Collecting Data
The questions a group wants to answer — for descriptive, monitoring or evaluation purposes — will determine what information should be collected. It is often helpful to develop a table with the information needed to answer each question. This helps ensure that there is a specific plan to collect each piece of data, and that data is not being collected unless it is needed. Tip Sheet How Will We Know What Information We Should Collect includes two examples of such a table. Groups may want to add extra columns for other important information about data, such as where that information can be obtained (its source), when it should be collected (timing) and how it will be collected (method).
This section includes tools, tips and examples about data, including potential sources for the kinds of data helpful in assessing racial equity work, methods for securing quality data, and some of the challenges of using existing databases.
