Data collection is the process of collecting and measuring information on targeted variables in an established systematic way, which then allows relevant questions to be answered and the evaluation to be made. results. The four possible data collection methods I chose for the program plan are observations, focus groups, surveys, and interviews. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Observation involves both observing and noting behavior in the social setting chosen for your program. Written notes of observed behavior are often called field notes. Direct observation and photography help to describe and visually represent community conditions. Observations and photographs are quick and relatively simple assessment methods that can be used to collect local data. The advantages are that it is relatively simple and inexpensive, the data can be collected quickly, it can elicit community input and participation, and provide descriptions and visual images that give meaning to the quantitative data. Disadvantages are that it can be difficult to interpret and summarize photographs and observation notes and represent the community experience as a whole. Focus groups involve a series of guided discussions on specific topics with small, selected groups and are a means of obtaining information about community needs. your community. Use focus groups whenever you want; narrative information about opinions, experiences, beliefs or perceived norms, obtain feedback in your clients' own words on program strengths and weaknesses, gain an in-depth understanding of a given topic or issue , support and expand on the results of surveys or other quantitative (numerical) data you have collected, identify the main categories and themes regarding a specific health problem and see how they relate to each other. Here are the steps to follow to plan and implement a series of focus groups. The benefits are flexible, capture rich, deep data, immediate results, encourage and stimulate individuals to share more openly, and the data can be combined with quantitative data to provide a complete picture of an issue. Disadvantages are that it may be difficult to recruit busy and/or hard-to-reach participants, it is necessary to plan at least 2 or 3 focus groups to capture diversity, and it is difficult to generalize results to a larger population and compare results between groups. are a popular approach to collecting data and are often used to conduct community assessments. Surveys are composed of carefully crafted questions on a topic or issue. They are often used to collect information about residents' level of health, social well-being and access to services. The most commonly used survey methods are postal, distributed, face-to-face, telephone, and interview surveys. Qualitative information is typically collected using open-ended questions, while quantitative information is collected using forced-choice or directed questions. The advantages are that participants control the pace and time required to complete the survey, more people are