ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT TRACK? - Rutgers WPF

A training of data collectors can take between one to threedays, depending on the size of the study. Many organisationsare specialising in training and in data collection. Try to link upwith these organisations. Perhaps, they can do a training foryou, or you can make use of their data collectors.Make a data collection planThe next step is to make a data collection plan. This includesamongst others making efforts to get consent from schoolsor communities to conduct the data collection, preferably onprinted forms, and making an overview of whom will collectinformation and where.During data collection, in the interview or group discussion,respondents often raise questions. If you give answers rightaway, this may influence the rest of the interview or groupdiscussion. It is therefore advisable to do this after the sessionis completed. If the interview, discussion, or questionnaire hasraised questions, problems or concerns that may need directsolving, be prepared how to handle this. One option is to solvethis at the spot by taking time to answer questions or haveindividual talks, or taking along information, education, andcommunication materials to distribute. Another option is torefer young people to people or health services who can assistthem with services or counselling. Find below some tips forquantitative and qualitative data collection.Qualitative data collectionWhen you use interviews or focus group discussions, these arepreferably recorded on a recorder. If this is not possible, thereshould be in each interview of group discussion a person whorecords on paper what is said during the interview or groupdiscussions. Make sure you do this as accurately as possible.This increases the validity of the information you collect.Also see the section on quantitative and qualitative research inthe ‘Basic Information and Definitions’ section of this Workbook.Create a safe environment for data collectionCreating a safe environment for the respondents to be openand honest can be supported by:- Anonymous questionnaire: respondents do not have to writetheir name on the questionnaire.- Data collectors repeated emphasise that no one will knowwhat the respondents have answered.- Safe space, with minimal interference from others suchas adults or others.- A space where each respondent can sit on his or her own,without interference from fellow respondents.Quantitative data collectionQuestionnaires usually have questions about personal,sensitive topics. It is very important for the data collectorsto be confidential and take good care of the questionnairesthat were completed. When you use questionnaires, it is usefulto develop an organised system to file the questionnairesfrom one school or one youth group, to avoid mixing thequestionnaires from different groups. Give a unique numberto each questionnaire.Monitoring & Evaluation ToolHow to complete the worksheet 42