Data Collection Training Services and Management Tanzania

DATA COLLECTION & MANAGEMENT

Data Collection Services

CSK is your trusted partner for data collection services. We have vast experience in implementing field activities using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. We have experience working in different contexts, including households, hospitals, schools as well as conducting interviews among senior officials of the Tanzanian government, NGOs, and Donors for health care services in Tanzania.

CSK has experience managing large field teams and working concurrently in different geographical areas. To-date CSK has implemented data collection activities in almost all regions of Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. Our two largest quantitative surveys are: 1) a survey among 8,909 households in 2019 (Client: Elizabeth Glassier Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and 2) a survey of 14,600 Households, also in 2019 (Client: Mahidol – Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit). Our largest qualitative studies are: 1) 161 Interviews (145 IDIs/KIIs & 16 FGDs) under Palladium International (2018) and 2) 142 interviews (49 IDIs/KIIs & 93 FGDs) under Population Council (2016/17).

CSK has a strong reputation in collecting high-quality data and meeting clients’ deadlines. We achieve this by; 1) utilizing highly qualified and committed data collectors and field supervisors, 2) investing in thorough training of our field teams, 3) having good data quality monitoring and assurance systems, and 4) doing thorough preparations of the study sites before initiating field activities. We also ensure that all members of our field teams are always comfortable by taking good care of their various needs in a timely fashion, which facilitates them to only focus on collecting high-quality data for our clients.

For all quantitative surveys, we give our clients access to our online database where they can visualize their study data in real-time as it is being collected. They can also download data at any time and run preliminary analyses. The latter also allows our clients to monitor the quality of their data as it is being collected.

For qualitative data collection activities, we ensure that the first few transcripts reach our clients within 24-48 hrs so that they can give their feedback regarding the quality of the interviews.

Below are a few examples of data collection activities that CSK has supported to-date: -

Elizabeth Glassier Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Sep-Dec 2019 (Quantitative Study)

CSK supported data collection activities for a baseline survey for an interventional study under EGPAF titled “Effectiveness of Early Child Development Multi-Media Communication on Caregiver and Community Health Worker Behaviors: Evaluation of the Malezi II Program” in Tabora region, Tanzania. Data collection for this study included conducting enumeration and screening of 8,909 Households in four districts of Tabora region (using EA maps) and administering a baseline survey questionnaire to 1,261 households meeting the study eligibility criteria. Through this activity, CSK team developed strong experience in working with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The activity involved working with our client to procure both the sample frame, sampling clusters and enumeration maps. In this activity, CSK also involved NBS representative in the training of enumerators as well as in the field pre-testing of study tools and procedures.

Mahidol – Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Bangkok, Thailand.

Jan-June 2019 (Quantitative Study)

CSK supported data collection activities for an eligibility survey for an interventional study titled “Star Homes – better health through better housing: Phase 1 house construction” in Mtwara region, Tanzania. In that study CSK screened more than 14,000 households (HHs) for the study inclusion criteria and conducted a lottery which led to the identification of 550 HHs that will be participating in the study. The study is aimed at constructing 110 improved houses in 55 villages of Mtwara district council, Tanzania, and later on conducting a clinical trial to evaluate their ability to reduce the risk of a range of diseases, including malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea. The improved houses incorporate improved features such as elevated bedrooms, permeable walls, rainwater harvesting, and appropriate latrines. CSK is leading the implementation of this study in Tanzania which is being implemented in collaboration with Mahidol – Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), University of Copenhagen, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and University of the Philippines.

Elizabeth Glassier Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Feb-Apr 2019 (Quantitative Study)

CSK supported a household survey of orphans and vulnerable children “OVCs” (sample size more than 5,000) that included HIV testing at the household level in four regions of Tanzania. This study was conducted in close collaboration with ministry of health of Tanzania whose HIV service managers supported provision of and quality monitoring HIV test kits in the study regions. The Ministry of healthy also participated in the quality assurance of the HIV testing procedures at the household level during the study. In that study, CSK recruited and worked with certified nurses (most of whom were ministry of health employees) who administered the study surveys and conducted HIV testing and counselling among the OVCs at the households.

