Data Collection Methodology

Research Topic: Understanding afterschool experiences and

family support for school success.
Data Collection Plan
Data
Source

Professio
nal
Literature

Observati
ons

Timeline/Plan for
Collection

Intended
Learning/Purpose

Literature will be
collected
throughout my
study. It will be
used to support my
findings.

Through the literature, I

intend to learn about
my topic, and whats
current in the field. I
also plan to learn from
other researchers
approaches to data
collection and to see
how their findings may
be similar to or
different than the
findings from my study.
Sub-topics for my
literature include:
teacher- family support,
family involvement
related to social and
behavioral problems.

I plan to conduct
observations over
the period of 6
weeks (weeks of
10/10/1611/14/16). I will
visit the family 1
time per week for
about 1-2 hours.

Through observations, I
will be able to get a
firsthand look on some
of the experiences the
child has at home. I will
be able to see how
involved the family is
with their children and
use the information to
determine if it has any
impact on the childs
school success. During
observations, I will also
have the opportunity to
ask additional

Adaptations/Changes
made during Data
Collection Period
No changes have been
made throughout my
research.

No changes have been

made throughout my
research.

questions to gain a
better understanding
on afterschool time.

Interview
s/ Surveys

I will complete an
interview with a
school counselor.
This interview will
take place week
three of research.
I will distribute a
survey to
professionals in the
Human Services
field. This survey
will be distributed
weeks three and
four via email.
Participants will
have two weeks to
complete the
survey.
During
observations, I will
interview the child
participant once
per week.
I will also conduct a
family surveys.
One will take place
before

The interview of the

school counselor will be
used for a professional
opinion. I plan to learn
about experiences
related to my topic.

The Human Service

employee survey will
serve as a tool to gain
experiences and
professional opinions.
The interview of the
child will provide
additional information
of the childs school
experiences and home
experiences related to
homework.
The family surveys will
serve as an information
source. The
preliminary survey will
gather background
information on typical

The child interview that

was to take place once
per week was found not
valuable. After week
twos interview, I
decided to alter the
interview; asking only
the following: How was
school this week? and
Tell me about your
experiences.
In addition to
shortening the
interview, I added an
interactive component
to gage the
participants current
skill in the learning
materials from school.
This included learning
games on the iPad, and
hands-on math
problems.
I decided not to
implement the
concluding survey.
Instead, I asked the
family about additional
information/ resources

observations begin
and the second
survey will take
place after
observations have
ended.

Homewor
k Log

I will have the

family complete a
homework log for
six weeks. The log
will be completed
daily and turned in
each week.

afterschool experiences
and methods of family
support. The
concluding survey will
gather data on
information families
may need.
Through the daily log, I
will be able to gain a
better picture of the
afterschool experiences
of the child. The log will
track homework (how
often, what subjects,
time spent, and
assistance needed).
The log will also
capture time spent
afterschool outside of
homework.

they may need in the

initial survey. I will use
that information along
with the information
gathered from the
observations and
homework logs to
provide valuable
recommendations.
Data collection only
took place Monday
through Thursday as no
homework was
assigned on Fridays.

Description of Data Sources

Professional Literature: The professional literature will be used in serval
ways in my research. It will help shape my overall topic and ways to
conduct my research. I will use data from past studies similar to my own to
compare data and interpret the information.
Observations: The observation of the families is a crucial component in
my research. This firsthand look on afterschool experiences and the level of
family support will allow me to test if those things attribute to school
success. It will also help me recommend ways to encourage family support.
Interviews/ Surveys: The usage of interviews and surveys will also be a
crucial component in my research. The professional experts that I will
interview and survey will give me another insight on how family experiences
effect a childs success. The interviews of my child participant will allow me
to understand firsthand how the home experiences are carrying over into
school experiences and success. During the interview time, I am also able to
identify if the child is successful in the learning materials by interactive
activities. The family survey will gather background information on after
school experiences and family support.

Logs: The logs will be distributed to the family to complete weekly. The
purpose of the log is to get the whole picture of a typical day afterschool for
the child. The log will gather information on how often homework is being
assigned, what type of homework is being assigned, how long it is taking to
complete homework and how much assistance is needed. The log will also
provide information of how the childs time after school is being spent.