity as closely. Being influenced by personal opinion directly contradicts objectivity. Collecting data from secondary sources describes where the data comes from, but it doesn’t guarantee that the data collection itself was neutral. Requiring random sampling relates to how representative the sample is and reducing selection bias, but it doesn’t by itself ensure that personal opinions weren’t involved in data collection or interpretation.

Objectivity in data collection means conducting measurements or observations in a way that personal opinions or feelings don’t affect what is recorded. The best reflection of this is the option that states data is not influenced by personal opinion. That captures the idea of neutral, repeatable methods where findings come from the data itself, not from the researcher’s views.

The other ideas don’t match objectivity as closely. Being influenced by personal opinion directly contradicts objectivity. Collecting data from secondary sources describes where the data comes from, but it doesn’t guarantee that the data collection itself was neutral. Requiring random sampling relates to how representative the sample is and reducing selection bias, but it doesn’t by itself ensure that personal opinions weren’t involved in data collection or interpretation.