Population Council, Washington DC

Oct-Dec 2019 (Qualitative Study)

As a sub-grantee for Population Council, CSK was fully responsible for implementing field activities for the mid-term performance evaluation of the USAID-funded Tulonge Afya (TA) project in 6 regions of Tanzania. Tulonge Afya is an SBCC (social and behavioral change communication) flagship project in Tanzania that is being implemented all over Tanzania, with a focus in 19 regions. The project aims to foster positive health practices in households and communities by transforming socio-cultural norms and supporting the adoption of healthier behaviors in five health areas, including sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV and AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Data collection activities for TA mid-term performance evaluation included: 1) 20 key informant interviews with National level project stakeholders, including from ministry of health (MoH) officials, USAID, and other implementing partners (IPs), 2) 24 in-depth interviews with regional and district level project stakeholders, including MoH officials, CSOs and IPs., 3) 60 Focus group discussions with project beneficiaries, and 4) 30 direct observations of project activities.

Palladium International, Washington DC.

Mar – Sep 2018 (Qualitative Study)

CSK supported data collection activities for a qualitative study under palladium international titled “Pediatric HIV: a mixed-methods study exploring factors that influence transitions in care and viral load suppression.” in two regions of Tanzania. Data collection for this study included: 1) 64 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with male and female adolescents aged 15-19 years, 2) 8 focus group discussions (FGDs) among male and female adolescents, 3) 64 IDIs with parents/caregivers of adolescents, 4) 8 FGDs with health care providers and 5) 17 KIIs with policymakers and program managers at the national (n=10), regional (n=1) and district (n=6) level.

Population Council, Washington DC

Sep 2016 – Aug 2017 (Mixed Methods Study)

CSK supported data collection activities for a mixed methods study under population council titled “DREAMS formative assessment regarding PrEP introduction for adolescent girls and young women in Tanzania” in two regions of Tanzania. Data collection for this study included:1) 12 in-depth interviews (IDIs) among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) AGE 15-24 years, 2) 38 focus group discussions (FGDs) among AGYW, 4) 16 IDIs with male partners of AGYW, 5) 55 FGDs with parents of AGYW, 6) 21 KIIs with policy makers, and 7) 316 surveys among service providers of AGYW.

ITAD Ltd, UK

Aug 2016 to Dec 2020 (Qualitative Study)

CSK consultants have been supporting data collection activities for the process evaluation of the adolescent 360 (A360) project that is being implemented by PSI in 10 regions of Tanzania. The project aims at fostering modern contraceptive use among adolescent girls and utilizes Human-Centered-Design (HCD) approach through youth engagement to create high-performing adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) interventions at scale in Tanzania. CSK have been responsible for collecting process evaluation data (at six-monthly interval) in the regions that the program is being implemented. This evaluation utilizes various data collection approaches, including key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and direct activities observations. This evaluation also utilizes innovative data collection methods such as participatory peer research methodologies (PEER) and participatory action research (PAR) methodology. CSK staff were responsible for recruiting and training peer researchers as well as managing PAR activities. CSK staff gained a special experience during the final round of process evaluation activities under this project that happened during the COVID-19 period where they had to implement all planned interviews via phone and skype/zoom meetings, and despite various challenges faced in relation to remote data collection, CSK team managed to conduct 96 out of the planned 106 interviews.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, Maryland.

