Course – Lesson 4: IV. Turning Data Into Action
LESSON 4:IV – Q+A WITH AUTHORS KATHERINE ORTEGA COURTNEY, PHD AND DOMINIC CAPPELLO
How can data inform your entire innovation?
Dominic Cappello responds:
Data can help identify problems within agency workflow or community systems, and show where progress is being made.
How does it benefit you to use both qualitative data and quantitative data to inform your innovation?
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:
Quantitative data are information collected from numbers. For example, the percentage of parents who report not being able to access medical care. The benefit is to describe large portions of a community at one time and get an idea of the overall functioning of a community
Qualitative data are information gained from phrases, sentences, or words that paint a picture. An example would be the description of a parent’s experience with housing support services. Both types of data together paint a larger, more complete story. The benefit is gaining more detailed information. Another benefit of qualitative data is that it provides stories, which are very helpful when presenting data to various audiences.
In the action phase of CQI, what challenges may occur?
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:
As an experimental innovation unfolds there may be unintended consequences, or costs may be higher than projected, or buy-in from staff may diminish, or the manager of the experiment may feel unsupported. We recommend reviewing Adaptive Leadership for a great overview of why change is difficult even when it seems to benefit the community.
What is the importance of asking the right questions to identify the data-informed solution?
Dominic Cappello responds:
Using data is an iterative process. This means the process is cyclical and repetitive. Data can be very complex. It can be easy to head down the wrong path or get sidetracked with a question unrelated to the solution. It is important to be familiar with the data being used and understand the categories into which it can be grouped. When analyzing and interpreting data, we become translators of the data to the world outside. We need to interpret it correctly in order not to mislead others about what’s actually happening in practice.
How can data be visualized?
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:
There are many ways to visualize data including pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs and tables. Data are also made more understandable by infographics. Information graphics or info-graphics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. Graphic design and infographics can play an important role in educating the public about challenges.
What are trends in data and what can they reveal?
Dominic Cappello responds:
Trends can more easily display rises and falls in activity. It can also reveal seasonality of certain activity. For example, one may see that over three years, more children are aging out of the child welfare system every year. Or one may see more students graduating from high school.
It important to note that trends can only be accurately assessed if the sample is large enough. Significance of changes is influenced by sample size. Changes can appear to be very dramatic in a small sample size, but that doesn’t mean the changes are meaningful.
How can you assess the quality and accuracy of data collected for your innovation?
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:
To check the accuracy of the data you are collecting, you always need to ask a few questions of the data and check it:
Are data being recorded in the same way by everyone?
Are all data that should be recorded actually being recorded?
Are the data that is recorded reviewed for accuracy on a consistent basis?
Why is data a vital resource for the entities providing health and safety services?
Dominic Cappello responds:
Data do so many things. First, it tells us which community members are at risk for health and safety challenges. Data can tell us where to allocate resources, where problems occur and where programs are achieving goals or not.
Data, in the form of surveys or informational interviews, can also reveal points within social interaction between people that need attention.
Does collecting data tell us how to solve a problem?
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:
Data cannot tell us how exactly to fix a problem or what to do, but it can guide a problem-solving process from identifying problems to monitoring progress toward solving them.
When beginning the action phase with a new project, what are the benefits of alerting all local initiative action teams (even though they may focus on different social sectors?)
Especially in a small city or town, new innovations attract attention. Some residents may cheer them on while other view with worry or suspicion. It’s best to let all action team members know when any new innovation is launching to gather as much support as possible. Additionally, the challenges in sectors may be interrelated. For example the mentorship team may discover that one of the biggest barriers to mentorship is transportation. Regular communication between the action teams can help identify and solve challenges.
