RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
9.3 Evaluation
To evaluate the resource centre, ‘qualitative data’ is needed, as well as the
‘quantitative data’ collected by monitoring.
9.3.1 Collecting qualitative data
Qualitative data, such as users’ opinions, can be gathered in different ways. For
example, users could be asked to complete a questionnaire, or they could be
interviewed using the questionnaire as a structure for the interviews.
Questionnaires could be given to a representative selection of visitors and
enquirers, to keep the number of questionnaires down and make them easier to
analyse.
Questionnaires sent to enquirers should be accompanied by a copy of the
original request and the reply, including details of the materials that were
supplied. This is particularly important if the questionnaire is sent some time
after the enquiry was made (such as more than six months).
Focus group discussions (small group discussions) could be set up for staff or
students of the parent organisation, visitors and more distant users. They could
be organised as part of a national or regional meeting attended by users of the
resource centre. Users could discuss their opinions of the resource centre and its
services, what impact information from the resource centre has had their work,
and what subjects and services they require.
Information gathered through questionnaires and focus group discussions can
be used both for evaluation and as part of ongoing needs assessment (see
Section 1.1).
8 SECTION 9: MONITORING AND EVALUATION