Example 1: Community radio and employability course
Project name: Community Radio Production and skills for employability
Who? Evaluation to include all beneficiaries
Methods to gather data
Tools
- Basic biographical data form
- Attendance Register
- Self-completion questionnaire/interview
- Audio diaries / vox pops/ photographic evidence
- Focus group
- Case studies
- Follow up/ progression info
| Tool | When? | Evidence gathered | Mode of analysis |
| Biographical Data | Beginning or before the course | Age, Gender, Status, Ethnicity | Spreadsheet |
| Attendance register | ongoing | Numbers attending | |
| Self completion questionnaire – could possibly do a simple questionnaire (and then also consider the Kirklees soft outcomes stuff…) | At beginning for baseline data – preferably before the course begins.
At end for progression data |
Evidence about core/ transferable skills, work skills and personal skills/ well being participants developed | Statistical package |
| Audio diaries/ vox pops/ photographic evidence – can be uploaded onto the blog | Ongoing/ throughout | Qualitative data about participants experiences and what’s ‘special’ about radio training and employability | Qual data analysis eg Nvivo OR emerging themes |
| Case studies | Ongoing/ throughout | Qualitative data about participants progress and experiences whilst on the course – include data from initial interviews with participants and follow up work | |
| Tutor diary/ blog | Ongoing/ throughout | Qualitative data about tutor and participant experiences as progress through the course (with photos and quotes from learners embedded) | |
| Focus group | At end of the course | Qualitative data about participants experiences on the course plus progression routes etc | Qualitative data analysis – emerging themes and poss case studies |
| Follow up work | After the course ends | Data about what happens to individual participants – do they pursue ‘radio’ or other volunteering, work or training opportunities? |
1. Basic biographical data form to include name, age, gender, address
2 Questionnaire (baseline information)
Here’s a model soft outcomes questionnaire
Other evaluation and monitoring (ongoing)
Tutor diary/ journal/ blog– recording individual activities/ reflections/ thoughts, audio recording activities as they progress, taking photographs of activities, plus video footage (including vox pops at the beginning of the course- they could video each other) NB issue of informed consent and confidentiality massive here and will need to be dealt with (letter of consent necessary).
Case study development– methods as above, plus way of recording events, experiences, attitudes etc of individual participants as they go through the course
Participants– encourage them to comment on the blog, also end of each day each participant takes an audio recorder and asks another participant 3 questions from this list (or others they feel might be important):
What have you most enjoyed today?
What have you learnt today?
How has today helped you?
Focus group – at end of the course, evaluation/ focus group with course participants about their experiences on the course
Follow up – follow up work, finding out what they go on to do in terms of employment, training or volunteering
Additional resources
Here’s the Radio Regen soft outcomes questionnaire
You may also find using an observation diary helpful.