This document discusses qualitative methods for monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment. It describes various qualitative tools such as interviews, focus groups, participatory mapping, and network analysis. The advantages of qualitative methods are that they can capture issues in depth, discover unanticipated issues, and solicit local solutions. Qualitative methods are complementary to quantitative tools by identifying questions for surveys and helping to interpret survey findings. Both qualitative and quantitative methods have strengths and weaknesses, and using them together provides triangulation of results. The document provides examples of using qualitative tools for evaluation and discusses important considerations for implementation and analysis.

1. INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Qualitative Methods for
Monitoring, Evaluation
and Impact Assessment
Jemimah Njuki
INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESEARCH INSTITUTE

2.  Open-ended questions to identify types of
indicators or impacts
• May feed into survey questions
 Provides interpretive power
• What as well as why
 Exploring topics less amenable to survey
questions
 Express local voice and perceptions
Uses of qualitative approaches

3. Advantages of qualitative methods
 Qualitative methods are effective at capturing
these issues because
• Elaboration, and sometimes several tries and
lengthy follow-up and probing, are needed to
convey the questions adequately and
understand answers
• People do not always tell the truth the first
time: Getting candid information often
requires time, trust, rapport, triangulation,
observation
 Discover unanticipated issues
 Solicit local solutions to problems

4. Qualitative as complementary to
quantitative tools
 Identifies issues and questions for surveys
and hypotheses for testing
 Identifies response options for survey
questions
 Clarifies terms/language for use in surveys
 Confirms validity of constructs and proxies
 Triangulation, confirmation, contradiction
 Explanation/interpretation of survey findings
• Depth, texture, context

5. Quantitative as a complementary to
qualitative
 Identifies stratification strategy
 Provides community and household
characteristics for sampling
 Identifies issues for investigation
 Triangulation, confirmation, contradiction
 Determines prevalence of qualitative findings
in wider population
 Reveals representation of qualitative sample

6. Some misconceptions about qualitative
approaches
 It is easy to do and cheap, and anyone can do it.
“If you can talk to farmers, you can use qualitative approaches
and tools”
 With qualitative tools, all you need is to
document the results. No analysis is needed—
”just write up the report, its basic stuff”
 “You don‟t need a research design! Just talk to a few farmers and
do a few focus group discussions”
 A lack of understanding of the tools and
approaches
“We are using a PRA tool”

7. Different types of tools
Mapping
tools
PRA tools Interviews Ethnographic
tools
Participatory
impact
diagrams
Diffusion Maps
Before and
After resource
/asset maps
Social network
analysis
Transect Walks
Trend lines
Venn diagrams
Seasonal
calendars
Focus Group
Discussions
Community
meetings
Ranking
/Rating/Scoring
Community
surveys
Semi-structured
interviews
Unstructured d
interviews
Key informant
interviews
Organizational
assessment
Case studies
Innovation
Histories
Life Histories
Personal diaries

8.  Useful for identifying
important traits / criteria for
organising issues, items by
preference
 Used mainly for technology
evaluation, ranking of priority
options e.g priority household
income options, asset
preferences
 Can be used to compare
preferences across groups
e.g men and women,
Scoring /Ranking /Rating methods

9. Ranking Priority Assets for Men and
Women

10. Scoring /ranking /Rating methods
Advantages
 Can be used with symbols
and counters especially with
groups with low literacy
levels
 Can be done individually or
in groups
 Allows for group
contribution of list to be
ranked /rated and the
criteria to use
 Can be easily quantified
Disadvantages
 Takes time especially when
community groups identify
their own lists and criteria
for evaluation

11. Mapping Tools-Participatory Impact
Diagrams

12. Mapping Tools: Before and After Maps
Before After

13. friend
DENGORE
Sister’s
husband
Mhaber
Brother
WOLENCHETI
TOWN
MAP LEGEND
Methods of Seed Dissemination
Gift (3kg or less)
Gift (3kg or more)
Exchange
Sale
Neighboring
Village
brother
mother brother
friend
friend
Wife’s father
DONI
10 km
6 km
MERKO
4 km
Mekanajo
Neighbor-
struggling widow
MOME
Mekanajo/
Mhaber
7 km
Mekanajo
75 km
Iddir
neighbor
Appendix 3b. Technology Diffusion / Social Network Mapping: Simplified Sample from Worka Village
Iddir
Iddir
Mekanajo
/Mhaber
Mapping Tools: Diffusion

14. Mapping tools
Advantages
 Can be used with groups
that have low literacy
levels
 Very engaging
 Easy visual presentation
 Can provide massive
amounts of information
that combine qualitative
as well as simple
numbers
 Can be done on paper
or on the ground
Disadvantages
 Requires close facilitation
 Time consuming
 Can be dominated by
those that can write (who
holds the pen /chalk,
stick?)

