Download What if the program shows no positive impact on youth?

GOT DATA?
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Data
Work for You
Center for Applied Research Solutions, Inc
771 Oak Avenue Parkway, Suite 3 Folsom, CA 95630
(916) 983-9506 TEL (916) 983-5738 FAX
GOT DATA?
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Data
Work for You
Facilitators:
Kerrilyn Scott
Christina Borbely
Produced and Conducted by the Center for Applied Research Solutions, Inc. for the California
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs
SDFSC Workshop-by-Request
May 16, 2005
Authored by Christina J. Borbely, Ph.D.
Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Technical Assistance Project
Objectives





Preparing to Use Data
– Database options & structure
– Identifying data
– Coding & Entering
– Storing & Cleaning
Methods for Summarizing Data
– Basics: frequency & % change
– Beyond Basics: mean scores; making comparisons
Interpreting Data
Effective Report Writing
Utilizing & Disseminating Findings
– Program improvement, Funders, Key Stakeholders
Ready, Set, Go!
Preparing to Use Data




Database Options
Identifying Data
Coding Data
Entering, Storing, & Cleaning Data
Database Options



Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Access
SPSS
Excel




Spreadsheet format
Some computational functions
Compatible with other MS software & statistical
software
Comes with Microsoft Office package (or $299)
http://office.microsoft.com/enus/FX010858001033.aspx
Access






User friendly design
Requires some preparation prior to data entry
Generates custom reports
Good for qualitative (i.e. open-ended items) & quantitative
data
Compatible with other Microsoft software &
statistical software (i.e. converts easily to Excel!)
Comes with Microsoft Office package (or $299)
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857911033.aspx
SPSS




Spreadsheet format
Requires some tutorial (not always intuitive)
One-touch data analysis!
Pricing ranges from $599 to $1499
www.spss.com
Watcha Got?


Identifying data
Variable names
Identifying Data

Each piece of information you have for a
participant or a program is data.
Data are…
# of completed surveys data
# of times a youth attended a session
# of youth who attended a meeting
# of merchants contacted for outreach
Age
Grade
FYI:
Types of Data

Discrete, categorical
Male/Female
US Citizen/Non US Citizen
Freshman, Sophmore, Junior, Senior

Continuous
Age
Salary
Conflict Resolution Ability
Variable Names

Each piece of data is labeled with a unique
(and hopefully meaningful) variable name.
Data
Section E, item 3
Age
Unit 1 total score
Variable Name
E3
Age
Un1tot
Variable Names:
Do’s & Don’ts

Meaningful
For section E, item 6: E6

DOB
E6
Variable124a
Short
Date of Birth
Youth Survey Section E, Item #6

E6, E7, E9, F1, F2
Systematic
1F, twoF, Fthree
Plan to reference data collection time points
First administration:

BL (for baseline) or T1 (for time 1) or PRE (for pre-test)
BLE6, FUE6

E6, E6
Be consistent with the chosen system
T1E6, T2E6
E6T1, T2E6
Coding Key: Do’s

Translate into numeric values
For response scale: YES! Yes No NO!
YES! = 3
Yes = 2
No = 1
NO! = 0

Record coding key directly onto measure &
save!
Coding System Examples
Race
Black = 1
Hispanic = 2
White = 3
Asian = 4
Other = 5
Gender
Male = 1
Female = 2
Coding Key: Don’ts

Do not create a separate variable to code
each response to an item.
1. What grade are you in? A. 6th B. 7th C. 8th
Variable name = BL1
Codes A=1; B=2; C=3
NOT
Variable name = BL1A; BL1B; BL1C
Codes Yes=1; No=0
Advanced Coding
•Collapsing Variables by Code
1. Do you live in a house? Y/N
2. Do you live in an apartment? Y/N
3. Do you live in a barn? Y/N
Variable Name: “Reside”
Codes: house
=1
apartment = 2
barn
=3
Reverse
Coding
The values of the coding system may need to be
reversed to reflect the true meaning of the
response.
1. Do you runaway from home? Often Sometimes Rarely Never
2. Do your parents smile at you? Often Sometimes Rarely Never
3. Are you happy at home?
Often Sometimes Rarely Never
Variable codes:
Reverse code:
4
1
3
2
2
3
1
4
Entering Data in Your Database

