Developing a questioning
route
The questioning route
should be based on the objectives of the needs of assessment. Brainstorming
with colleagues and prospective users of the information also help to generate
the questions. The questioning route, developed in the local language,
consisted of four main questions and several questioning probes. The questions
include:
- What problems do parents in this village face in
feeding their children? Are the problems similar for all families?
- What should be done to make sure children get proper
nutrition? What can parents themselves do? Can all parents afford these
measures?
- What problems do parents in this village face in
keeping their children strong and healthy?
- What can parents do to improve the health of their
children? Does the government have any role to play?
Planning resources
The extension officer
should develop the timetable for the sequence of steps involved, as well as the
fiscal plan. The extension officer should also approach the administrators of
local schools and secured rooms in which to conduct the interviews. A tape
recorder should be obtained from a local business person.
Recruiting the
participants
The extension officer should
select one of her assistant agents to help in conducting of the interviews.
Five interviews, one in each of five villages in a community will be conducted
to help ensure representative data and to minimize travel costs on the part of
participants. For each interview, eight participants will be recruited to
represent women's groups, local politicians, school teachers, religious
leaders, health practitioners, and parents. The extension agent should contact
the prospective participant personally and explained to them the purpose and
timing of the focus group interviews. The participants will then be selected on
the basis of their knowledge of the village situation, ability to discuss
freely in a group, and interest in child nutrition and health.
Moderating interviews
The extension officer
should moderate the interviews with the help of her assistant extension agent.
Moderating is the process of keeping the discussion on track. It involved
bringing the conversation back on target when irrelevant topics are introduced.
This guidance had to be provided without reducing group enthusiasm and interest
in the discussion. There are several personal attributes of a good moderator
which including:
- Familiarity with group process either from previous
experience in working with groups or through training in group dynamics
- Good listening skills, adequate background knowledge on
the topic of discussion
- Well-developed written and oral communication skills
- A sense of humor
Data analysis and
reporting
Data analysis and
reporting followed the interpretative summary format, whereby the data will not
only described but also interpreted. The analysis should start with a
debriefing immediately after the interview ended. The interview tape should be
played and a summary of the interview to be written the next day. Each
interview summary should include key incidents, strong statements, and
frequently occurring responses. Next, the key incidents, strong statements, and
frequent responses will be classified by question, coded, and grouped. The
coding and grouping helped identify the general themes in the responses. The
identified themes will then be compared across interviews in order to develop a
general picture for the whole community on a question by question basis.
Lastly, specific concluding statements should be made related to the two
objectives of the needs assessment.
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