Needs Assessment

Qualitative & Quantitative Methods

Needs Assessment is:

• A type of applied research. Data is collected for a purpose!

• Can be either a descriptive or exploratory study.• Can use either quantitative or qualitative methods.• Can use a combination of both qualitative or quantitative

data. We have more confidence in our data if we have similar findings using both methods

• Most often involves collecting information from community participants or existing data (indicators or case records).

• In some cases, subjects or participants can be involved in research design, data collection, and analysis.

Differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches

Qualitative research:• No structure is imposed

on responses• No intervention is used• Focuses on feelings,

perspectives, beliefs, and values of participants.

• Can be time consuming • Used to learn about

culture or to develop new theories.

Quantitative research:o Categories are pre-

developed for responseso An intervention is used.• Collects info on facts and

people’s perception, but response choices are limited.

• Usually time-limited• Used to identify data patterns

or common needs/problems

Data Collection for Needs Assessment

Qualitative Quantitative

Conversational Interview Structured Surveys

Formal (structured) Interview Program Monitoring (using case records)

Ethnography (study culture or specific group)

Social Indicator Analysis (using data collected by others)

Focus Groups Time Series Analysis

Nominal Group Technique Mapping Techniques

Delphi Approach Network Analysis

Exercise: Informal Interview

• Pair up with one other student• For 10 minutes, conduct an interview with that

student about his or her perceptions about either: a) Perceptions of the social work program. b) Student needs

• At least one group of two volunteers will be asked to repeat the interview in front of the class.

• We will also do a group exercise to see if we can identify common issues

Social Indicators

• Can be obtained from agency records.• Many agencies have systems that allow

intake information to be entered into a management information system.

• Government indicators can often be found on the Web.

• The primary database for needs assessment in community practice is U.S. Census data.

Census Data includes:

• Ethnicity, gender, and age of residents.

• Income.

• Poverty rates.

• Number of people living in census track or other geographic locations (neighborhood, city, congressional district, etc.).

• Housing conditions.

Census Information can be found at:

http://www.census.gov