Dress for Success

A Person in a Suit Sitting on the Bench while Using a Laptop

Dress for Success

Various Perspectives on Dressing for Success

Dress
and Grooming for Success
Dress
for Success
Dress for Success
When
Job Hunting, Dress for Success
How
to Dress for Success
Advice for college students
Social Networking (Online)

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to This Topic

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to this topic. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s Career Management Blog
Library’s Coaching Blog
Library’s Human Resources Blog

For the Category of Career Development:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Career Change

This topic is about changing from your current carer to a different one. If,
instead you are interested in advancing in your current career, then see Career Advancement. If you are interested in selecting a
career, then see Career Planning.

Sections of This Topic Include

Make Career Change Work for You
Career Survival Strategies to Ride the Waves of Change
Additional Perspectives on Career Change

Also consider
Related Library Topics
Career Advancement
Career Planning and
Management
Job Banks
Personal Development

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Career Change

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs
that have posts related to career change. Scan down the blog’s page to see various
posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of
the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.
The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

Library’s Career
Management Blog
Library’s
Coaching Blog
Library’s Human Resources
Blog

Make Career Change Work for You

Are you looking for more than just a better job?

Rather, you’re seeking a more rewarding profession, one that better aligns
with your skills, interests, values, and plans for the future. It will not happen
overnight. It will take reflection, planning and motivation. Here are five tips
for making the transition into a new, rewarding career.

1. First be sure of your reasons.

Just because you’re unhappy in your current job isn’t a strong
enough reason to make a total career break. Carefully analyze whether it is
your actual career you dislike or whether the problem is your employer, supervisor,
or workplace environment.

If you’re unhappy with your boss or the politics of the job, an option
is to stay with your career choice and try to find another department or division
to work in. However, after much soul searching, you truly feel you would be
happier in another career, then start looking.

2. Decide what’s important.

Take an honest inventory of your likes and dislikes, and evaluate your skills,
values, and personal interests. You may want to consider consulting a career
coach or taking a career assessment to determine what is the right career for
you. Many people who want to change careers do so to find a balance between
their personal and professional lives; to get the juices flowing again; or to
achieve a better mix of meaning, money and motivation.

3. Check your qualifications.

Do you have the necessary experience and education to be considered a qualified
candidate in another career field? If not, then find a way to bridge the credentials
gap. This might mean making your goal more long-term while you go back to school
or receive additional training.

Also, don’t expect to begin at the same level of seniority in your new
career that you held in your old one. You probably will have to take a lower
level job to gain the requisite skills and then move up the ranks. You must
realize that it’s not starting at the bottom but really starting from
a place that will give you mobility for career growth and, most importantly,
career satisfaction.

4. Look before you leap.

Be sure to examine all possibilities before attempting a career change. Do
information interviewing with people who are actually in that career field.
Test the waters to see if you would like that work by volunteering or by doing
free lance work. You can also meet with a career management professional to
guide you so that you make a wise career choice. You do not want to jump from
the frying pan (your present career) into the fire (a career that does not meet
your expectations).

5. Update your job search skills.

When was the last time you looked for a job? If it’s been 5, 10 or more
years ago, then it is especially important to polish up your job-hunting skills
and techniques before you get out there. I’ve seen too many good people
fail because they made the following mistakes:

They quickly put a resume together without focusing on what they are “selling”;
they primarily looked on line for open positions rather than networking; they
did not prepare for each interview thinking they can “wing” it;
and they felt uncomfortable in self – promotion (it’s on my resume,
why do I have to explain what I did?”)

Career Success Tip

Keep in mind that a successful career change can take several months, or longer,
to accomplish. The keys are specific plan, a lot of patience and an attitude
of perseverance.

Career Survival Strategies to Ride the
Waves of Change

Change is a fact of life. Don’t resist it; thrive in it!

In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizing operations and multiple
rightsizings, chances are you’re going to be caught up in some form of
major workplace change at least once in your career. Probably several times!

Whether it’s a new job or a new boss or a new direction, the best career
survival strategy is to respond effectively to these four stages of workplace
change.

Stage 1. Something’s Up: What To Do Before The Change

If you’re lucky, you’ll have some advance warning and time to prepare.
But most of the time, you just have an uneasy feeling. There might be lots of
hushed conversations or closed-door meetings. Top management might seem especially
busy and inaccessible. Or the rumor mill is running high.

This is not the time to stay buried behind your desk or in your office hoping
everything will be OK. Rather get out there, keep informed and start thinking
about your options for riding the waves of change.

Stage 2: Getting Acquainted: The First Couple of Months

In the first weeks of the transition, take extra care to be visible, productive
and open to change. This is not a good time to go on vacation for two weeks.
Ask yourself: Is there still career opportunity here or should I now begin looking
elsewhere more earnestly? You need to decide to put your energy into making
a go of it or starting to let go.