Create 1 row of variable names: Across

Create 1 column of names/id #s: Down

Enter post test & follow-ups by extending the row for
each participant
ID
0025

BLgrade
6
BLa23
2.5
T2grade
7
T2a23
3.1
Save regularly as you enter (don’t lose all that work!)
Storing Data


Hardcopies
Electronic files
Under Lock n’ Key

Guard with your life until a back up is made

Keep all hardcopies as backup

Maintain back ups in different locations

Preserve confidentiality


Separate identifying information from surveys
Use passwords; locked file cabinets; secured offices
Cleaning Data:
Quick, Easy, & Worth It!
Save yourself the grief of inexplicable scores…





Data should fall within an expected range
(e.g. 1 to 5).
Scan data for unusual numbers by:
Visual review
A “sort by” function
A “find” function
A “minimum/maximum” or “range” function
Squeaky Clean!

Use a “missing” marker (e.g. 999) when a
response is purposely missing (e.g. left blank,
etc.)
Pros: easy to spot unintentionally unentered data
Cons: extra step to remove missing marker later

Don’t forget to exclude “missing” data values,
so it doesn’t mess up your computations!
FYI:
How to use “missing” markers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select number or symbol that will not naturally
occur in the data
Enter marker when data point is unavailable
Clean data & look for “blanks”. Fill in un-entered
or incomplete data.
After data is clean, delete or exclude the missing
marker
Do data analysis
Recommendations

Consider using “in house” resources for
entering & cleaning data

Consider outsourcing database development to
a graduate student or local evaluator
FYI:
Outliers

An outlier is a data point that
does not cluster with other
data points in the group.

Example: ages range from
12.1 to 14.3 years; there are 3
outliers age 17.4; 19.2; and
19.7 years.

It may skew data so that it is
not representative of the
sample.

Consider excluding outliers
Housekeeping Activity:
Clean the Data
Guide: Step 1

Set up a database

Code and enter data

Clean database
Kids
today!
Putting Data to Work
Methods for Summarizing Data
Basics
Taking
It Up a Notch
Add It Up

Count or Tally
Do you attend Club Live? Yes
By hand llll
Yes
No
ll
Blank
l
By computer
Yes=1; No=0; Blank=999
No
ID
T21a
jn789
1
rs587
0
ty390
1
ge188
1
bo989
0
va689
999
pc490
1
sz688
1
Frequencies:
Ratio & Percent Distribution
Quantifies rate of occurrence for categories of information
Useful for….
What race are you?
Do you live with both
 Black
biological parents?
 White
Yes
No
 Asian
 Hispanic
 Other
NOT As Useful for….
How much you like school? (circle one)
YES! Yes No NO!
How old are you? _____
Calculating Frequency

Sum the number of times a given response occurs

Report a number: a ratio or percentage
Gender
Male
Female
Total


# of participants
49
51
100
% of participants
49%
51%
100%
Of the 100 participants, 49 were male.
This year, almost half (51%) of the participants were females.
Common uses
 Demographics
to characterize participants or community
Race; gender; grade; homeowner status
 Statistics
 Impact
to describe program
Number of program completers
% of city council members contacted
statements on outcomes
% of youth reporting ATOD use
Ratio of signage below adult eye-level
Reporting Frequencies
Frequency of participants reporting they are:
Male
Employed
Getting mostly B’s in math
Parents of a FNL youth
Frequency with which:
Decoy buys are successful
Alcohol-sponsored events occur
Sample:
Excerpt of Frequency in Text
“Of clients with completed CBCL/YSR, well over half (56.9%)
function in the lowest quartile of global competence. Specifically,
clients demonstrate compromised ability related to engagement in
age-appropriate activities, social interaction, and performance at
school. Given that services are provided in the school context, it is
not surprising that almost three-quarters of the clients (71.2%)
function in the bottom quartile of school-related competence.
Teachers and other school staff, individuals familiar with indicators of
school competence, are the most common referral source of
students. It is expected that competence in these domains will
benefit from student participation in counseling services. Additional
data is being collected to test for improvement over time.”
Change Score

