We recently published a comprehensive blog post about data collection design and how to choose the best data collection tool for a specific project. Last week we discussed the third question to consider when selecting a data collection tool: Is there online access? This week’s tip is about the fourths question: What kind of data are you collecting?
The field of evaluation has widened significantly in recent decades; collecting data is not always about asking people questions and recording their answers. Fortunately there are a plethora of specialized tools that allow for increasingly complex, high-tech forms of data collection.
For Khulisa’s complex Trafficking in Persons (TIP) evaluation, the team uses an interactive mapping tool called ArcGIS. ArcGIS allows Khulisa to create heat maps with locations like high-density areas, areas with high concentrations of immigrants, places where sex workers tend to congregate, etc., where the likelihood of trafficking is higher.
For more thoughts on how to choose the best data collection tool for your budget, read the full blog post or watch our recent “The Science Behind Data Collection” webinar, presented as part of gLOCAL Evaluation Week, on YouTube.