Data Collection in the Field Thailand Experience Parita Suaphan EPSA Skills Development Workshop No.3 April 17, 2013
Data Collection in the Field Thailand Experience
Parita Suaphan EPSA Skills Development Workshop No.3
April 17, 2013
Why do I choose a vocational high school ?
• What factors really affect students’ vocational/general high school decision ?
Expected Net Monetary Future Benefit Non Monetary Factors
Benefits
Costs
Risks
Time Value of Money
Social Environment
Cognitive Ability
Non-Cognitive Ability
Sample
• Sample frame :– Every grade 9 students in all 38 government schools in Mueng
District, Udon Thani Province 4656 Students • Udon Thani :
– Gross provincial product rank is 19 out of the 77 provinces in Thailand – 1.5 millions population – Agriculture ( Sugar Cane, Rice Farm), Travel, Service – Has 9 vocational high schools, 7 of which are in Muang.
• Schools– The numbers of grade 9 students range from 14 to 865 students– Under 2 school districts – 3860 students collected
Big School
Small School
Methodology
• Mixed Method ( though heavily quantitative) – Using qualitative to confirm the result of quantitative
part and attempt to answer the why questions• Instruments– Questionnaires
• 2 Parts , 2 Hours
– Interview • 10 – 15 min with 30 students
– Costs information from randomly selected local high schools and tutoring centers
Timeline
Pre-Fieldwork
Nov ‘11 – Oct’12A: TC• Proposal Writing • Questionnaires Design• Defense • IRB
B: Field Related • Contact Related
Authorities • Field Visit • Scheduling• Recruiting RAs• Codebook
Fieldwork
Nov’12 – Jan’13- Pilot- IRB ( well yeah once again !!)- Reconfirming schedule - RAs training- Data Collection (obviously !!) - Data Transfer
Post-Fieldwork
Feb’13 - April’14- Data Transfer - Transcribe - Data Cleaning - Imputation
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Pre-Fieldwork
Proposal Writing • Check schedules of your committee
Questionnaires Design • It is an Art!!
• Order of Questions• Questions that need a lot of thinking should be put first • Will Q.1 influences Q. 2 ?
• Categories, scale, or blank • Consult Experts
• Teachers and/or School Principals • Survey Experts
Pre-Fieldwork
Defense • Leave time for revision
IRB• Are you working with minor ? If so Expedited• Do you need consent form ? • Avoid submitting it during summer • RAs?• Need 1 copy in local language and 1 copy in English
Pre-Fieldwork
Defense
• Leave time for revision
IRB
• Are you working with minor ? If so Expedited• Do you need consent form ? • Avoid submitting it during summer • RAs?• Need 1 copy in local language and 1 copy in English• Need an approval letter from the local authority
Pre-Fieldwork
Recruiting RAs
• Contact local university professor • Criteria : GPA more than 3 , have computer at home, and Junior or Master
level • First Screening : Meet and Interview • I used 8 RAs. 7 Juniors and 1 Master Candidate.
Codebook
Pre-Fieldwork
Contact Local Authority
• It is helpful if you know someone • Try to did this very early in the process
Field Visit
• Visit schools Talk to principle, explain the study, schedule the date, identify a contact person, obtain a usable phone number • Be polite. Bring gifts ?• Referral is much helpful.• Accommodation scouting• Car. You need a car.• Locate schools• In Thailand : Don’t use email. Use phone. If no one pick up the phone, visit.
Fieldwork
Pilot• At least 1 month in advance • Test the validity of the questionnaires, identify potential problem and try to
find solutions. • Hard-to-understand questions• Sensitive questions• Student Focus
• Do everything by yourself, so you can effectively train your RAs. • If you made changes, you need IRB approval.
Confirmation
• Confirm the schedule 3-4 weeks, 1 week, and 1-2 days • Give out the letters /consent form to schools
Fieldwork
RAs Training • 10 days in advance at least • If any of them are not competent, it is time to cut her/him out of the project• 3 hours session 4-5 people per session• A test at the end of the session• Homework • Give them a small amount of work at the beginning, so they have time to familiar
themselves with the tasks and you have time to cross-check them . Minimize future errors.
• $300 a month. 2-months work. 152 variables. 550 students
Data Transfer
• No need for the data collection to be finish before the transfer to start• Cross-check . Look at every survey yourselves. Not only that you correct the
transfer mistakes, you learn from it too.
Meet My RAs
Fieldwork
Data collection
• The number of students in each survey session matters.
• Students lost focus easy Snacks and light jokes helps
• It is important to establish connection with students.
• It is helpful to have teachers in the room.• Give them pens• Figure out how to logistically distribute
the surveys if the number of students is large.
• Get to schools at least 1 hour in advance.
Fieldwork
Data collection ( Cont)
• Boys are more difficult to manage. Be firm but kind and funny.
• Walking around helps students focus. • Treat them with respect !! • Numbers of students at school might not
be the same as what they reported to the district. Ask about it to get the correct sample frame.
• Keep field note. Polaroid is amazing.• I wrote a blog and found that it was
helpful http://www.thaifieldwork.com
Don’t Get Too Stressed – Keep Calm And Carry On
Post-Fieldwork
Data Cleaning and Transcribing
• Continue to cross-check• Get to know your data • Shall I delete some observations?
Imputation
• If you can still take a class, please do.• If not, consult Yilin!!