Data Collecting Methods: Getting Down To Basics

This resource corresponds to Module 4.

Hi. My name is Heather Preslar and I've been involved in a number of projects that have involved data collection. I've learned the hard way how important setting is to getting the information you're looking for. Recently, as part of a project to evaluate a media literacy curriculum, I was responsible for surveying high school students in a number of settings. The survey work conducted in classrooms went really well. But then we tried to survey students during gym class, in the school's auditorium, with the kids sitting right next to one other in the auditorium seats. This didn't work at all. The kids kept trying to look at each other's answers. And we were asking questions about whether they were victims of bullies or if they had bullied other students-not the type of information that high school kids would want other students to know.

We also had a lot of trouble maintaining control in the auditorium. We were trained in research methods-not classroom management. The kids didn't know or respect us. I'd recommend partnering with a teacher whom the students know and who can maintain discipline in the classroom. This is especially important if the people implementing the survey do not have teaching experience.

Heather Preslar currently works as a Technical Assistance Specialist for SAMHSA's National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention located at Education Development Center, Inc.