Analyzing the Data

• Are you interested in a specific topic?
• What about the topic interests you?
• Here is an example:
  • Are you looking at data to help you understand what school-based mental health services are available in your district?
  • Would you like to understand the differences in services provided in schools in your district?
  • Do you want to know whether teens in your district need mental health training (e.g., how to identify and respond to mental health challenges among peers)?

Draw conclusions:

• Whose experiences are focused on in the data?
• Whose experiences are left out?
• Do the data show that some students’ needs are addressed differently from other students with different backgrounds?

Sometimes, you don’t have the data you need to make decisions:

• Is the problem you care about addressed in the available data?
• If not, you may need to collect new data.
  • Work with experts to determine what data you need and how to best collect that data.

Qualitative data focus on why the problem may exist and how it affects people.

• These data are based on people’s experiences and knowledge.
• These data may provide more detailed information on why a problem exists and how it affects people.
• Open-ended surveys or interviews may offer less reliable evidence if they rely on the views of only a few people.

Quantitative data focus on numbers and help you understand the scope of the problem.

• These data rely on information gathered from many people.
• These data give a big picture view of the problem in a large population.
• You should pair both types of data when making decisions.