Making a Plan

Leading this Activity and Making a Plan

First, you will want to explain each of the ways they can collect data. Explain what surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observations are. Discuss the pros and cons for each and then gain a consensus about which method they would like to move forward with.

Once the youth team has achieved this, move on to specifically working on making a plan and then work through the selected method (e.g., survey) using the information below.

After selecting a data collection method, the youth team will need to establish deadlines, teammate responsibilities, how youth will record data, etc. Follow this checklist to make a plan for collecting data.

Designing your method: Prepare survey or interview questions, discussion topics for focus groups, and subjects for observations. Only after youth write questions, scripts, or goals can youth actually jump into data collection. Review method(s) and ensure the design is ready to be used. The method should be adequately prepared, and the youth team should have a plan.

Timeline: According to the schedule picked for the youth CNA, determine how much time youth will spend on collecting data. Then, refer to the instructions for the method youth selected and plan according to what the chosen method requires.

Participants: Figure out who youth will recruit to participate. Who will youth ask to take a survey? How many people will youth have in a focus group? Do youth have a list of people to interview? To fully prepare, youth should be aware of possible participants so youth don ’t spend valuable time trying to find people that will help. Write out a list of other youth that your team could potentially ask to participate in the survey, and then communicate with them.

Recording data: Where will youth take notes and record results? Will they use notebooks?