{"id":597,"date":"2019-07-07T11:43:32","date_gmt":"2019-07-07T18:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/?page_id=597"},"modified":"2019-07-07T15:35:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-07T22:35:09","slug":"note-taking-best-practices-for-all-methods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/communication-in-the-public-interest-resources\/methods\/chapter-3-collecting-data\/note-taking-best-practices-for-all-methods\/","title":{"rendered":"Note Taking Best Practices for All Methods"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5>The importance of effective note-taking:<\/h5>\n<figure id=\"attachment_599\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-599\" style=\"width: 398px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-599 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/175\/2019\/07\/notes.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"398\" height=\"298\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/175\/2019\/07\/notes.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/175\/2019\/07\/notes-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/175\/2019\/07\/notes-768x576.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 398px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 398\/298;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Notes&#8221; by Statianzo is licensed under CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>No matter what method, or combination of methods you choose, you want to make sure that in addition to recording audio or video, you&#8217;re also taking notes.<\/p>\n<p>In order to have the best quality data to analyze, you need to ensure you are taking notes effectively. If there are multiple people on your public consultation team, you also need to make sure everyone is taking notes in the same way &#8211; or your data will be difficult to analyze later.<\/p>\n<h5>Note taking tips:<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>It\u2019s always best to record (audio and\/or video) in-person data collection methods and transcribe them.<\/li>\n<li>When recordings are not possible, however, it is up to the people collecting the data to take detailed notes.<\/li>\n<li>Note taking should:\n<ul>\n<li>Aim to collect as much detail as possible.<\/li>\n<li>Paraphrase or summarize key ideas without losing meaning.<\/li>\n<li>Quote as much as possible, particularly with answers to key questions.<\/li>\n<li>If necessary, ask participants to pause or repeat themselves so that you can write or type their responses.<\/li>\n<li>Use shorthand, but as soon as the session ends, go over your notes and fill in the blanks so you don\u2019t forget what was said.<\/li>\n<li>At the end of the session, make your own additional notes about key ideas, body language of respondent during data collection, main themes, and anything else that helps you to understand your data better.<\/li>\n<li>If handwritten, type your notes as soon as possible after the session while it is still fresh in your mind.<\/li>\n<li>If possible, share your notes with the participant following data collection to ensure you accurately captured their opinions\/ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Note taking Best practices:<\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>If hand writing \u2013 bring multiple pens.<\/li>\n<li>If typing on a lap top, ensure device is plugged in and fully charged.<\/li>\n<li>Consider not using a laptop at all, as the screen creates a barrier between you and the participant.<\/li>\n<li>Tell the participant at the beginning of the session that you will be taking notes, so if you don\u2019t respond right away it\u2019s because you\u2019re trying to accurately record all the great things they say.<\/li>\n<li>If taking notes at a group interview or focus group, consider writing them on large sheets of paper and posting them so the group can see your notes in real time.<\/li>\n<li>Consider the fact that note taking will probably take more paper than you think. Always bring extra.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>&gt;&gt;<a href=\"http:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/communication-in-the-public-interest-resources\/methods\/chapter-3-collecting-data\/choosing-your-direction\/\">Next: Choosing your direction<\/a><\/h6>\n<h6><a href=\"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/communication-in-the-public-interest-resources\/methods\/chapter-3-collecting-data\/\">&lt;&lt;back to collecting data<\/a><\/h6>\n<h6><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The importance of effective note-taking: No matter what method, or combination of methods you choose, you want to make sure that in addition to recording audio or video, you&#8217;re also taking notes. In order to have the best quality data to analyze, you need to ensure you are taking notes effectively. If there are multiple [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"parent":541,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-597","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":612,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/597\/revisions\/612"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/jhodson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}