Methods for Information Collection Observation Collecting information through

Methods for Information Collection Observation • Collecting information through seeing and listening. • Observation may be structured or unstructured. • Some advantages of observation: o It is objective o It does not require a lot of staff time • Some challenges of observation: o May be time consuming o Participant behaviour may get affected by observer presence Group Assessment • • o o Use of group processes to collect information. Some group assessment (GA) techniques are: Focus groups Nominal group technique Brainstorming Community forums Some advantages of GAs are: Can know how questions are being interpreted Able to interview multiple people at one time Some challenges of GA are: Group setting may inhibit some individuals Difficult to co-ordinate Survey • • o o Collecting information through questionnaires. Surveys can be conducted through: Mail Face to face or telephonic interviews An appropriate sample sise needs to be decided in case of large groups. Some advantages of survey are: Not time consuming Can survey many people Some challenges of survey: In-depth information may not be captured Interpreting questions correctly may not be easy Interview Information collected by talking with and listening to people. • Can be telephonic or face to face. • Range from tightly structured to free flowing and conversational. • Some advantages of interviews: o Opportunity to ask for more detail when required. • Some challenges of interviews: o May be time consuming o Time may limit sample size o May be difficult to analyse • Historical Data • Study documents created in the past that encompasses the scope of documentation. • Seek details and explanations if required. • Some advantages of historical data are: o Does not require staff time o Relatively inexpensive • Some challenges are: o May not correspond to exactly what is required o May be incomplete or require additional data collection Other Methods • • • Photographs and videos Testimonials Diaries and journals Peer review Logs