If you have a new boss, ask for a meeting to discuss your background, to provide
an update on your projects and to find out about the new priorities for your
team, department or division. If it’s a restructuring, understand the
reasons behind it. What is the company dealing with now, that it wasn’t
dealing with in the past? What goals is it trying to accomplish in the reorganization?
In what way can you contribute to these new goals?

What do you see on the horizon? I bet it’s change and more change!

In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizing operations of multiple
“rightsizings”, chances are that you are going to be caught up in
some form of major workplace change at least once in your career. Probably many
times!

Stage 3. Settled In: The Six Month Benchmark

Now that the dust has settled, it’s the time to gauge your career health.
Do I feel like an active participant or am I on the sidelines looking in? Have
I gotten reassuring comments or positive feedback? If you are in the dark, take
the risk and request a meeting with your boss to discuss your performance.

You need to be direct. Say, “I’ve been working hard to cooperate
and adjust to the changes. So how am I doing? Are there things I need to work
on to be more effective?”

You may get an indirect response such as: “You’re doing fine, keep
up the hard work”; or “Let’s set a time to discuss this further.”

However, don’t be satisfied with an evasive or avoidance answer. Performance
feedback is essential during times of organizational transition. If all the
signs are looking good, you can start breathing a sign of relief. But, don’t
let your guard down completely. The next six months are also very important.

Stage 4. A Year After: Is The Coast Clear?

By the time you’re a year or more into a major change, it’s reasonable
to wonder: Has my work life settled down at last? Has the sense of crisis passed?
If this is the case, great! You’ve come through the storms of change and
now are going on to calmer times, at least for the short term, – long
term who knows?

Or, is the atmosphere still very hectic despite many attempts to try to fix
what’s not working? Or, is everything on hold again for the nth time waiting
for someone to make the decision? Or your workload is not easing up but getting
worse? Sad to say, sometimes things never calm down especially in troubled company
or rapidly changing ones. If this is your scenario, you may decide to take a
break from the relentless change. You can try to find a calmer port within your
company or you may need to seriously consider finding a new position somewhere
else.

Career Success Tip

Taking control of one’s career sometimes means making some very hard
decisions. But once a decision is made and action is taken, then you can get
on with your life. Isn’t that what career management is all about—taking
charge of one’s destiny?

Readers, are you currently dealing with a new boss, a direction or other workplace
changes? If so, what stage are you in? How well are you doing? Let me hear your
stories.

Additional Perspectives on Career Change

The
10-Step Plan to Career Change
5
Ways to Conduct a Secret Job Search
Changing Careers in Midstream
Unconventional Midlife Career Change Tips
Career Change Do’s and Don’ts
Career Change Decision Making – Remember This Vital Piece
Sincerity
Means Everything in a Resignation Letter
How to Avoid Impossible Assignments
Changing Careers at 40: Should You Make a Midlife Career Change?
Visualize a Career Change Several Steps Ahead

Make
Career Change Work For You!
Job
Satisfaction: Is it Time to Stay or Leave?
Leave Your Job the Classy Way
Seven Keys to Switching from a Big Company to a Small One
Knowing When to Say Goodbye
Financial Considerations When Changing Jobs – Creating a Smooth
Transition Into a New Career
Tips for Negotiating an Earn-out
How to Improve Your Employment Application
How to Quit Your Job
6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Quit Without Notice
Career
Plateau: Feeling Boxed In?
Changing
Jobs: Don’t Have Buyer’s Remorse
Lateral
Moves: Will They Advance Your Career?
Watch
Out For These Seven Career Mistakes
Turning Down a Job Offer
Am I a Bad Employee or Do All My Past Bosses Stink?
Why I’m Glad I Got Fired
Career Change: Don’t Jump From the Frying Pan Into the Fire
Job Transition: Do It the Right Way
Build Your Change Muscles! Build Your Career!
Career Change: Is It the Best Move For You?
Career Change Without Leaving Your Organization
Tips For Starting a New Job
Are You About To Lose Your Job?
Moving to a New job or Company? Do It Right!

For the Category of Career Development:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may
want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been
selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

How to Advance Your Career (and Manage Relations With Your Boss)

How to Advance Your Career (and Manage Relations With Your Boss)

This topic is about advancing in the same career field. If you are interested in planning your career, see Career Planning. If you are interested in changing your career, see Career Change.

Sections of This Topic Include

New Boss: Make a Great First Impression
Influencing Up: How to Get Them to Say Yes
Your Relationship With Your Boss – Do You Have Boss Problems?
Numerous Resources About Career Advancement and Relationships With Bosses

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Career Advancement

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Career Advancement. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

New Boss: Make a Great First Impression (Career Advancement)

If you’re getting a new boss in your existing job, consider getting ‘hired’ all over again.

