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Session Title: Involving Project Staff in Qualitative Data Analysis Using a Thematic Checklist
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Panel Session 667 to be held in Capistrano B on Friday, Nov 4, 1:35 PM to 2:20 PM
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Sponsored by the Internal Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Cynthia Olney, National Network of Libraries of Medicine Resource Center, olneyc@coevaluation.com
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| Abstract:
From a capacity building perspective, project staff's involvement in data analysis provides a unique opportunity for them to learn about their programs. Qualitative data can be particularly compelling and interesting because of its detail and often story-like quality. However, qualitative data can be a challenge for the most seasoned evaluators to summarize and analyze, so strategies must be employed to help engage project staff members who are usually over-extended with responsibilities and often not evaluation oriented. This panel will feature presentations about evaluations conducted at two separate organizations in which a similar strategy - a thematic checklist - was used to involve project staff in qualitative data analysis. After a brief overview of the method by the panel chair, presenters will describe their application of the strategy, some of the insights gained by staff members about their projects, and lessons learned from involving project staff in qualitative analysis.
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Project Staff Participation in Analysis of Data From a Community Preparedness Day Pilot Project
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| Susan Barnes, National Network of Libraries of Medicine Resource Center, sjbarnes@u.washington.edu
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The National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health, provided funding to libraries in three US cities to hold Community Preparedness Days. Similar to health fairs, these events brought together local and state organizations involved in emergency response to introduce the public to their services through exhibits and demonstrations. The NLM initiated this project to help libraries raise their profiles as important partners in community disaster response - not only with the public, but also among emergency preparedness and response organizations. Because this was a pilot project, qualitative methods provided the best approach for gathering information about event implementation and collecting recommendations from pilot teams for libraries that might hold similar events in the future. The NLM staff overseeing the awards used the thematic checklist to assist with analysis of interview data conducted with the pilot-site librarians and emergency responders who planned and held the events.
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Project Staff's Analysis of Learner Interview Data in a Community-based Advocacy Training Program for Medical Students and Residents
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| Judith Livingston, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, livingstonj@uthscsa.edu
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The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio's Regional Academic Health Center offers an elective rotation in which medical students and residents spend four weeks living and working in one of the poorest regions of the US - the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). Learners work in partnership with LRGV community-based organizations (CBO) on advocacy projects identified as needed by both CBO and learners. Each rotation hosts between 4-6 learners whose experiences vary based on the current environment of the border region, their own personal learning goals and community needs. The project's most compelling evaluation data come from post-experience interviews conducted by project faculty - one at completion of each rotation and one conducted six months after the rotation. Project staff developed a thematic checklist to analyze interview summaries to assess the experience's effect on learners' perceptions, attitudes, and commitments toward future advocacy work, particularly in underserved communities.
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