COLLECTING AND ANALYSING NUMERICAL DATA

You may want to analyse the numerical data that is collected for the performance indicators or you may want to collect new data.

QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS

Top Tips: Developing a Survey or Questionnaire. Age UK.

This resource provides practical guidance on how to design a questionnaire or a survey. It has a good level of detail about what should be considered when preparing such a tool.

Data Collection Tips. Developing a Survey. Innovation Network.

This gives clear guidance on how to develop a survey. The information would also be relevant to developing questionnaires. In particularly this resource contains guidance about how to word survey questions.

Survey Monkey.

There are number sites where you can create a survey or questionnaires and ask people to complete it online. You can create a short, simple survey on Survey Monkey for free, but if you have a lot of items, want to ask a lot of people to participate or want to use more complicated response formats you will probably need to pay to use this site. Using digital survey methods may increase participation.

TRIAL METHODOLOGY.

The use of experiments in social care is relatively limited. However, there may be occasions when using this approach may be appropriate.

Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research. Colorado State University.

This resource gives an introduction to experimental research. It provides clear guidance on how to prepare and run a clinical experiment or a trial. It also has a good section on the important ethical considerations when conducting this type of research.

ANALYSING NUMERICAL DATA

For the Performance and Implementation Monitoring Framework most often you will want to analyse numerical data by using descriptive statistics (i.e. how often something is happening, what is the average outcome score, etc.). It is also possible however that you might want to run some statistical tests (for instance, to see if an outcome has improved significantly after an intervention). Some resources that might help are:

Statistics: An Introduction. Colorado State University

Provides detailed and accessible explanations of statistical terms and main types of analysis. It covers descriptive statics, correlations and comparing group differences.

Analyzing quantitative data. Ellen Taylor-Powell.

This short document provides an introduction to basic descriptive statics including frequencies, range, standard deviation, median, mode and mean.

Glossary of Key Data Analysis Terms. Wilder Research.

This brief document provides helpful explanations of statistical terms relating to descriptive statistics, sampling and significance. It also provides information about some statistical tests.

SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

Starting Out on Social Return on Investment. Social Value UK.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is one form of economic evaluation. It looks at the social value created. This short document provides an accessible introduction to SROI, but if you want to conduct an economic evaluation accessing additional support would be advantageous.

A Guide to Social Return on Investment. Social Value UK/ The SROI Network.

This document provides much more detail about how to use and conduct a Social Return on Investment but again we would still recommend accessing additional support if this is possible.

Performance and Improvement Framework: Measuring Activity and Performance

Each of the metrics contained in the framework has an accompanying detailed technical definition. These have been developed by Welsh Government and local authority data and information specialists though the National Reporting Sub-group.

These technical definitions, designed to be used by data and information specialists within each local authority have been developed to provide a consistent collective understanding of the parameters for collection (what and how we count) for each metric to ensure that the same data is collected across Wales. These set reporting requirements are available here: Metric Technical Definitions Catalogue.

Measuring activity and performance includes:

 A framework of performance metrics that must be collected and submitted to Welsh Government each year for adults, children and carers across Wales.
 Anonymous person level data that must be collected and submitted to Welsh Government each year on key aspects of social care and the people who use social services in Wales.
 Aggregated data on specific aspects of social care that must be collected and submitted to Welsh Government each year.