How many bosses have you had in your present job these past couple of years? I’ve asked this question in my career management and personal branding workshops. I heard everything from “my boss seems to hang on” to several who have come and gone to the unbelievable 5 new bosses in two years. Wow!
How do you deal with this phenomenon – management churn – the revolving door strategy of managers in some organizations?

Most of you who are reading this post are not at the level to change this strategy. That doesn’t mean you do nothing about your situation. A recent Harvard Business Review article suggests that you must look at each new boss with the notion of getting “hired” all over again. In other words, start making a good impression immediately. Here’s why.

Most managers feel more invested in people they’ve hired personally. They reviewed the resumes, conducted the interviews and made the ultimate decision to hire the person. They are invested in that person. They want the person to succeed so that they will “look good” to their boss.

But a new boss, who has inherited a team, needs to size up quickly each of his or her direct reports. Some people, with a new boss, keep doing what they’ve been doing waiting for the boss to tell them otherwise. But there’s another career strategy. That is, get ‘hired’ all over again by taking these three positive actions.

1. Set up a short, perhaps 20 minute, meeting with your new boss.

You can approach it as wanting to find out about her goals for the team so that you can make sure what you do is in sync with those goals. If the response is “I’m planning to do that with the whole team”, then say “great and perhaps after that meeting, we can meet to go over the specific responsibilities of my position.”

2. Think about what you want your new boss to know.

Develop a short presentation focusing on your accomplishments – the problems encountered and how you and the team handled them. If possible, pull together some samples of your work – reports, presentations, prototypes, brochures, whatever demonstrates your capabilities. Also be prepared if he or she asks you about present and future challenges for the department.

3. Treat the meeting like a job interview.

Start by saying, ‘Let me tell you about my role’. Review the presentation you prepared, highlighting your own achievements and those of your team. Don’t let this be a one-way conversation. Hopefully your boss will have questions so that you can go more in-depth about what you bring to the table. Then you ask your boss about her priorities for the department. Now start making the connection between the priorities and how you can meet them.

Career Success Tip

Somebody on the team may end up being the “go to guy or gal”. You might as well give yourself the opportunity to show that you could be that person.

Influencing Up: How to Get Them to Say Yes (Career Advancement)

“In my new job, I have to make a presentation to upper management. In the past I’ve gotten tongue tied and failed to get support for a project. How can I get them to take my ideas seriously?”

Take a step back for a moment. When someone doesn’t understand your ideas immediately, don’t label him or her an ignorant bureaucrat or whatever. The issue is one of influence – how to get others to see your point of view and buy into it.

Influencing Up

Whether you’re trying to get additional resources or to impact a staffing decision or to extend a deadline, it is similar to selling products or services to customers. They don’t have to buy; you have to influence them to say yes. But I’m not talking about pushing your ideas or products or services. Rather, influencing is an artful way to get people to see the value of what you’re offering and to encourage them to take action. Here’s how.

1. Put yourself in their shoes.

Think as they would when developing your proposal. Continually ask yourself: How would they view this? What would their response be? What are they most concerned about? In other words, what problems keep them awake at night that you can solve?

2. Build a foundation.

Gather facts, statistics, cases and other evidence that support your position. Then connect the dots between the “what” – your request or proposal and the “why” – how it will achieve specific goals and objectives. Don’ t assume they will make the connection. That’s your job. It is also the key to influencing up.

3. Test it out.

Asks others what is and what isn’t appealing about your ideas or suggestions. Find out if there are certain buzz words or key phrases that will get their attention. This helps you hone your presentation so that it won’t be immediately shot down or shelved. The more you’re on their wave length, the more likely you and your ideas will be taken seriously.

Career Success Tip

Influencing up, getting management to buy into your ideas and then act on them, requires personal confidence, professional credibility and skillful communication. Make sure you have all three.

Your Relationship With Your Boss – Do You Have Boss Problems?

Are you in this situation? You and your boss just don’t seem to connect and work well together. It isn’t that you are having knock down fights. It’s just that you know things could be better. You don’t want to look for another job. So you have to figure out how to make it work.

Here are seven guidelines for managing your boss so that your career won’t get stalled or sidetracked.

1. Know thy boss.

No two people think alike or work alike. No two bosses either. Your job is to find out her specific expectations – not to reform her, reeducate her or make her conform to what the management books recommend.

For example: Does she want me to come in once a month and spend 30 minutes presenting the plans and performance of my team? Or does she want me to come in every time to report even when there’s a slight change?

2. Don’t hide.

It’s natural to yield to the tendency to minimize interaction with people we don’t see eye to eye with. Reducing your daily contact can cause a further loss of trust and respect on both sides. And a lack of communication can foster misunderstanding, mistakes and more problems.

