What are archival data? ___Archival data is data that already exists as a result of administrative procedures or past studies or evaluations ___Be aware of sources of archival data: Public records Research organizations Health and human service organizations Schools and education departments Academic and similar institutions Business and industry ___Be aware of the possible types of data available: Demographics Behavior Health and development outcomes Attitudes – racial, political, social, etc. Knowledge and awareness of issues Environmental conditions or factors affecting the population and/or your work Why collect and use archival data? ___It’s easier and less time-consuming than collecting all the data yourself ___Archival data may have already been processed by people with more statistical expertise than you, making it easier to use in analysis ___Even with raw data, the basic organization and preparation (transcription of interviews, entry of numbers into a spreadsheet or specific software, etc.) may have already been done, again saving time and resources ___It’s quite possible that you can find more information than you’d be able to gather if you did it yourself ___Archival data could touch on important areas you might not have thought of, or identify patterns or relationships you wouldn’t have looked for ___It may eliminate the need to correct for such problems as lack of inter-rater reliability or observer bias ___Archival data allows the possibility of looking at the effects of your work over time ___Archival data can make it possible for small organizations with limited resources to nonetheless conduct thorough evaluation studies When should you collect and use archival data? ___When it’s available ___When it’s relevant ___When you don’t have the time and/or resources to collect the data yourself ___When it can truly inform your evaluation How do you collect and use archival data? ___Determine what information you’re looking for and why Possible categories of information you’d be interested in: ___Data on past participants ___General information on the population and/or the community you’re working with ___Specific information on appropriate characteristics of the population you’re working with ___Cultural information ___Data on a similar group that can be used as a control or comparison ___Results of previous studies ___Determine who is likely to have collected that information: Government departments and agencies, the census, and other entities whose data are likely to be available in public records Research organizations Academia News media Foundations and other private funders Hospitals and other health care providers Mental health providers Human service and other community-based organizations Advocates and watchdog organizations Community activists Community economic development organizations Businesses and corporations ___Decide where you should look for archival data Your own archives The Internet The original source Libraries ___Decide what you plan to do with the data once you have it Use archival data: ___To better understand the context of your evaluation ___To identify areas to address ___To establish a baseline against which to measure your results ___To identify already-existing trends that may affect the results of your evaluation study ___To establish a standard of comparison against which to measure your efforts ___To act as a control or comparison group ___To provide data for a longitudinal study
