Explain what research technique researchers should use to corroborate unobtrusive data sources (especially physical trace sources), and why

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Researchers should be sure to use multiple methodologies when obtaining unobtrusive data in order to corroborate results. They should always use triangulation of methods. This is because often with unobtrusive data, especially with trace data, there can be another explanation that is not captured in the data source for the found pattern. An example is the study of physical wear on a set of French language tapes. A researcher might hypothesize that the tape that shows the most wear, or breakage is the most popular tape. However, the amount of wear could be attributed to many other reasons including: carelessness of the user, a technological malfunction in which the player ate the tape, and so forth. When the researcher is using data that was not created specifically for the research idea in question, he/she must always be cautious not to assume the evidence is supporting the hypothesis without confirming it in some other method.