Page 35 - Module_8_en

You should keep a record of all your media inquiries. You can ask your government department whether Module
they do media tracking (reviewing stories in the press about government initiatives; or more broadly,
tracking issues of concern to the government). If they do, ask whether they would send you notices of 8
stories in the press about your assessment, or about issues relevant to your assessment.

Selecting the most appropriate data collection method is mostly an intuitive process, depending on
where the data are most likely to be found. Some guidance in this selection is provided in the table
below. Abu Dhabi, UAE

Guidance in the Use of Common Data Collection Methods
Table 8
for Self-Assessments

Use a surface mail or a faxed questionnaire survey when:
? The target population is large (for example, greater than 200).
? You require a large amount of categorical data.
? You want or require quantitative data and statistical analyses.
? You want to examine the responses of designated subgroups, such as male and female.
? The target population is geographically dispersed.
? You want to clarify your team’s objectives by involving team members in a questionnaire development
exercise.
? You have access to people who can process and analyze this type of data accurately.

Use an e-mail or web page questionnaire when all of the above conditions are met and:
? You have the appropriate software and knowledge of this method.
? Your respondents have the technological capabilities to receive, read and return the questionnaire.
? Time is of the essence.
? You want to provide the option of typing long answers to questions.
? You want to reduce production and dissemination costs.

Use face-to-face interviews when:

? You need to incorporate the views of key people (key informant interview).
? The target population is small (for example, less than 50).
? Your information needs call for depth rather than breadth.
? You have reason to believe that people will not return a questionnaire.

Use telephone interviews when:

? The target population is geographically dispersed.
? Telephone interviews are feasible.

IEA Training Manual Workshop for the National Reporting Toolkit (NRT) 33