Spots - Roll Back Malaria

STEP 4: PRETESTTaking notes 8Well-organized, complete notes form the foundation for analysis and interpretationof your pretest. Arrange for a note taker during the pretesting discussion, even if yourecord the discussions and transcribe the tapes. Recording can be unreliable: thetape recorder could break, the batteries could run out, the observer could forget toturn the cassette over, the sound quality could be bad, or the participants couldrefuse to be recorded. (See Annex 2 for tips on recording.)Your notes will be your primary source of information, so it is important to make surethat they are clear, detailed and well organized. The note taker does not have towrite down every word that is said but should:• Focus on writing down key words and phrases• Write down participants' actual words , Do not interpret.• Record both questions and answers. Write “M” to indicate the moderator and “P”to indicate a participant. Use numbers to distinguish the responses of differentparticipants (i.e., P1, P2).• Note descriptive quotes word for word.• Label the top of every page with group name, date and page numberIt helps to use a note-taking sheet like the one below. See Annex 2 for ablank form.Sample pretest notetaking sheet 9Date:Topic: Page # ofLocation:Description of participants:Number of participants:Moderator: Note taker: Observer:Spot Participants’ comments Observations(nonverbal, dynamics)8Used with permission from WHO, UNICEF HealthCOM (1994), “Using Radio Spots to Support NationalCDD Programmes,” p. 48.9From de Negri, B., and E. Thomas (2003), Making Sense of Focus Group Findings: A SystematicParticipatory Analysis Approach. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development.64 Spot On Malaria: Guide