Comparison of scores to assess change
Proposed outcome:
80% of youth increased awareness of ATOD consequences
ID
T1consq T2consq Change Increase
jn789
3.4
3.4
0
No
rs587
2.1
3.6
+1.5
Yes
ty390
2.5
3.4
+.9
Yes
ge188
3.0
3.5
+.5
Yes
bo989
4.3
4.5
+.2
Yes
va689
999
2.9
999
N/A
pc490
3.2
2.9
-.3
No
sz688
1.6
2.5
+.9
Yes
5 of 7 youth
increased scores
= 71.4% of youth
increased
awareness of
ATOD
consequences
Taking It Up a Notch


Mean scores
And beyond…
Mean Scores

The mean refers to a variables central tendency and is
the sum of all a factors values divided by the number
of values.
“Mean” and “average”
refer to the same concept.

Calculating Means

Sum all the response values, then divide by the
total number (of responses or items)

Provide a frame of reference (“out of how
many”)
Averages
ID
aj785
Age
20
ItemE7
4
RskFctrs
3
tk983
22
3
0
mr286
19
61/3 = 20.3
5
12/3 = 4
2
5/3 = 1.6



The mean age of the participants is 20.3 years.
The average score on Item E7 is 4 out of 5.
Youth have an average of 1.6 risk factors out of a possible
4 risk factors.
Common Uses

To make a generalized statement about a group.

Demographics to characterize participants or
community
Age; Income level

Impact statements on outcomes
Level of ATOD use among youth
Sub-scale scores
Reporting Mean Scores

Report means of sub-scales
Average score for “Community Connection” scale

Report mean scores of an individual item
Item E4: How often did you smoke pot in the past 7
days?

Report mean score of occurrence
Average number of hours spent educating merchants
Sample:
Excerpt of Mean Score in Text
“Of the districts completing Year 1 Superintendent
Surveys, the majority indicated that counseling services
were of a resource of high value. On a five-point scale
with 5 being the highest value, the average value
assigned to the Project X counseling services was 3.67.
In addition, all districts indicated that parents, teachers,
administrators, and school psychologists were largely
receptive to and supportive of the resource. The majority
of responding superintendents indicate that districts
would benefit from expanding counseling services and
improving the physical space allotted for service delivery.
Clearly, Year 1 has culminated in substantiated need and
the resolve to prioritize addressing the need. “
Analysis Activity:
Finding Findings
FYI:
Calculating Subscale Means
For each case, sum the values for all items in the
subscale and divide by that number of items.
Then calculate the overall mean of each participant’s
mean score.


Subscale: Attitudes Towards Violence
Items included: A8, A9, B4, E7, F2, F3 (6 items)
ID
A8
N7H 2
K2F 1
A9
3
2
B4
5
2
E7
1
1
F2 F3 Sum Mean
3
3
17 2.83
4
1
11
1.83
Overall mean: 4.66/2
Attitudes Toward Violence mean = 2.33 out of 5.
FYI:
Other Measures of Central Tendency
Mode
The most frequently occurring value in a set of
values
The modal response for the smoking subscale was 2.0 out of 5.0. This
indicates that while youth may have tried smoking, most do not smoke
on a regular basis.
Median
It is the value that is the mid-point in a set of values
where half the values are smaller & half are larger.
The median cost of a home in the area is $350,000, well above the
average family income for participating parents.
Apples to Apples?
Comparing Frequencies & Means
Means to Means and Frequencies to Frequencies

