Staff & Organization Development

Madison Metropolitan School District

Guidelines for Data Collection

Asking the right questions is the key skill in effective data collection.

• Be clear as to why you are collecting data.  Formulate good questions that relate to the specific information needs of the project.
  

• Be clear about how you are going to use the data you collect.
  

• Design a process to collect data.  Our beliefs and values affect this selection process.
  

• Use the appropriate data analysis tools and be certain the necessary data are being collected.  The data:

  • must be accurate;
  • should be useful;
  • must not be too time consuming; and
  • must be reliable enough to allow you to formulate hypotheses and develop strategies with confidence.
    
• Decide how much data is needed.  Ask:
  • what is an accurate sample size?
  • for how long should the data be collected?
    
• Make sure that the data make your job easier.
  
• Use multiple sources of data to increase the believability of the findings.  Collect data from more than two sources or points of view, each which provides a unique justification with respect to relevant information about the situation.
  
• Present the data in a way that clearly communicates the answer to the question.
  
• Be aware that how you set up the situation influences the results.
  
• Review the data.  Ask:
  • do the data tell you what you intended?
  • can you display the data as you intended?
    
• Do not expect too much from data.  Remember:
  • data should indicate the answer to the question asked during the design of the collection process.
  • you do not make inferences from the data that the data will not support.
  • data don't stand alone.  It's the meaning we apply to the data that is critical.  "Data do not drive decisions; people do."
  • the stronger the disagreements with the data, the bigger the learning potential.  It is important to validate the different views and try to come up with a world view.
    
• Visually display the data in a format that can reveal underlying patterns.
  • Look for patterns related to time or sequence as well as patterns related to differences in staff and other factors.
    
• Remember that your primary job is not data collection.  No research method should interfere with your primary job.
  
• While good information is always based on data (the facts), simply collecting data does not necessarily ensure that you will have useful information.
  
• The key issue is not how do we collect data, but how do we generate useful information?

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Last Updated: March 5, 2001
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