Document(s) 7 of 27

A: OVERVIEW OF DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

B: DESIGN OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS; INTERVIEW GUIDES AND INTERVIEW SKILLS

C: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Flowchart: Steps in the development of a health systems research proposal

NB: Development of a research process is a cyclical process. The double-headed arrows indicate that the process is never linear.

Introduction

Data collection is a crucial stage in the planning and implementation of a study. If the data collection has been superficial, biased or incomplete, data analysis becomes difficult, and the research report will be of poor quality.

Therefore, we should concentrate all possible efforts on developing appropriate tools, and should test them several times.

Depending on the type of study, different data-collection techniques may be used. In HSR studies we usually combine a number of different techniques and look at problems from different perspectives (triangulation).

To give full weight to data collection we have split the module into three parts:

— An overview of different data collection techniques

— Guidelines on how to develop interview guides or questionnaires, including guidelines on how to interview

— An introduction on how to conduct Focus Group Discussions with an exercise in FGD, which should be carried out in any protocol development workshop

All parts are highly relevant for young researchers who still need to gain experience in conducting research.

Document(s) 7 of 27