Data Collection Hacks Method - Questionnaire/Survey Issue - Administering a questionnaire as pre- and post-test hinders rapport building with students since the first interaction is to give students something that feels like a test.At the end of the program, it feels weird to have the last thing be something that feels like a test. That does not help with closure. Hacks 1. Turn the questionnaire into something more interactive. You can use the same questions but not administer them on paper. For example, you can read the statements aloud and have students move to a section of the room that indicates their answer choice. While this might bring about issues related to social-desirability bias (students answering in the way they think you or their peers want them to), if your content is about social issues or how people act under social pressure, then this bias won’t invalidate your data. Rather, you get to see how that plays out in real time! This can also be the beginning of your intervention because it’s an easy jumping-off point to then begin talking about issues that just showed up in the questionnaire. 2. Pre-test: Consider administering the pre-test after you have had a chance to get to know the participants a little bit but before you start covering material. So, if you do ice breakers or name games at the beginning of the first session, you can do those first, explain the purpose of the questionnaire, and then distribute it for them to complete. Post-test: Consider administering this at the beginning of the last session before you do activities to help wrap up the time you have spent together. Method - Questionnaire/Survey Hacks 3. If your program takes place in a school, see if a teacher or other staff member can administer the pre-test before you arrive and the post-test after the program is complete. You will need to give them detailed instructions and make sure you have a plan for retrieving the data. Putting someone else in charge of collecting your data can feel a little risky, so make your expectations clear and make sure the person has the time to follow through. Teachers are very busy and often can’t handle one more thing. Issue - You need to gather data from people with a variety of literacy levels. Hacks 1. Consider turning the questionnaire into something more interactive as outlined in option 1 above. 2. If possible for the questions or items you are using, construct your instrument in a way that uses pictures either in addition to or instead of words. You can also add a kinesthetic dimension to this by using stickers and having participants move stickers to indicate their answers to particular items. Check out an example (First 5 Contra Costa, n.d.) and read more about adhesive formats (Paleo, 2012). 3. Consider using various alternate methods that do not involve questionnaires at all such as observations, focus groups, art, or storytelling methods that do not require people to read as part of data collection. Method - Focus Groups Issue - You include focus groups as part of your initiative or program, but you have trouble getting people to engage or answer questions. Hacks 1. Maybe your questions or prompts are not compelling. Involve participants and stakeholders in revising them. 2. A traditional focus group model might not be the best way to get answers to your questions or the data you seek. Focus groups might feel overly formal or not interactive enough to keep people engaged. Find out from the participants what might keep them engaged and help you get rich and valid data. Consider other creative ways to structure your data collection that will still elicit the information you need. Host a World CafeTM or invite participants to individually or collectively draw their responses to questions or prompts. You might also have participants interview each other. References First 5 Contra Costa. (n.d.). Evaluation tips: Adhesive method connectedness scale. Retrieved from http://www.first5coco.org/results/evaluation-tips/ Paleo, L. (2012, October). Adhesive formats for data collection: Practice and validity of dots, stickers, and labels. Retrieved from First 5 Contra Costa: http://www.first5coco.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AEA_Workshop_Adhesive-Formats_2012.pdf © 2018 National Sexual Violence Resource Center.