Who to Survey? Data Collection Planning

1. Who to Survey? Data Collection Planning Transparency and Accountability Program Launch Workshop May 2 – 6, 2011 – Johannesburg, South Africa The Protea Hotel Balalaika (Sandton) May 4, 2011 14.00 -15.30 HRS

2. Reminder?- Key Features of QSDS • Goes beyond tracking funds to examine to examine efficacy of spending, incentives, oversight and relationship between managers and providers • Evaluate the transformation of financial and in-kind inputs into actual services at the point of service delivery • Rely extensively not exclusively on data collected from actual records kept at facility • Frontline service provider is the main unit of observation • Apply to public, private for-profit and private not-for-profit providers This points to focus of QSDS but not who exactly to survey in a particular study.

3. Who to Survey? • Like the survey design, the selection of a unit of analysis (Who to survey) relates to the purpose or objectives of the Survey Problem and also with the nature of the problem to be studied • The combination of the specific study focus and objectives (both taken care of at the design stage) points to major sources of data and the respondents to survey in a logical manner How? – Elaboration with example

4. EXAMPLE?? Public Expenditure Tracking and Service delivery Assessment (PET-QSDS)

5. Data collection planning (1) • While deciding about the method of data collection plan for the study, keep in mind two types of data viz, primary and secondary • Primary data are to be originally collected • Secondary data work is merely that of compilation.

6. Data collection planning (2) • The researcher must judiciously select the method (s) for her/his own study, keeping in view the following factors: • Nature, scope and object of survey: This constitutes the most important factor affecting the choice of a particular method. The method selected should be such that it suits the type of survey to be conducted. This factor is also important in deciding use of secondary or primary data or both.

7. Data collection planning (3) • Availability of Funds: Finance, in fact, is a big constraint in practice and the researcher has to act within this limitation. Very limited funding may compel the researcher to select a comparatively cheaper method, which may not be as efficient and effective as some other costly method. • Time Factor: Some methods take relatively more time, whereas with others the data can be collected in a comparatively shorter duration. The available time affects the selection of the method by which the data is to be collected. • Precision:This is yet another important factor to be considered at the time of selecting the method of collection of data.

8. Key aspects for the plan • Type of data to be collected –Quantitative or qualitative or both? • Major sources of data • Tool(s) to be used in collecting data • Enumerators (adequate numbers and skills) • Logistics (transport, tape recorders, calculators ,per diem) • Sensitive to cultural factors, data etc. • Data management in the field

9. END OF PRESENTATION THANK YOU