Data Collection Basics
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research?
Quantitative research focusses on numbers and statistics ("How many").
Qualitative research focusses on "real-life stories" and details about a subject ("Why?" and "How?")
What's wrong with asking "Do you go to school by bus?" in a KII, and how would you improve the question?
It's a closed question — answerable with yes or no, so it generates no data. Reformulate as "What transportation do you use to go to school?" .
How many people should take part in a focus group, and what goes wrong if you have too few or too many?
6 to 10. Too few and you don't get enough opinions and points of view; too many and the group is hard to guide and record, and you can't ensure everyone participates.
What is the difference between primary and secondary data?
Primary data is data that is created by your team during research, using interviews, FGDs, survey and observation.
Secondary data is data that was created by others - you use this data in desk-research (media, articles, reports etc.)
When should you use an in-depth interview rather than a focus group?
When the person can't be included in a group (e.g. a high-level stakeholder); when they wouldn't speak openly in front of others, as with illegal trade or domestic violence; when you need to distinguish an individual's opinion from the group's, especially where a major stakeholder's vision differs from the majority.
How many researchers does it take to run an FGD, and what does each one do?
At least two. One acts as facilitator and guides the discussion; the other records it. The recorder stays an observer, interacts minimally with participants, notes both the answers and what they observe — who is interested or disengaged, facial expressions, side conversations — and discreetly signals the facilitator if a question was missed, without disrupting the discussion.
Name 3 factors that are important when choosing interviewees
1.Access & relationship (Do you have access to that person? Do they trust your team?)
2.Knowledge (make sure the person has knowledge about the context/issue – but do not focus only on ‘specialists’!)
3.Multiple Perspectives (ensure you talk to people with different perspectives and identities (e.g. gender, religion, economic status etc.)
4.Safety & Security (if you talk to a person, will you endanger your or their safety?)
What is triangulation, and when do you need it?
Using multiple perspectives to interpret a single set of information, in order to check its credibility. Needed particularly for sensitive information, or information the researcher considers critical to the study.
Give two situations where you should not use an FGD, and say what you'd do instead.
When you need statistical information representative of a population, or need to measure facts — use a quantitative survey. (2) When the topic is sensitive, especially where speaking up puts someone at risk within their own community — use in-depth interviews with key informants