Four Ways to Collect Data

Title	Examples	Advantages	Disadvantages
Talk to People	Interviews (in-person, phone, intake and exit interviews) Story circles Oral histories Focus groups (or group interviews) Public forums or other kinds of discussion groups	Can probe and ask follow up questions to reveal deeper information, e.g. thoughts and opinions about sensitive issues Takes advantage of a natural form of information sharing Effective when people have limited reading or writing skills Can use groups to stimulate conversation and feedback	Can be time consuming to conduct Typically generates a lot of qualitative data, which are time-consuming to analyze Not anonymous, which could influence responses to sensitive issues Must be careful not to bias answers through interview procedure—interviewer training is required Must take care to develop questions that are appropriate for different cultural groups, and where language barriers may exist Group dynamics can become challenging or contentious
Get Written Responses	Surveys (mail, online, in-person) Questionnaires Opinion polls (from voters)	Collect information relatively quickly and easily Anonymous Much less time consuming to capture data from a large number of people Quantitative data from close-ended and short answer questions in surveys are easier to analyze. Qualitative data can be collected through open-ended questions	Attaining adequate response rates can be a challenge, as respondents suffer from “survey fatigue” or being asked frequently for their opinions. Can’t follow up on answers as easily as in an interview Not as rich an array of answers Respondents must be literate
Review Documentation and Existing Data	Artist, project participant, or stakeholder journals Artwork as documentation of an individual’s or group’s civic or social concerns Administrative data from cultural organizations (attendance records, demographic data on who participates, etc.) Meeting notes Media articles, editorials Voting records Census data Membership lists Previously conducted survey results Data collected for local, state, or federal funders Budgets Written policies or procedures	Typically already have the information—don’t have to collect it Often quantitative and easy to use and summarize Cheaper to obtain than most other methods Often easy to distribute to stakeholders	If staff doesn’t feel like the data is used, then it may not keep accurate information Can burden staff by having to gather it
Observation	Observe and document participants or audiences at project activities or events (performances, arts-based dialogues, workshops, artmaking activities). Stakeholders or partners observe community change. Evaluator or respected peers conduct site visits	Non-intrusive. Doesn’t require much participation Easier than asking people to fill out a survey or participate in an interview	Can only collect limited kinds of data through observation Takes a lot of time Different people observe in different ways, and there is a need for training to ensure consistency in approach

 

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