Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Data collection is key to evaluation, but what contributes to successful teamwork in qualitative data collection?
Larger projects need a team approach to data collection, particularly when numerous interviews or focus groups need to happen within a short timeframe. We’re Sujin Chang, Bryna Gibbons, and Kim Desjarlais and we’re evaluators at Three Hive Consulting.
We wrote this post based on our experience collecting and analyzing data together on evaluations with compressed timelines. What’s the key to our teamwork? Good planning.
Here are our Hot Tips for completing interviews and focus groups as a team:
1. Have a Communication Plan
If multiple team members are scheduling interviews or focus groups concurrently, there are a few questions to consider:
Before we send any invitations, we draft an information letter for potential participants. This letter includes the purpose of the interview, an introduction to Three Hive, information on how confidentiality will be maintained, how to book an interview, and who to contact with any questions.
At Three Hive, we utilize a shared booking system called Calendly. It allows us to schedule appointments across multiple staff calendars.
We then create a shared tracking system like the one below. It includes key participant and logistical information like when invitations and follow-ups are sent, when an interview is taking place, and who is conducting it.
Eval Academy has templates for focus group and interview information letters and two tracking log templates.
2. Use a Standardized Question Guide
We collaboratively develop questions based on the evaluation questions and indicators. We want the participant experience to be consistent across interviewers.
Eval Academy has templates to develop guides for both focus groups and interviews.
3. Co-facilitating Focus Groups
When we conduct focus groups, we typically have two team members join: one person to facilitate, while the other can take notes, watch for chat messages (for virtual focus groups), help ensure all questions and probes are asked, and help with technology issues. Distributing the workload like this makes it easier on the facilitator and makes focus groups run smoother.
4. Create a Shared Codebook
Before coding, we work together on a codebook. We start with our evaluation questions and align these with our question guide. We then each code the same three to five interviews and review our coding together. As we review, we discuss any differences or challenges and make any modifications to our codebook. This process ensures that we agree on the codes and will practice coding the same way for all interviews.
For more in-depth information on developing a codebook, check out this Eval Academy article.
We also use an AI tool, CoLoop, to transcribe audio files and code our interviews and focus groups. We are new to this tool, but there are a few things we do to make it easier to use as a team:
We find that good planning is the key to ensuring joint data collection efforts are successful. What do you think?
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