Using Qualitative Data
You probably already know that qualitative data are an extremely important part of any evaluation. They provide the information that the quantitative data simply can't include. Qualitative data can include focus group interviews (visit www.grantgoddess.com for information on conducting focus group interviews), case studies, and observations. The biggest problem with qualitative data though, is that they are difficult to use. There is statistical software available these days to help you quantify your qualitative data, but it is often expensive and cumbersome to use. There are also formal techniques for analyzing qualitative data that you can research; however, you can easily include qualitative data in your evaluation if you follow a few simple guidelines:
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to treat qualitative data as real data. Take it seriously. Take notes when you are making observations and conducting focus group interviews. Consider taping interviews to be transcribed later.
Decide what you are looking for ahead of time. Don't just wander around observing and taking random notes. Develop an observation guide to focus your observations. This means that you need to think about what is really important and target your efforts in that direction.
Try to be as impartial as possible. It is impossible to be totally impartial because, as a human being, you have a perspective, but you can try to incorporate as many different viewpoints as possible into your qualitative evaluation activities. Invite those with diverse views to interviews. Listen carefully to the responses people make to your questions. Focus hard on not being distracted by conditions that you don't like and look instead to the observation criteria that you developed prior to beginning your work.
Focus on gathering qualitative information. Don't make your observation just another chance to count things. You can do this to some degree, but use most of the time to answer those questions that cannot be answered by quantitative data. Focus group interviews can get to peoples' opinions about why the quantitative results are the way they are. In observations, you can look for evidence of quality implementation indicators.
When you compile the information, look for trends. Unless you spoke with every service recipient or observed every service that was provided for a significant amount of time, you cannot report qualitative data as definitive evidence. However, you can report trends - issues and conditions that were repeatedly evident.
