A Baseline Survey, How and Why?

Being commissioned for a Baseline Survey

Researchers these days are really on high demand. You won't believe how much organizations are spending in order to solve problems and gain knowledge through research. There is need to understand that as a researcher the learning process is continuous and you have to catch up with what is prevailing around you. When somebody knocks on your door in order to give you a job to do, as a researcher you have to take it seriously. Ever conducted a Baseline Survey? Ofcourse that word isn't really new to you but believe it or not, sometimes researchers may know a Baseline but when it comes to practice they are just horrible. Baseline Surveys are very, very important and there is no doubt that a properly done survey will really contribute significantly to an organizations knowledge. Lets briefly understand what a Baseline Survey is, how it is conducted and why it is conducted.

A Baseline Survey, The truth is out there

When an organization approaches you to conduct a baseline survey, please atleast pretend you know what it is even if it isn't 100% clear for you. Basically, you should at least have an idea. A Baseline Survey is about establishing benchmarks and understanding how a situation is prior to an intervention. For example, lets say that an organization has a project to build houses and boreholes for a community. When you are commissioned to conduct a Baseline Survey you are going to find out how many houses and boreholes are there prior to the projects commencing. But a Baseline Survey goes further than that, it explains what are the challenges and how the community is faring. So how and why should a Baseline Survey be conducted? Well follow through the next sub heading because it is simply straight forward.

A Baseline Survey, How and Why???

A Baseline Survey is one of those kinds of researches where you have to get it right the first time no matter what. You see, the whole idea in doing this research is to have a benchmark that you can use should you have an evaluation conducted after two or three years. That evaluation will be able to explain whether the objectives of a programme have been made whether good or bad. What an evaluation does is compare the current findings to the findings collected in the Baseline and then see whether progress has been made or not. Now how is a Baseline conducted in research? Well like all researches you first have to establish what kind of information you need to collect. You have to understand where you are going to collect the information and how.

If you are going to be conducting interviews with people you have to decide whether you will use structured questionnaires or unstructured questionnaires? So, basically how do you know what kind of information needs to be collected? As a researcher conducting a Baseline Survey, you must avail yourself to documents that explain much about the project or programme an organization is implementing. Don't just seat around waiting for things to happen, go out there and dig dipper. Ask the organization to provide you with all the relevant documents that explains what the organization is trying to achieve. Learn to ask questions so that you fully get to understand how things are done and so that your research report is really informative.

After you submit your Baseline Survey Report, be sure to hold a validation workshop with all relevant stakeholders in order to verify the findings collected. Be open to comments and criticism but remember to be composed and firm. More will be explained about the Baseline Survey in future but in the meantime all the Best in conducting your Baseline Survey!!!

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Preparation of a Research Questionnaire, Understanding the Issues

A Research Questionnaire, Making it happen

A research questionnaire is a valuable tool in collecting the necessary data for a successful research activity. In the world of research, communicating your findings well will depend on accuracy and relevance. You see, most of the times, many researchers will create a really bulky questionnaire which captures so much information while most of it is not even relevant. That can be a really big problem especially when it comes to coming up with a report that people can actually appreciate. There is need to understand that research has to be well thought out in order to answer the bigger questions such as the Why? How? When? Where? Once a research is well thought out and understood by the researcher, then will it be so much easier to create a questionnaire that speaks volumes. But then, how do you create a questionnaire and what are the certain kinds of data that should be collected?

Creating a questionnaire that's accurate and relevent

As a researcher always remember that a questionnaire is your tool not anybody else. You see, alot of times you may be influenced by what others say or what others have done in their researches but you should also remember that the research is really your own thing. You call the shots, you call the decisions you do the report writing. Ofcourse there is nothing wrong in comparing other peoples work and methodology to what you intend to do but the point is, your questionnaire should satisfy your information needs and other stakeholders as well.

