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The Answer is The key principles utilized in the development of a data management system are:
Assess the leadership and staff's capabilities and motivation early on to determine whether they have the necessary ability and willingness to change their processes for collecting and managing data. We can support skill building and technical competence enhancement, but an unwillingness to try something different can bring some challenge. One common circumstance we face is that, in some programs, the staff are clearly and unalterably opposed to using electronic devices to collect data when interacting with program participants, because they feel that it disrupts important relationship-building interactions. It can be useful to demonstrate to staff how they can become able to type or write on a tablet as easily as they can write on paper, but sometimes that does not overcome their reluctance. While direct entry can certainly save time, a compromise can be to have staff use paper when interacting with the program participants, and then use what they have recorded on the paper to enter the data into the tablet or a computer. Alternatively, program management may decide to shift responsibilities to enable those who are willing to enter data directly as they interact with participants to do so. Regardless of the strategy used, it is important to monitor the accuracy of the data and the impact on relationships to ensure that there are minimal negative side effects of changes in procedures.
Create a system that allows data to be recorded as close as possible to the time that the data are generated. Direct, electronic recording of the data at the time the data are being collected is certainly an efficient use of time, but it is also necessary to consider the impact of that on relationships and on the quality of the data more generally. In one setting, we urged staff to collect data from preschoolers using a tablet to allow the children to view and respond verbally to the stimuli and the staff person would touch the screen to record the response. However, when the staff tried that approach, they found that the children would constantly try to touch the screen, often making responses that were inconsistent with their verbal responses, and they would then become upset when not allowed to touch the screen. This process became more disruptive and time consuming than desirable, so they reverted to paper versions of the stimuli, with staff keeping the tablet in their hands to record responses.
Record the most detailed, granular data possible. Although it is tempting to record data only in the form that is currently needed for decision-making (e.g., if there are certain items that are summed into a scale, to only record the scale score that is used for a decision about a participant's progress), there are several reasons to avoid this practice. First, this often means that a staff person has to manually add up the scores and record the sum, and the more calculations the staff person has to make, the greater likelihood of errors. Second, sometimes it is useful to modify measures. It is not uncommon to find that measures have items that are not useful for a given set of circumstances, and using a smaller number of items may provide clearer results and save time (however, it is crucial to be judicious about modifying measures if they are standardized and you are trying to generalize to other populations based on that measure). In sum, collecting more granular data, with the management system manipulating it (via code, formulae, or functions) to create scores, provides more flexibility in the use of the data, at little to no extra cost, and sometimes with a reduction in the cost of data entry and use.
Use multiple sheets within the system to simplify its use and protect the data. For example, it is useful to have one or several sheets for data entry (different sheets might be used for different measures, or different data collection periods), with data protections built in to help ensure that persons entering the data enter it accurately (using the data protection features of the software to create drop-down menus where possible). Other sheets can be used for formulae that compute scores as needed, and for comparisons of different subgroups (e.g., males versus females). Other sheets can be used to construct graphs or tables that can be directly copied and pasted into reports. For more sophisticated users, there are "business intelligence" applications that can help create data dashboards that allow a snapshot of program statistics, but these can be more expensive in time and money than many smaller nonprofits are able to support.

After Completing Your Reading of the Chapter, Analyze and Discuss

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