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Different Needs
Assessment Instruments
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Instruments
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Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Surveys
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- information can be objective and
subjective
- many people surveyed at
once
- cost is relatively
inexpensive
- everyone gets the same, uniform
instrument
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- may not ask the right
questions
- may not get much
detail
- may have problems interpreting
questions
- may have problems compiling
disaggregated data
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Rubrics
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- information can be more
subjective
- many people surveyed at
once
- cost is releatively
inexpensive
- everyone can get the same, uniform
instrument
- information can be
non-threatening
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- may not know how to choose between
points of scale
- may not get enough detail
- may have problems compiling
data
- may not be able to get
disaggregated data
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Interviews
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- Interviews more
personal
- immediate interpretation of
questions and answers
- can ask for more detailed data
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- takes more time
- limited number of people
included
- intrepretation is
subjective
- can be costly
- data can be difficult to analyze
and disaggregate
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Focus Groups or Meetings with small
groups
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- immediate interpretation of
questions and answers
- can ask for more detailed
data
- able to interview more people at
once
- discussion spurs more
questions
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- some people may be inhibited from
providing information in group setting
- sometimes difficult to get
everyone to the meeting at same time
- one person may dominate
discussion
- data difficult to
compile
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Observation
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- interpretation subjective on
observer's experience at that time
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- can be very
time-consuming
- can be expensive
- behavior may be affected by
observer's presence
- experiences can differ from day-to
day
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Important to look for
needs assessment instruments:
- where data can be
disaggregated.
- that can provide clearest
picture of situation.
- that can be used for pre-
and post- data collection.
- that provide questions
that are easily understood and
interpretted.
- where several methods of
data collection are used.
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Determining
Factors:
- What groups do you
assess?
- How many from each group
do you assess?
- What information has been
collected before?
- How much money, time or
people do you have?
- What information do you
need for evaluation purposes?
- What kinds of questions
are relevant for purpose?
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