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usually occur due to the bias involved in studies at various levels,
namely a) Investigator b) Participants/Subjects/Correspondence c)
Implementer/Measurer/Interviewer d) Tool/Instrument. Random
error has no pattern or source and are difficult to control.
3.2.5.1 Sources of Errors

The main sources of systematic errors at various levels are as
follows:

a. Researcher
Quantitative research is often reliant on the researcher’s
comprehension of the subject matter because, unlike qualitative
research, it offers fewer opportunities to interact with participants
and adapt the research design accordingly. As a result, data
collection in quantitative research may be prone to investigator
bias. The following are some of the typical inquiries that may
affect the research study:
A researcher may request particular information for a research
◆ Different perception
study, but the information thought is different. For example, if a
research study on credit card earnings that requires collecting data
on dependent family members and income earners separately, the
researcher may consider consolidated data on all family members.
This will introduce errors into the study.
◆ Improper selection
of scales Error can also be introduced due to improper selection of
scales. For example, if a study requests purely numerical data and
the researcher uses ordinal data, an error will occur.

◆ Inappropriate Error can also be introduced by an inappropriate definition
definition of of the population by the researcher. This is a common problem
population researcher’s face when defining the population. For example,
definitions like literate, rural, etc. are difficult to define as
definitions may vary from one researcher to another.
b. Participants/ Subjects/ Correspondents

This type of error arises for academic, social, economic, cultural
and regional reasons of the respondents, since these factors affect
the responses on various topics. The respondent may be reluctant
◆ Respondent’s to express strong negative feelings or may have very little
inability to respond knowledge but will not admit their ignorance. All this reluctance
is likely to result in a ‘guess’ interview. Transitory factors such as
fatigue, boredom, anxiety, etc. may limit the respondent’s ability
to respond accurately and completely. The sampling design must
allow minimising the impact of such a situation.
c. Implementer/ Measurer/ Interviewer

Errors may arise during interviews due to various factors. For
instance, the interviewer may unintentionally alter the question
order, change question wording to make it simpler for participants

94 SGOU - SLM -MCom Research Methodology