When creating your questionnaire always remember the objectives for your research. Seat down one moment and take a notepad or notebook and begin recording the main ideas for the objectives. After  that realize what kind of questions should you ask and who should you interview. You need to also establish whether there is any need for interviews at all. So, first know the questions you should be asking in your research second, know who should answer those questions and how the data will be collected? Will you do it yourself or you will hire some assistants?

It is advisable for the questionnaire to be pilot tested at all cost in order to see whether there is need for any changes and just to be aware of the challenges involved in collecting the data. Remember your questionnaire should be accurate and relevant. Also establish whether quantitative data or qualitative data will be collected using the questionnaire.

Using the research Questionnaire in a proper way

After you have developed your research questionnaire and pilot tested it, then can you begin to actually use it for the real samples. But even an effectively developed questionnaire can fail if the administrator does not really know how to use it. Ofcourse, the developer of the questionnaire may be the researcher himself, but if the researcher uses assistants then there is need for an effective research training. Also, there is further need to discuss and brainstorm how and when the data should be entered. Analysis of the findings is highly important.

Make the research process a success!!

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Measuring Policy Change with Reseacrh, You need to try it

Capturing Policy change as it really is in Research

Research as we all know it today is an important part of our lives in unveiling some of the most important questions to do with society. Society dear friends is always dynamic, and things are not always what it seems until you do an in depth research to uncover the answers and mysteries behind what is and what may have been. One of the many things which affects us all is policy. Yes folks, policies implemented or past by the government of the day can shape the direction in which society may pass. Take for instance some policies to do with the tax bracket for different income levels of a countries citizens. Many times, you find mixed feelings about what kind of tax the rich folks should be paying and what the poor shouldn't. If you come to think of it, many will have their own personal justification as to why certain decisions mustn't be past while others shouldn't. However, you see the truth about policy is that usually a research can provide the necessary answers that society and state may be looking for. But how really is research used in research and how can it be used to measure change?

Research and Policy, how they tie

Policy at state level is about passing a guide or principle which should be followed by everyone....more like legislation. When government for instance decides to ban the export of a certain good out of the country, alot of economists will come out in the open explaining why government should and why they shouldnt. Here is how research can basically help.

1)Development of a policy proposal; Research can help develop a policy proposal. You see, before a policy can be developed there is need for adequate understanding of what could be the short-term, medium-term and long-term implications of passing such a certain decision. When a research is conducted the findings can help develop a policy position or proposal that can be submitted to the government with the hope that it can be adopted in future.

2) After adoption of a policy; After adoption of a policy proposal, there are still mixed feelings as to whether the policy enactment even achieved its intended purpose or left citizens of a country better off than before. A research can answer all those questions if approached in the right way and manner. The research recommendations can be useful in hopefully reversing such a decision in the long run.

Measuring policy change, the reality

Measuring the effects and impacts of policy is not an easy thing in research because usually policy takes time to really get to see the effects of a certain decision. However, research can really be useful in tracking any existing gaps and challenges with the existing implementation of a certain policy. More like monitoring or tracking the progress of a policy and the effects its having on society. Research can look at the following in an existing policy such as the following namely;

1) Research can identify gaps and challenges in the existing policy implementation
2) Research can help provide recommendations to government how a policy should be implemented.
3) Research can be useful in developing measurable and realistic policy indicators
4) Research can be useful in informing the public of the certain benefits to a certain decision made by the government.

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Increasing your intepretation of Research Findings, Dont ignore the Average

The Average can be your Best Friend

Whenever you are dealing with a mouth full of data there is always this thing of trying to understand what it really means. Imagine being a researcher who has to struggle with over a thousand entry's of data, how do you actually improve your understanding? When doing a data analysis, you can be sure that you are not alone in improving your understanding of research findings. However, it is disappointing sometimes that some researchers choose to ignore the use of a very fundamental approach in research and that is the finding of an average. Averages are indeed very important in the world of mathematics, physics, chemistry and even biology. You don't need to run to a very sophisticated methodology just to interpret very basic statistics. Simply find the average and play around with understanding what these figures mean. However it is first important that we understand what an average is and how it has helped researchers and others in this day and age. We will also understand the draw backs. Lets get started with the data analysis shall we.

