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