THE CONSULTATION INSTITUTE

ESTABLISHED 2003 - 5,000+ PROFESSIONALS TRAINED

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Foundation e-Learning · EL-111 Research & data

Collecting Information, Data and Sampling.

Twenty-five minutes on what data can and cannot tell you, and how a sample is chosen.

Starting point No prior knowledge required
01 Why it matters

What data can and cannot tell you

Data collection is at the heart of consultation: it is a means whereby we find out what people think and what they wish to say.

Before we move to any detail on dealing with data, it is important we understand some basic things about it, and some basic principles about what it is possible and not possible to do with data, information, and sampling.

Twenty-five minutes, self-paced, and the first module in the research ladder. It comes before question wording, because what you choose to collect and who you collect it from decides what the answers are worth. For the same ground worked through with a trainer, there is a taught version.

02 Topics include

What the course covers

Five topics, in the order the decisions arise.

01
Quantitative and qualitative dataWhat each kind of data can tell you, and what neither can. Most consultations need both, and the two are gathered differently. Numbers establish how widely a view is held. Words establish what the view actually is, and why people hold it.
02
ValidityWhether the evidence actually supports the claim you want to make from it. The question is whether the method measured what it set out to measure. A large response tells you nothing if the instrument was pointed at the wrong thing.
03
Open and closed questionsThe trade between depth of answer and ease of analysis. The choice fixes how much work you face later. Closed questions can be counted the day the survey closes. Open ones need a coding frame before they mean anything at all.
04
SamplesHow many people you need, and who they have to be. Size matters less than whether the sample resembles the population you claim to speak for. A self-selecting response of two thousand can be worth less than a drawn sample of two hundred.
05
Stratified samplingDividing the population first, so smaller groups still register. Without it, a minority view can disappear inside a headline percentage. The strata have to be chosen before collection starts, which makes it a planning decision and not an analysis one.
By the end of the session you understand
✓

Different types of data and the different types of questions for collecting them

✓

The principles of validity

✓

How a sample of participants can be selected

03 Who is this course for?

Anyone gathering the data.

This course is aimed at those at an operational level who are likely to be running data-collection exercises.

05Before you enrol

Common questions

Anything not covered here, ask us. We answer the same day.

01

How long does the course take?

Approximately 25 minutes, the shortest of the paid modules. It is self-paced, so you can stop and return, and your place is remembered.
02

Where does it sit against the other research modules?

First. This one settles what you are collecting and from whom. Surveys and Questionnaires then covers how the questions are worded.
03

Do I need any statistics to follow it?

No. It covers the principles of validity and how a sample is drawn, including stratified sampling. It does not teach statistical tests or any particular software.
04

Should I take this or the taught course?

This one for the principles on your own time. Collecting information, data and sampling if you have an exercise to design and want a trainer to work through the sampling with you.
05

How do I pay?

Pay by credit card when you book, or email contact@consultationinstitute.org if you prefer to be invoiced.
06

How many CPD points does it carry?

Five tCI CPD points, logged against your record when you finish, along with a certificate of completion.

Know what your data can carry

£80 for a single licence, five CPD points, and a certificate at the end.

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