| Session Title: Web Dialogues: A New Tool for Evaluators |
| Demonstration Session 888 to be held in Texas B on Saturday, Nov 13, 2:50 PM to 4:20 PM |
| Sponsored by the Qualitative Methods TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Jerome Hipps, WestEd, jhipps@wested.org |
| Laurie Maak, WestEd, lmaak@wested.org |
| Abstract: Focus groups are a staple in the evaluator’s toolkit that we value in gathering responses from stakeholders about key. Imagine a scenario where participating stakeholders are situated in multiple locations and engage in the discussion at a time convenient to them. Enter a new evaluation resource that harnesses the advantages of Web 2.0 technology, Web Dialogues, that facilitate virtual focus groups. The demonstration examines the rationale behind Web Dialogue-based focus groups and details steps necessary to build a dialogue. These steps include framing the agenda, facilitating discussions, maintaining participant engagement, and summarizing key themes. We explore back-end features that help evaluators support communication and facilitate qualitatively coding discussions for later analysis. We review a three-day Web Dialogue used in a needs assessment process involving over 150 contributing participants. This review will show how available tools were used as the dialogue progressed. |