Mean, Median and Mode; Different faces of the Average

Usually averages are defined as the mean and the mean as the average. So most people look at only one average which is the mean. The mean is widely used in science and it has really helped interpret research findings in a significant effective way. When you want to find the mean, you are not only looking for a numerical value but you simply want to come up with a single value for a set of values. Lets say you are doing a research on how much income people under the age of 30years earn. You are going to discover in your research that people earn a wide range of income from as high as $ 8000 to as low as $500. But in your data analysis and consequently reporting, you want people to have a general understanding of how much individuals earn because there are all these variations. Remember some may be earning $8000, while others may be earning $2000 or lower. In order to report one figure to the general audience, you have to report the average. Assuming you know this already, lets briefly define these different averages shall we.

1. Mean; Back to the example, you interview 5 different people who are earning 5 different incomes..how do you find the mean.
Individual A = $ 8000
Individual B = $ 5000
Individual C = $ 4500                                Mean= (8000+5000+4500+1000+500)/5 = $ 3800
Individual D = $ 1000
Individual E = $ 500

Answer: So on average people earn about $ 3800. However, in your research this may be a misleading statement at times because some people don't actually earn so high. You still have the Individuals D and E you see. But let not that bother you because as it is you are a researcher who must make sure that you emphasis in your report how much the lowest and the highest earn.

2. Median; The median is simply the middle value when the numbers are put in order. So lets put the various incomes in order shall we.

Incomes in order= $500 , $1000, $4500, $5000, $8000

What is the middle value here, you guessed well researcher it is $ 4500.

3. Mode; The number or set of number that occurs the most. Lets say you have a set of numbers 4, 5, 8, 20, 8, 76, 90, 5, 5, 8, 10 , 8. Which number occurs the most?? It is definitely 8. So 8 is your mode researcher.

Challenges of the Mean in Research

The mean definitely has a couple of challenges when you come to think of it especially when you as a researcher are doing your data analysis and want to make significant sense to it. Remember data analysis simply entails you bring out the information and you want to be smart too about it. One of the challenges with mean is that it doesn't really give a true picture. For example we saw that in the example above, on average people earn $ 3,800. But in reality no body even earns the figure $ 3,800. You have people earning as low as $500. In your Data analysis you will discover that the mean value can be tremendously affected by a slight change in the sample group, especially if it is small. Remember in the Income example our sample group only had 5 individuals, now lets say one of those individuals decided not to show up for the interview...How will the mean change. Lets say we remove individual A from the sample, in our data analysis our new mean will be $2750. So there has been a slight significant drop.

So as a Researcher or Data analyst you have to make sure that your sample group is large and its characteristics are representative of the general population. This was really an interesting article wast it guys but be sure to keep on reading more because next time we are going to look at research topics that only the real gurus like to here about.

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Satisfaction Score Rating, measuring perception in Research effectively

A Questionnaire that measures perception

Ever heard of a satisfaction score rating questionnaire? Well if you haven't then now is the right time to learn about how to measure perception using a tool which can really help you out in a research. When it comes to collecting data through a research activity you will find beyond reasonable doubt that collecting data isn't an easy task at all. Collecting quantitative data is usually a piece of cake but when it comes to collecting qualitative data, that can really be a nightmare. Why is that the case? measuring perception and opinions of others is such a difficult thing because human perception ladies and gentlemen is controlled by a number of factors. During a research most time people respond to perception questions due to a number of factors such as their personal mood during that day, whether they are in good health or not, or because of an experience they had in life whether good or bad. For instance, lets say you are doing a research on whether security has improved in a community or not and you choose a sample group who will either give you a yes or no answer. You are certainly going to get a lot of different responses even when it is crystal clear that security has generally improved. But you see, the satisfaction score rating questionnaire attempts to allocate a numerical value on perception of a sample group during a survey. Lets briefly understand the satisfaction score rating questionnaire in detail shall we.