Over time
Pre- to Post-Test Scores
Incidence statistics the year before to the year after the program
 Across groups
Program participants to control/comparison group
Merchants with low program participation to those with high program
participation
Frequencies & Means:
Method of Comparison

Eyeballing differences

Testing differences

Anyone can do it
Limits interpretation

Requires a simple statistical
test
Determines whether the
difference is meaningful
Allows definitive statement
about comparison



Recommendations

Consider using an evaluator or identifying a
consultant (like a local graduate student) to do
statistical tests or analyses.
Activity: Compare Scores
And beyond…



Normal distribution
Standard deviation
Statistical significance
FYI:
Normal Distribution

Normal distribution refers to a group of data points that occur
symmetrically and with a bell-shaped density and one peak.
Balasubramanian Narasimhan , Stanford University, July 22, 1996
FYI:
Standard Deviation

Standard deviation is a
standardized score to indicate
where a finding falls on the
normal distribution.

Often means are reported
with a standard deviation (SD).
For example, mean = 3.4 (.17).

Rule of thumb: SD between 0
and 2 are fine. Outside of this,
finding may be skewed.
FYI:
Statistical Significance



“Statistical significance” refers to the probability
that the outcome of data analysis indicates an
effect when there isn’t one.
When comparing means or frequencies (or
other analysis outcomes), a test statistic is
used to determine if there is a meaningful
difference.
If a finding is “significant”, the outcome is
considered true (with 95% certainty)
Guide: Step 2
Compute frequencies & means to describe
program, participants, and outcomes
Compare findings
Making Meaning
Interpreting Data
Bite
your tongue
Sound bytes
Spin
Bite your tongue
Do say
Is associated with…
This suggests…
May indicate…
Appears to…
*note specific limitations
(e.g. “no baseline”)
Don’t say
Is caused by…
Is the result of…
Due to…
Because of…
Significantly differed…
(unless tested)
Sound Bites

Put favorable findings in short, sweet
sentences.
Statement to press:
Participation in FNL is associated with increases in selfesteem.
Presentation to key stakeholders:
Merchants with Responsible Merchant education are less
likely to sell alcohol to children in our community.
Spin

Group your data to maximize findings (e.g.
cut a 4 point scale into high/low scores)

“No change” is “maintenance”

Couch unanticipated or lack of findings in
reasonable explanation or plans
Sample:
Excerpt of “Spin”
“While scores from the Youth Survey’s ATOD use subscale indicate
that participants increased their substance use over time (mean
use at baseline = 3.2 out of 5; post-test = 4.0), this should be
considered in context. Specifically, research reports a
developmental (i.e. maturational) effect on adolescent use rates.
When participant use rates were compared to rates reported for
the same age group in Sutter County’s California Healthy Kids
Survey, our youth were faring better…..
In addition, as noted in the previous section, youth attitudes towards
substance use showed improvement over time. Within the
literature, change in attitude is widely regarded as the first step in
impacting behavior…”
Try Your Hand Activity:
Translating Findings in Text
Guide: Step 3

Find your findings

Select key findings

Strategically frame findings
Read All About It!
Effective Report Writing
Know
Your Audience
Show Your Work
If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It
A Picture Speaks a
Thousand Words
Know Your Audience

Consider Who You Are Dealing With….
What do they care about?
How much time do they have?
What level of detail is ideal?
What do you expect to accomplish by sharing
information with them?
Show Your Work

