What are qualitative methods of assessment? ___Qualitative methods of assessment yield information that can’t be expressed in numbers ___Qualitative methods include: Individual and group interviews Observation Focus groups Community meetings Interpretation of records, transcripts, and other quantitative data In order to make your qualitative results as reliable as possible: ___Report accurately and completely ___Frame the right questions and direct them appropriately ___Use the method that can best help you answer the questions you’re asking ___Sort out your own and others’ subjective feelings and comments from objective reality, and try to make sure that your findings are objective Why use qualitative methods of assessment? ___They answer questions that quantitative measures can’t ___They connect directly with the population and the community you’re concerned with ___They can get at the underlying realities of the situation ___They involve the population of interest, or the community at large, in helping to assess the issues and needs of the community ___They often allow for a broader examination of the situation or the community than quantitative methods do ___They allow for the human factor When would you use qualitative methods of assessment? ___When what you need is qualitative, descriptive information ___When you’re trying to understand the reasons and motivations for people’s behavior, or how they operate in particular situations ___When you’re analyzing quantitative data ___When you’re trying to develop suggestions and recommendations ___When you want to involve the community in assessment as directly as possible ___When you’re doing community-based participatory research (i.e., involving the community directly in planning and implementing assessment) How do you use qualitative methods of assessment? ___Decide what it is you want to know ___Choose the method best suited to finding that information ___Choose the people who will gather the information, and, if necessary, train them ___Determine from whom and from where you need to gather the information ___Gather the information For interviews: ___Let the interviewee(s) choose the space ___Dress for the comfort of the interviewee(s) ___Get permission beforehand to record or photograph the interview ___Record carefully the time, place, circumstances, and details of the interview ___Think out and frame your questions carefully, and ask directly for the information you’re seeking ___Ask open-ended questions ___Probe ___Don't cut people off too quickly ___Confirm what you're told by checking with others to the extent that you can ___In group interviews, facilitate by encouraging everyone to participate, preventing any one person from dominating, and keeping the focus on issues and opinions rather than personalities For observation: ___Think carefully about the questions you want your observation to answer ___Determine where and whom to observe to answer these questions ___Determine when and for how long observation should take place ___Determine what you should observe and record ___Record your observations ___Analyze the information ___Make and carry out a plan to address the issue or problem you’ve identified Contributor Phil Rabinowitz
