| Data Source |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
One-to-one interviews |
- Low cost
- Rapid data collection
- Possibility of exploring many topics in depth
- One informant leads to another, who may lead to other sources
of relevant information
|
- Can be time-consuming to set up interviews
- Produces limited quantitative data
- Less accurate than other research methods
- Requires carefully trained interviewers
- May be difficult to summarize findings
|
Focus groups |
- Low cost
- Participants define what is important
- Facilitator can probe
- Rapid data collection
|
- Can be time-consuming to assemble group
- Produces limited quantitative data
- Requires carefully trained facilitators
- Difficult to collect confidential information
- May be difficult to summarize findings
|
Available indicator data |
- Low cost
- Unobtrusive
- Can be highly accurate
Valid
- Allows for historical comparisons and trend analysis
- Provides an excellent baseline for comparisons
|
- May be difficult to access
- Often incomplete or out of date
- Changing rules for record-keeping can make year-to-year
comparisons invalid
- Need to know how records were compiled
- Provides no information on values or attitudes
- May provide an incomplete picture of what is going on
|
Surveys |
- Moderately accurate information
- Can be well-designed, simple, and clear
- Rapid data collection
- Can be reliable and valid, if using previously tested instrument
the way it was designed, with appropriate methodology
|
- Only taps willing and reachable respondents
- Vulnerable to over-rater or under-rater bias
- Accuracy highly dependent on who and how many people are
sampled and on survey design
|
