EDA-Lesson 1

• Structured Approach

  1. All data collected in the same way

  2. Especially important for multi-site and cluster evaluations

  3. Use when need to make comparisons with alternate interventions
• Characteristics of Good Measures

  • Relevance: Does the measure capture what matters?
  • Credibility: Is the measure believable?
  • Validity: How well does the measure capture what it is supposed to?
  • Reliability: A measure’s precision and stability
• Methods of Data Collection

  • Forms and Questionnaires
  • Interview
  • Observation
  • Documents and Reports
  • Focus Groups
  • Oral Histories
  • Combination Research
  • Online Tracking
  • Online Marketing Analytics
  • Social Media Mentoring
• Obtrusive Methods

  • Interviews
  • Surveys
  • Focus Groups
• Tool 1: Participatory Methods


  1. Involve groups or communities heavily in data collection

  2. Examples are Community Meetings, Mapping, and Transect Walks
• Triangulation to Increase Accuracy of Data

  1. Triangulation of methods

  2. Triangulation of sources

  3. Triangulation of evaluators
• Tool 3 : Observation


  1. Helpful when need direct information

  2. See what is happening
• Unobtrusive Methods

  • Document analysis
  • Google Earth
  • Observation at a distance
  • Trash of the stars
• Qualitative Approach

  1. Data that deal with description

  2. Less structured, easier to develop

  3. Can provide detailed and widely applicable data

  4. Challenging to analyze

  5. Labor intensive to collect

  6. Usually generates longer reports
• There’s no best way (strategies) for data collection. Decision depends on various factors
• Semi-structured Approach

  1. Data are not collected in the same way every time, more open and fluid

  2. Use when conducting exploratory work, seeking understanding, narratives, or in-depth information
• Tool 2: Records and Secondary Data


  • Using existing data sets
  • Advantages : less expensive and faster
  • Challenges: coding errors, difficulty getting access
• Data Collection Tools

  • Participatory Methods
  • Records and Secondary Data
  • Observation
  • Surveys and Interviews
  • Focus Group Discussion
• Degree of Structure of Observations

  • Structured: determine precisely what will be observed before the observation
  • Unstructured: select the method depending upon the situation with no pre-conceived ideas or a plan on what to observe
  • Semi-structured: a general idea of what to observe but no specific plan
• Ways to record information from observations

  • Observation guide
  • Recording sheet or checklist
  • Field notes
• Focus Group Process

  1. OPENING: Icebreaker, explain purpose, ground rules, introductions

  2. WARM-UP: Relate experience, stimulate group interaction, start with least threatening and simplest questions

  3. MAIN-BODY: Move to more threatening or sensitive and complex questions, elicit deep responses

  4. CLOSURE: End with closure-type questions, summarize and refine, invite final comments or insights
• Interviews


  • Often semi-structured
  • Used to explore complex issues in depth
  • Forgiving of mistakes
• Structures for Surveys

  • Structured: Precisely worded with pre-determined responses
  • Semi-structured: Asks same general set of questions but answers are predominantly open-ended
• Surveys and Interviews

  1. Excellent for asking people about perceptions, opinions, and ideas

  2. Less accurate for measuring behavior
• Tools for Observation


  • Google Earth and Google Maps
• Observation


  1. See what is happening

  2. Helpful when direct information is needed, trying to understand ongoing behavior, there is physical evidence or products that can be observed, need to provide alternative when other data collection is infeasible or inappropriate
• Modes of Survey Administration

  • Telephone and cellphone surveys
  • Self-administered questionnaires distributed by mail, email, or websites
  • Administered questionnaires
• Focus Group Discussion


  1. Type of qualitative research where small homogenous groups of people are brought together to informally discuss specific topics under the guidance of a moderator

  2. Purpose: to identify issues and themes, not just interesting information

  3. Appropriate when language barriers are insurmountable, trust cannot be established, free expression cannot be ensured