Don’t just report findings, report how you found
them
Specify: measure development
administration details
Sample:
Excerpt of Evaluation Methodology
“The evaluation components for the fifth year consisted of the
following elements: Protégé Pre- and Post Surveys (Outcome),
Participant Satisfaction Surveys (for both Mentors and Proteges),
Program Advisor Surveys, County Coordinator Phone Interviews,
and Site Visits (Primarily focusing on interviewing the youth
participants). In addition, Monthly Reports and Mentoring Session
Activity Logs were collected and analyzed. The following provides a
more detailed description of each component and the sample size.
Protégé Pre- and Post-Surveys: These instruments are intended to
measure the impact of FNLM on the Proteges. The survey measures
constructs such as school attachment, decision making and goal
setting, conflict resolution, refusal skills, and ATOD harm
perceptions and use. The survey took approximately 30 minutes to
complete and primarily consisted of likert scale rating items. A subsample of seven counties were administered the outcome survey
and a total of 71 matched pre/post surveys were used for the data
analysis” (FNL Year 5 Evaluation Report, 2003)

Describe program or evaluation “lessons
learned” to account for modifications
Sample: Excerpt of Limitations
“Over the course of the four years, tracking program attendance has posed a
major challenge. During the first two years of the program, valid
attendance rates were not available due to hand-written attendance logs
and a lack of documentation of program drop-outs. While the attendance
data has improved dramatically over the course of the program, for the
previous year tracking individual attendance rates was still not feasible.
However, appropriate and consistent documentation of the number of
mentors and protégés attending the mentoring sessions did allow for
reporting average attendance levels by school site for mentors and
protégés for each county; this method will be continued this year and will
further benefit from the addition of an attendance summary sheet.” (FNL
Year 5 Evaluation Report, 2003)
If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It

Insert statistics to describe the program, staff,
and participants

Report overall outcome findings & include
notable specifics
“At program end, fewer youth showed favorable attitudes
toward alcohol use (17% versus 25%), especially girls
(13% versus 29%).”
A picture speaks a thousand words

Use graphs & charts to illustrate findings
FNL survey relationship building mean scores (N = 204 youth)
Community ATOD indicators per 1,000 population
ATOD related
hospital
discharges
DUI arrests
25
positive peer
connections
bonding with
adult staff
Percentage of Participants at Risk (N = 100)
5
5%
High
Medium
Low
4.5
4
35%
3.5
20
15
10
3
5
2.5
2
0
1.5
1
Pre Test
Post Test
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
60%
When To Use What Graphic

Line Graph: use to display values (data points)
over time
20
ATOD related
hospital
discharges
DUI arrests
15
Community ATOD indicators per 1,000 population
25
10
5
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Bar Chart: use to display a distribution of values
across categories
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Mostly Bs & As
Mostly Cs
Mostly Ds & Fs
Grades

Grouped Bar Chart: use to display a distribution of
values across categories for two+ variables
 Pie Chart: use to
positive peer
connections
display the distribution
bonding with
adult staff
of cases across
categories.
Wedge=number or
percentage.
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
5%
2
1.5
35%
1
Pre Test
Post Test
FNL survey relationship building mean scores (N = 204 youth)
Percentage of Participants at Risk (N = 100)
60%
High
Medium
Low
Creating Figures


Automated “chart” function in MS Word (2003),
Excel, & Powerpoint
Label everything
Give each figure an informative title

“Mean survey scores of 10th grade Youth Coalition members at Oak Ridge
High School”


Give context of data (e.g. “per 1000 population”)
Indicate the population size (e.g. “112
participants”)
Writing About Graphics
Do highlight key findings displayed in figure
Don’t reiterate in text every detail of the figure
Sample: Excerpt of Text for Figure
“Retention Rates: The attrition rates continue to show a slight decrease this
year. A total of Fifty-two mentors (10%) and thirty-eight protégés (9%) were
reported to drop-out of the program. In the previous year, attrition rates of
13% were seen for both the mentors (n=147) and proteges (n=141).
The
average number of protégés that dropped from all school sites was higher
than for the mentors.
“
Average Number of Protege Drops Per Site
(FNL Year 5 Evaluation Report, 2003)
Average Number of Mentor Drops Per Site
5.0
5.0
4.5
4.5
4.0
4.0
3.5
3.5
3.0
3.0
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
Mean
Mean
2.0
1.5
1.0
PDPDS1
PDPDS2
PDPDS3
1.5
1.0
1.2
MDPCHGS1
MDPCHGS2
MDPCHGS3
Writing Tips
Say it in numbers
The letter-writing campaign was successful.
The letter-writing campaign resulted in communication
with 67 local government officials.
Say ONE thing at a time
More than half of the original participants completed the program and
relationships with parents improved over time.
More than half (57%) of the original participants completed the program.
These young people demonstrated a 12% improvement in
relationships with parents over time.
Writing Tips

