Evidence In qualitative M&E, you need to think through the benefits and what is required to use these methods effectively and safely.
The benefits of using qualitative methods
Whether experimental, quasi experimental or non-experimental you can incorporate qualitative approaches into your evaluation design. Some of the benefits of using qualitative methods within your evaluation include:
- Being able to explore ‘how and why’ change is or is not taking place in greater depth.
- Understanding program participants’ needs, priorities and experiences from their perspective and in their own words.
- Enabling discussion and reflection about program teams and/or program participants.
- Providing space to explore unintended consequences.
- Exploring more complex, gradual and nuanced shifts in norms, attitudes and behaviours.
- Developing rapport with participants, putting them at ease and enabling them to talk or share information about their beliefs and experiences.
Common mistakes with qualitative methods can reduce their value and even risk causing harm. It is particularly important to keep the following in mind:
- Don’t collect more qualitative data than you need. Although this is a principle of ethical M&E generally, it is even more important with VAW prevention programs. It is unethical to ask women to share their experiences with you if you do not have adequate resources to analyze and use the information they have given you. In terms of qualitative sample sizes, the emphasis should be on depth rather than breadth. There can be a tendency to think that qualitative samples should be large too. Small sample sizes with qualitative methods are often preferable. This avoids generating overwhelming volumes of qualitative data which teams do not have capacity to analyze. And can result in a more superficial analysis of qualitative data and a missed opportunity to do more valuable in-depth analysis.
- Be sensitive to the limitations of a group setting. FGDs are not an appropriate method for discussing individual experiences. You cannot rely on participants to push back or refuse to answer something which they don’t feel comfortable or safe discussing in front of others. Sharing personal information about their own experiences or those of their family members, friends or neighbours could have repercussions for participants. Researchers have little or no way of guaranteeing confidentiality in a group format and because they often lack knowledge about the relationships, dynamics and histories among group members, they are likely to be unaware of the awkward or unsafe situations they may leave behind when data has been collected. Keep FGDs for discussing issues generally. Individual experiences are better suited to individual methods such as in-depth interviews.
