Example of data collection

Alcohol Consumption Education Course Example:

1. Identify whom you will be studying.  You may need to collect different pieces of information from different populations. If you wanted to know if students in the alcohol education class drink a larger amount and/or drink more frequently than other students on campus you will need to gather this data from both populations.

   If you wanted to compare these figures to other college students in your geographic region or across the country, you would need to obtain that data as well. However, chances are that this type of information may be existing data that have already been collected. You would need to find out who collected the data and whether you can access it.

2. Assumed problems.  What do you think are some assumed problems about the alcohol education class?
   
   
3. Where to collect data.  The data you need may not always come from surveying people. If you are trying to determine if the alcohol education class is the most effective use of resources you may need other types of data. You may need to know how many “person hours” are spent in preparation and implementation of the alcohol education course over a given period of time. This may require tracking this time by the educator. You may then want to multiply this by the salary that the educator is paid.

   Do not forget to figure in cost for extra benefits including insurance, retirement, etc. You will likely need to contact Human Resources for this information. This will be very important if you are comparing two different programs where one requires a professional staff member who receives benefits and a program whose facilitator may not even be paid or receive benefits.

4. How to collect data.  After you figure out from whom and where you need to collect data, you can then decide how to collect it. You have many options including surveys; interviews; focus groups; tracking participation, time, money spent, etc.
   
   
5. Feedback.  Allow colleagues within your department to review your chosen data collection strategy.  Get feedback from others.  You may want the USC Student Affairs Assessment Team to review your strategy before collecting your information.