Final answer:
Individuals with a vested interest should not perform data collection to avoid biased results and ethical conflicts. Accurate data collection requires careful consideration of the measuring devices, skills of the person measuring, and potential irregularities.
Step-by-step explanation:
As a general practice, individuals who have a vested interest in the outcome of the research or data collection should not perform the data collection tasks or perform the measurements of the metric. It is crucial that data collection is unbiased and done in a carefully controlled manner. When conducting a survey, for example, it is better for the person conducting the survey to select the sample respondents to avoid results that are biased towards a certain group.
Issues of validity and reliability are also pertinent when considering who should perform data collection. Factors such as the limitations of the measuring device, the skill of the person making the measurement, and irregularities in the object being measured can all impact the outcome. Additionally, ethically, research subjects should never be coerced into participation, as this can also jeopardize the integrity of the data collected.
In the field of data collection, ethical violations can sometimes be subtle, but there have been instances of severe ethical breaches, such as the case of researcher Stapel, who was found guilty of falsifying data and misrepresenting experimental subjects. To prevent these issues, it is paramount to adhere to strict ethical guidelines and ensure the person collecting data does so with transparency and without conflict of interest.