November 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 25

Qualitative vs.
Quantitative Data
Qualitative data is subjective information conveyed through words
and phrases. It can be gathered
through surveys with questions
that ask anything, such as someone's preferences or level of satisfaction. When qualitative data
is acquired through interviews,
agencies can explore questions of
" how " and " why " with key stakeholders, including those who do
not participate in programming.
Qualitative data gathered through
interviews also is useful to guide
the elaboration of valid survey instruments by ensuring that agencies ask relevant questions and
capture important demographic
information.
In contrast, quantitative data is
information that comprises objective numbers and characteristics
that can be measured. For example, evaluators might want to find
out how many days a week someone uses a park, or how much
more someone would be willing
to pay in taxes for additional services. Other types of data include
spatial and temporal information,
which can tell agencies how resources or service gaps are distributed across space and time.
By building a mixed-method
evaluation that relies on a combination of data types, evaluators
also can ensure that they sample
from, or speak with, many different stakeholders across the
community. This includes people
whose responses fall outside of the
normal range - such as responses
that are discounted as " outliers "
that may be excluded from an
analysis focused on averages. The
truth is that evaluators can learn

just as much from a handful of
people who are considered outliers - often the most vulnerable
or the most resilient members of
a community - as they can from
those who tell us what is happening on average.

The Art and Science
of Equity
Evaluation for equity is as much
art as it is science. While evaluation requires a basic understanding of the principles of study design, sampling and analysis, it also
is an art with skills gained through
practice employing a suite of
complementary mixed methods.
It may help to imagine that each
method used in an evaluation is
a color of paint on a canvas. An

Evaluation provides agencies with a powerful set of tools to understand how they serve
members of their community, where they
fall short and how they can ﬁll service gaps.

artist who paints with many colors creates a more realistic image.
It is impossible to paint an image
that replicates real life, but when
the goal is to evaluate for equity,
agencies should aim to paint an
accurate and colorful picture of
what is happening in their community. Agencies that succeed
not only elevate the quality of life
of all community members, but
also are better able to justify to
constituents and decision-makers
alike the value they bring to their
communities.
Lauren Redmore, Ph.D., is NRPA's Evaluation Manager
(lredmore@nrpa.org).

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November 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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