We recently published a comprehensive blog post about data collection design and how to choose the best data collection tool for a specific project. Last week we discussed the fourth question to consider when selecting a data collection tool: What kind of data are you collecting? This week’s tip is about the fifth question: What are the challenges?
Some evaluations involve challenges – difficult terrain, political instability, etc. – that require major considerations in the data collection design process. In 2020, the explosion of the COVID-19 pandemic forced evaluators around the world to reconfigure their data collection strategies.
When South Africa’s pandemic lockdown began, the Khulisa team realized it would not be able to conduct in-person interviews of school principals and staff for the Early Grade Reading project. So the team turned to Geopoll to conduct interviews via CATI. Khulisa has also used Viamo, a company specializing in mobile communication, for CATI data collection.
Challenges often arise once a project is already in progress, necessitating flexibility on the part of the both the evaluator and the client. Communication is key, and it’s also important to avoid scope creep (or at least to deal with it after it happens).
For more thoughts on how to choose the best data collection tool for your budget, read the full blog post or watch our recent “The Science Behind Data Collection” webinar, presented as part of gLOCAL Evaluation Week, on YouTube.