Be precise (not vague)
Program participants included high risk youth.
Over one-third (36%) of program participants met at least one of three risk
factors, including school expulsion/drop out, juvenile arrest
record, or free-lunch status.

Connect proposed outcomes to performance
measures to findings.
A primary goal of the program was to reduce accessibility of tobacco to
minors. Decoy buy assessments and focus groups with merchants
involved in the merchant education program indicate that tobacco
accessibility is more stringent now compared to at Year 1.
Writing Tips

Add interpretation or explanation to
outcomes.
Results from the Youth Survey indicate that teens showed healthier attitudes
toward drug use, but increased drug use behavior over time.
Results from the Youth Survey indicate that teens showed healthier
attitudes toward drug use, but increased drug use behavior over time.
It may be that the program is most effective in impacting youth
attitudes, not behaviors related to drug use. Research suggests that
appropriate attitudes is a first step towards changing behavior.
Writing Tips
Use
qualitative data to add depth to
quantitative data.
Program records indicate that after a mid-year dip in attendance rates,
regular participation exceeded expectations.
Program records indicate that after a mid-year dip in attendance rates,
regular participation exceeded expectations. A focus group conducted
with program staff at the end of the school year revealed that a gang
violence incident on campus resulted in the temporary suspension of
all after school activity programs. This corresponds with the dip in our
program’s attendance rates.
Try Your Hand Activity: Writing Up Findings
Guide: Step 4



Describe how evaluation was conducted
Include general and detailed findings
Consider using graphics
Spread the Word
Utilizing & Disseminating Findings
One-pager

Develop a 1 page summary to:
–
–
–
describe program
key impacts
recommendations or next steps
Sample:
Excerpt of One Page Summary
Program Improvement




Identify strengths and weaknesses
Use findings to inform strategic planning
Regularly report impact to project staff to for
morale boosting sessions
Highlight modifications made based on
lessons learned
Sample:
Excerpt of Strengths & Weaknesses
Recruiting and Screening
At-Risk
Strengths
•Very smooth getting at-risk youth – returning
protégés already fit the profile
•There were no problems recruiting at-risk youth,
because we were working with that population
anyways.
•The at-risk group is attracted to FNL anyway, we
had a wonderful group. It was trying at times, but
they were paired with mentors that matched them
so well – I saw some great moments.
Challenges
•There were a lot more discipline problems such as
lack of interest and lack of involvement.
•There appears to be a stigma at this site about
staying on campus after school hours
•The screening process made finding these
individuals more difficult because there are few
students at the school who fit the criteria of a
committed, good student who is not involved in
conflicting extra-curricular activities
Reporting to Funders





Use the specified format
Address the original grant initiatives as focal
point
Use language that links back to original
proposal
Highlight lessons learned
Review sustainability
Sharing with Key Stakeholders







Be concise
Use very basic statistics & graphics
Make information accessible to broad audience
Use exciting/interesting format
Acknowledge contributions
Highlight steps toward the future
For Policy-makers:
make specific recommendations
Get the News Out





Newsletter
Press Release
Newspaper Articles
Local Television Station
Organized meetings (program staff; city
council; school board; PTA)
Guide: Step 5

Audience-specific format
Activity:
Ask the Wizard
Finally…
You now know how to:
Set up, code, enter, and clean data
 Translate data into findings
Add context and interpretation to findings
 Disseminate evaluation findings


The End.
(woo hoo!)