Satisfaction score rating, measuring perception all the way

When you conduct a research in order to find out how people feel concerning a certain situation, you are going to receive a lot of funny responses. But measuring perception in research can be very difficult indeed. Now, referring to the example provided on the level of security in a community. People may give you a yes or no answer but you can go a step further to find out in detail to what extent security has either improved or declined. Here is how a satisfaction score rating questionnaire really works, hope you have your note book close by. Imagine you ask the question below;

Q: How would you rate the level of security in your community?

Responses
A) 1 = Non-Existent
B) 2 = Very Bad
C) 3 = Bad
D) 4 = Good
E) 5 = Very Good
F) 6 = Excellent

If you look closely on these research questions you will soon discover that it becomes relatively easy to attach a numerical value to a perception response. A respondent will have an option of choosing from A to F depending on how he individually feels. Now, imagine if you interviewed 10 people in your research and out of those, three respond that security is good, two responded that its excellent while the rest responded that its bad. How do you get to draw a conclusion? Watch and learn...

If Individual Z responded good then he scored = 4
   Individual X responded good then he scored =4
   Individual L responded excellent then he scored =6
   Individual S responded bad then he scored =3
   Individual M responded excellent then he scored=6
   Individual N responded bad then he scored=3
   Individual O responded bad then he scored =3
   Individual Y responded bad then he scored =3
   Individual W responded good then he scored=4
   Individual I responded bad then he scored=3

Now the total of all their scores is 39. The average is 3.9. Now this value (3.9) is very close to good on our responses scale. So as a researcher you may conclude that although there were mixed responses, security is quit good.

Making the satisfaction score sheet work for you

When doing a satisfaction score rating you may want to be careful how you interpret these findings. From the previous example it isn't just enough to say that security is quite good but you should also be able to get the reasoning's from respondents who felt that security was bad. As a researcher you will soon see how this tool is useful when doing some in depth research activities. Make sure to practice how its done, All the best!!

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Conducting an Evaluation, A Research that really needs some answers

An Evaluation of a Programme

Alright, you have successfully been commissioned to conduct a research evaluation for an organization that has been for the past decade been implementing a programme. Unfortunately no evaluation has really been done to really see whether there are any significant results. Now, you are researcher and as a researcher you know the rules very well, whatever the situation you have to use conventional methods of research to pull this off. Lets say that this organization has been implementing a project or programme to deal with reducing child mortality by supplying necessary medicines to a clinic and child care services, how do you evaluate this programme. To start with, what exactly is an evaluation? What are we talking about here?

Conducting a Research that Kills, Making the Evaluation Real!

When given an assignment of such a nature, as a researcher with great credentials you should already know how much is being spent on you. We don't need to hid the figures do we? What are we talking about here $ 50,000 or $ 100,000 net? But you see to really get to understand the seriousness of this venture you really need to understand that there are alot of stakeholders seeking for answers...GOT IT!!! Now, if you are going to really have to successfully conduct this evaluation, you have to get back to the drawing board. You have to think big, you have to be real and understand what an Evaluation is.

An Evaluation is an in depth assessment that aims to give structured interpretation and give meaning to whatever results have been achieved by a programme (in this case the programme). In short, what stakeholders are really looking for is to understand what has been achieved over the past decade? how has the programme fared in reducing child mortality over the past decade? You as an researcher or an Evaluator should answer that question without any big problems. Now how do you exactly prepare for an evaluation given that this kind of research needs alot of concentration.

Preparing yourself for the Evaluation, be the Best Researcher

Here are a few steps you mustn't ever forget when preparing yourself for an Evaluation that will really speak volumes to all your listeners and stakeholders.