Mar-Sep 2015 (Mixed Methods Study)

CSK supported data collection activities for a mixed methods study under JHU titled “Assessing the Quality of Counselling and In-service Communication Related to Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) Services for Adolescents” in three regions of Tanzania. Data collection for this study were implemented in 2 phases and included focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews (IDIs), key informant interviews (KIIs), individual survey interviews (SIs), and on-site observations (OB). Phase I comprised of qualitative data collection activities while phase II involved quantitative data collection activities. During phase I, CSK team conducted a total of 201 qualitative interviews, including: 1) 53 FGDs with circumcised and non-circumcised male adolescents aged 13-19 years, 2) 32 FGDs with female adolescents age 16019, 3) 36 IDIs among male adolescents who have received VMMC services, 4) 17 KIIs with VMMC counselors and managers, and 5) 63 FGDs with parents of adolescents.

The quantitative component (phase II of the study) consisted of 2 rounds of survey interviews (SIs) with male adolescents (ages 10-19): first round was done just prior to circumcision and 2nd round 48 hours after the male adolescent had undergone VMMC procedure. The second round also involved video recordings of the entire process of VMMC counselling among a few selected adolescents as part of observations (video recording was used instead of having an observer in the room to allow for privacy and freedom). A total of 540 adolescents participated in the pre-procedure interviews and 498 (92.2%) participated in the post-procedure interviews; among these, 20 were video recorded during their entire counselling sessions.

Data Management Services

Along with data collection services, CSK also offers data management support, including 1) transcription and translation of qualitative data materials, 2) entry and/or cleaning of quantitative data materials, 3) coding and analysis of qualitative data, and 4) analysis of quantitative data. We have staff who are well-trained and mentored in managing both qualitative and quantitative data as well as quality assurance systems that ensure that our clients receive high-quality data.

Quantitative Data Management

CSK uses SPSS software for quantitative data analysis; however, we have supported data management using other data management software such as Stata based on our client preferences.

Depending on our clients’ preferences, we can share final quantitative datasets in any format (SPSS, Stata, excel etc.) along with the data dictionary.

Qualitative Data Management

CSK uses Atlas ti for coding and analyzing qualitative data materials, however, we have supported qualitative data management activities using other data management software such as MAXQDA secondary to our client’s preferences.

When CSK supports coding and analysis of qualitative data materials, we also share analysis outputs under all codes in the codebook from the query tool. For activities that CSK has produced qualitative reports, the latter has facilitated our clients to double-check what is coming out of the qualitative interviews under various codes vs. what is written in the report without having to run the queries themselves.

CSK has a good reputation in producing exceptionally high-quality qualitative transcripts and coded data materials.

Our transcription procedures for qualitative interviews involve several stages described below to ensure the high quality of final transcripts:

Our transcribers undergo additional training specific to every activity. The study-specific training is aimed at ensuring that the transcribers/translators have a good understanding of the aims and objectives of the study as well as the questions asked, and terminologies used.
The key terms used under each study and their correct translations are discussed among the team members to maximize consistency during transcriptions/translations.
Transcripts submitted by transcribers are reviewed by members of the transcription team who are trained as reviewers. These verify all the transcripts against their corresponding audios to ensure that the transcriptions and translations are accurate. Transcriptions not meeting minimal quality standards are returned to transcribers and contracts of transcribers who repeatedly submit transcripts that do not meet CSK’s minimal quality standards are terminated.

Our Qualitative data coding procedures involve the following steps:

The coding process begins by developing a preliminary codebook that comprises pre-set codes mainly derived from questions in the data collection tools as well as one or two transcripts coded manually. The preliminary codebook is shared with the client for their inputs.
Upon receiving and incorporating the client’s feedback, the preliminary codebook is then piloted on a few transcripts under each respondent category i.e. for each respondent category, coders code a similar transcript and compare the assigned codes under similar text segments.
Above is followed by resolving any disagreements, refining or merging the preset codes, and/or proposing new codes. This process is repeated with different transcripts under the same respondent category until when there are minimal or no disagreements in the application of codes among all coders, at which stage the codebook is deemed ready for use to code transcripts under the corresponding respondent category.
The codebook is piloted for each new respondent category to ensure that the existing codes also work for the new respondent category and where discrepancies are noted, appropriate adjustments are made to the codebook prior to using it for the new respondent category.