There is nothing like looking, if you want to ind something. You certainly usually ind something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.

- J. R. R. Tolkien

When I want to learn about a place I'm visiting, I read, watch, ask questions and listen. I like to wander off the well-worn trails and have conversations with people along the way. I collect maps and placemats and local papers. I snap photos or buy postcards to remind me of what I've seen.

We can seek information to address our research interests in similar ways. In qualitative research, data collection methods can include interviews, observations, participants' writing, art making, and collection of artifacts (learner writing, art, lesson plans, policy documents). However, the "data" we collect for our research usually differs from the souvenirs we gather during a trip. Data collection is done systematically and with the intention of making meaning related to our research question.

As you plan your research, you'll be thinking about data, methods and tools. Here's how these terms are used in this chapter (Lankshear & Knobel, 2004):

• Data is the information we collect, for example, a transcript of what people say.
• Methods are systematic ways used to collect the information, e.g., an interview.
• Tools are the specific resources for collecting that information, e.g., an interview framework or interview questions.

In the next pages, we'll look at some common types of data, methods and tools researchers in practice might use. In this chapter, the terms "methods" and "tools" refer to the methods and tools used for data collection. There are also methods and tools for analysis, writing and other research processes.

Deciding about data

What kind of data will you need to address your research focus or question? How might you collect it? The following chart lists some types of data, sources, and methods, in relation to possible research areas.