Data Collection Checklists - Collecting Data

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

Collecting data is an involved process. Abiding by the following tips can aid your data collection efforts.

• Make sure questions are phrased appropriately and every question is necessary. Be sure to proofread forms.
• Explain the purpose of each data collection strategy to your information sources.
• Assure those surveyed that their individual answers will be kept confidential.
• Give people enough time to think about their answers and return surveys without being rushed.
• Be available to answer questions.
• Make sure every data collection tool is brief and to the point

• Do data collection tools (surveys, etc.) need to be newly developed or "piloted" before they are used widely?
• Are tools for collecting information easy to use? Do they gather data in a format that is easy to summarize and analyze?
• Have different stakeholder groups been included in selecting the tools, deciding about sampling and collecting data, and planning to analyze and report results?
• What plans have been made to report the results of data collection, so they can be understood easily by interested parties and, when necessary, translated into the languages of parents whose children attend the school?
• Where will the raw data (notes from interviews, original questionnaires, etc.) be stored, so the responses are kept confidential?

Source:

An Idea Book on Planning, Vol. I, Implementing Schoolwide Programs, U.S. Department of Education, Pg. 46

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