Data collection is the process of collecting and measuring information about target variables in an established systematic way, which then allows you to answer relevant questions and evaluate the results. The four possible data collection methods I chose for the program plan are observations, focus groups, surveys, and interviews. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Observation involves both observing and noting behavior in the social environment chosen for your program. Written notes of observed behavior are often called field notes. Direct observation and photography help describe and visually represent community conditions. Observations and photographs are quick and relatively simple assessment methods that can be used to collect local data. The advantages are that it is relatively simple and cheap, data can be collected quickly, it can create community input and participation, and provide descriptions and visual images that give meaning to quantitative data. The disadvantages are that it can be difficult to interpret and summarize photographs and observation notes and represent the entire community experience. Focus groups involve a series of guided discussions on specific topics with small, selected groups and are a way to gain insight into needs in your community. Use focus groups whenever you want; narrative information about opinions, experiences, beliefs or perceived norms, obtain feedback in your customers' words about the strengths and weaknesses of the program, gain an in-depth understanding of a certain topic or problem, support and expand the results of surveys or others Quantitative (numerical) data results collected and identify the main categories and themes about a specific health problem and see how they relate to each other. Below are the steps needed to plan and implement a series of focus groups. The benefits are flexible, capture rich, in-depth data, immediate results, encourage and inspire people to share more openly, and the data can be combined with quantitative data to provide a complete picture on a problem. Disadvantages are that it may be difficult to recruit committed and/or hard to reach participants, the need to schedule at least 2-3 focus groups to capture diversity, the difficulty of generalizing findings to a larger population and of comparing findings across groups. they represent a popular approach to data collection and are often used to conduct community assessments. Surveys are composed of carefully worded questions about a topic or issue. They are often used to collect information on residents' level of health, social well-being and access to services. The most commonly used survey methods are mail surveys, in-person surveys, telephone surveys, and interview surveys. Qualitative information is usually collected using open-ended questions while quantitative information is collected using forced-choice or directed questions. The advantages are that participants control the pace and time it takes to complete the survey, more people are likely to complete the survey because they have to deal with a person who explains its purpose and importance, the staff member who collects surveys can verify completeness, surveys can be distributed wherever there is a captive audience (clinic waiting room, laundromat, health education class, high school class or local festival),