1) Reading literature: Before embarking on the research, you have to have background knowledge of the programme and what it aimed to achieve over the decade. What better way to do this by reading programme documents and other strategic plans that have been documented by the organizations. You should be able to ask for reports done by the organizations. While you do your personal reading be sure to read about work done by other researchers all over the world to do with this kind of programme. Don't forget to understand some of the challenges and opportunities faced by these past similar programmes. Be sure to read through the terms of reference again.

2) Interviews: You have to conduct interviews and this is really the most important thing among all the steps. As a researcher you are supposed to carefully select the people you will interview who will most likely be the programme staff, programme beneficiaries and other stakeholders as well. Make sure as a researcher or Evaluator to structure your questions properly in order to capture all the information you are looking for.

3) Reporting: After you have completed your literature review and interviews, you can now report all your findings to the stakeholders. As an Evaluator you should present your findings during a validation meeting which will validate the findings you collected. All stakeholders must be invited to comment on the powerpoint presentation after which you will also hand them the draft evaluation report. The final version of the Evaluation report should be sent after you recieve and document all the comments.

 

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Data Analsis in Research, Bringing out the information you really need

Understanding Data Analysis for what it really is

What exactly is data analysis in research when you come to think of it? Who calls the shots in this area of research?Well simply put data analysis is about transforming data into information and information into insights according to one source. But you see, when it comes to data analysis you want to be able to tell a story out of your data analysis and be able to make decisions using simple approaches. Taking a simple approach such as in the case of data analysis can contribute to good assured results which really everybody really wants. You see dear researchers, data analysis is all about making life easy for your readers when they see all that data you have collected from whatever sources out there. When you collect data, figures or numerical values one of the first things you try to do is tabulate them. But human beings as we all know it dont want to spend too much time reading and figuring out what a long strain of figures means. It is much easier to understand such findings if they are well presented in tables or graphical format (especially this). Thats what data analysis tries to do, bring out the information from raw data.

Using the Smartest presentations of your Findings in Data Analysis

1. Tables; Imagine you are researching the poverty levels of a country, what do you collect, how do you do your data analysis? First things first the kind of information that could be relevant are the following namely income levels, gender, age , occupation, location e.t.c But you see when doing your data analysis you have understand exaclty why you are collecting this data. You may be the most experienced researcher in the whole world but you still need to get a few pointers on this one. Lets exactly undertsand why this information is important.

a) Income Levels; Income levels of your sample group is really the heart of all your research when it comes to poverty levels. But you see as a researcher, a proper analysis doesn't just mean stating the average income for all your participants. But it also means understanding who in sample have the highest and lowest incomes, how this income is earned, what this income can buy for a family e.t.c that's what a real data analysis should do. It should really tell a story.

b) Gender and Age; Gender and age is very, very important in research. Data analysis should inform the reader which gender earns more, which gender is more affected with poverty? ofcourse in most cases you will find that it is the women and for obvious reasons, most of the worlds resources don't reach women. Age is also important because you would like to know the age groups who are least affected and most affected. So, data analysis should bring out this information in a powerful way.

Now, once you have done your data analysis, you can begin to tabulate this information and tell a brief story about what all these means. A good way to tabulate your data analysis findings is by using means and ranges.

2. Graphs

Graphs are by far the best way to communicate your data analysis research findings. Whenever, people read your report what do you think they would like to see first....You answered correctly, they want to see graphs. Graphical representation in research is really a boost in making your report look attractive and interesting to read. It is also easy for a reader to remember a graphical representation than written texts. Data analysis at this stage will make you the best researcher in world...SERIOUSLY!! You can use a wide range of different graphs which indeed will make your research report a must read.

Data Analysis and You

You can always make data analysis so much interesting if it becomes a part of you when undertaking a research of any kind. It is true that data analysis can be really hectic, but don't worry about that sometimes to get the best you have to give the best. Make sure never to forget that!

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