15. Focus Group Discussions: Description
 A group discussion of approximately 6 - 12 persons guided
by a facilitator, during which group members talk freely
and spontaneously about a certain topic.
 Its purpose is to obtain in-depth information on concepts,
perceptions and ideas of a group
 Can be useful to:
• Focus research and develop relevant research hypotheses
by exploring in greater depth the problem to be investigated
and its possible causes
• Formulate appropriate questions for more structured,
larger scale surveys
• Help understand and solve unexpected problems in
interventions
• Explore controversial topics

16. FGDs; Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
 Cost- and time-
efficient—cover more
people
 Can be a safe space for
discussion of sensitive
issues
 Early identification of
important issues
 Discussions trigger
ideas, recollections,
opinions
Disadvantages
 Less time to explore and
probe
 Inability to triangulate
data on
individuals/households
 Louder and quieter
voices, peer pressure
 No very appropriate for
sensitive topics
Page
16

17. FGDs Analysis: Analysis
 Text Analysis
• QDA Miner
• Relational themes
• Identifying Key themes in FGDs.docx

18.  Conducted with a fairly open framework which allow
for focused, conversational, two-way communication
 Starts with more general questions or topics.
Followed by more specific probing questions
 Not all questions are designed and phrased ahead of
time
 Uses an interview guide rather than a set of questions
 Used to:
• Obtain specific quantitative and qualitative information
from a sample of the population
• Obtain general information relevant to specific issues,
(ie: to probe for what is not known)
• Gain a range of insights on specific issues
Semi-structured interviews; Description

19. Semi-structured interviews: Advantages
and disadvantages
Advantages
 Depth and detail
 Rapport
 Analytic power: Ability
to relate data to other
data at individual,
household, and
community levels
 No peer pressure
Disadvantages
 More time consuming
and costly, so smaller
sample sizes
 No trigger and
interaction effects of
group
Pag
e
19

20. Most Significant Change
 It is a story-based, qualitative and participatory
approach to monitoring and evaluation
 Involves the collection of significant change (SC)
stories emanating from the field level, and the
systematic selection of the most significant of these..
 Can be used for different domains of change and
provides case studies
„Looking back over the last 1 year, what do you think was the most
significant change in [particular domain of change]?‟
 Can used for:
• program evaluation
• organizational review and evaluation.
• building community ownership through
participatory evaluation

21. Most Significant Change
Advantages
 Participatory, involves
multiple stakeholders
 Does not use pre-set
indicators and
therefore can capture
unexpected
/unanticipated
changes
Disadvantages
 Time consuming
especially in selecting
most significant
change stories

22. Network Analysis
 Set of integrated techniques
to depict relations among
actors and to analyze the
social structures that
emerge from the recurrence
of these relations
 Conducted by collecting
relational data organized in
matrix form.
 Actors are depicted as
nodes, and their relations as
lines among pairs of nodes

23. Network Analysis: Advantages and
Disadvantages
Advantages
 Can be done
individually or in
groups
 Data /information can
be quantified
(UCINET)
 Can be done through
visual tools (Venn
diagrams) or short
questionnaire survey
Disadvantages
 Limited to evaluation
of interactions
 Requires multiple
software (UCINET for
analysis, Netdraw for
network maps)

24. Analysis
 Three stages of analysis
• During and post interview analysis (“follow
your nose!”
• Field analysis
• Formal analysis
 Communication
• Language
• Technical expertise

25. Field implementation issues
 Sample selection
• For groups, sample
stratification based on key
variables such as gender,
socio-economic status
 Representation
• For semi-structured and
case study interviews,
representation of key
interest groups
 Triangulation
• Most qualitative tools not
enough for evaluation by
themselves, use of other
tools for triangulation

26. Examples of use of Qualitative tools in
evaluation
 Physical set up
• For group discussions, sitting
arrangements, venues can
influence discussion outcomes
 Discussion guides /interview
guides
• Semi-structured or
unstructured guides with key
issues /questions
 Skills
• Good facilitation skills required for
qualitative data collection
• Analytic skills
 Recording /documentation

27. INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Thank You
INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESEARCH INSTITUTE