3. Have perspective.

If you resent working under a manager you don’t like, you might perform below your abilities. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap. It could be a career killer. Rather, try to see what possible good there is if you let go of your frustration or anger. The boss can leave, you may get transferred to a more promising area or you may find that he or she wasn’t so bad after all.

4. Don’t bad-mouth.

Handle disagreements with your boss with particular care. Let him know of your concerns and suggest other alternatives or ideas. Support your manager’s position in public as much as you can and do you best to make polices and decisions work, rather than try to subvert them.

5. Avoid war at all cost.

The painful reality is that the boss has better access to power and influence at the top. If you take on this person, chances are you will lose. Management could very well stand behind the incompetent boss to avoid having its own hiring abilities called into question.

6. Make the boss look good.

Go to him or her and ask: “What do I and my people do that helps you do your job? And what do we do that makes life more difficult for you?” You need to find out what your boss needs and what gets in the way. Also, realize it is in your self interest to make the boss successful.

7. Keep the boss in the loop.

Bosses, after all, are held responsible by their own bosses for the performance of their people. They must be able to say: “I know what Anne (or Joe) is doing.” Bosses don’t like surprises!

Numerous Resources About Career Advancement and Relationships With Bosses

Career Advancement

Relationships with Bosses

For the Category of Career Development:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022October 2, 2022

How to Design and Conduct Surveys

How to Design and Conduct Surveys

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Preparation

Before you design your questionnaire, clearly articulate what decision, problem or need is to be addressed by the answers to them. For example, review why you are doing the evaluation and what you hope to accomplish by it. This provides focus on what information you need and, ultimately, on what questions should be in the questionnaire. The following guidelines are relevant, whether you are using questionnaires on hardcopy or online.

Directions to Respondents

1. Include a brief explanation of the purpose of the questionnaire.
This also helps respondents to feel a sense of purpose and motivation for themselves when responding to the questionnaire.

2. Include clear explanation of how to complete the questionnaire.
It might be clear to you about how to do the questionnaire, but remember that others are seeing it for the first time. Unclear directions can produce unclear answers.

3. Include directions about where to provide the completed questionnaire.
For some questionnaires, it can take longer to provide them than to answer their questions. That can dissuade people from responding to it.

4. Note conditions of confidentiality.
Specify who will have access to the information and for what purposes. Explain how you will limit access and ensure confidentiality.

Content of Questions

1. Ask about what you need to know.
Get information about the goals or ultimate questions you want to address by the evaluation.

2. Ask questions that the respondent should be able to answer.
Make sure that the respondents can reasonably be expected to know the answers.

3. Ask questions that the respondents want to answer.
If the questions are too private or silly, the respondents may lose interest in the questionnaire.

Wording of Questions

1. Will the respondent understand the wording?
For example, are you using any slang, cultural-specific or technical words?

2. Are any words so strong that they might lead a respondent to a certain answer?
Attempt to avoid use of strong adjectives, for example, “highly effective government” or “prompt and reliable.”

3. Ensure you are asking one question at a time.
Try to avoid use of the word “and” in your question.

4. Avoid using “not” in your questions if you are asking yes/no questions.
Use of “not” can lead to double negatives and cause confusion.

5. In multiple-choice questions, be sure your choices are mutually exclusive.
Respondents should not be confused about whether alternatives mean the same thing.

Order of Questions

1. Engage respondents early in questionnaire to increase motivation to complete it.
Start with fact-based questions and then go on to opinion-based questions. For example, ask people for demographic information about themselves and then go on to questions about their opinions and perspectives. This helps respondents to feel confident and relaxed before encountering more challenging and reflective questions about their opinions.

2. Attempt to get respondents’ commentary in addition to their ratings.
For example, if the questionnaire asks respondents to choose an answer by circling an answer or provide a rating, then perhaps ask them to also provide commentary that explains their choices. Be sure to provide sufficient space and time to include commentary.

3. Include a question to get respondents’ impressions of the questionnaire itself.
For example, ask them if the questionnaire was straightforward to complete (“yes” or “no”), and if not, to provide suggestions about how to improve the questionnaire. This type of question can be extremely useful when modifying or designing questionnaires.

4. Test your questionnaire on a small group of people before including more people. Ask them if the questions seemed straightforward. Carefully review their answers. Do you understand them? Do their answers ultimately help you to answer your research questions? What changes should you make to the questionnaire?

5. Finish the questionnaire. Finish the questionnaire according to results of the pilot. Mark the questionnaire as being a master or baseline document. Put a date on it so you can keep track of all future versions.

Various Perspectives on Conducting Surveys

For the Category of Communications (Business Writing):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022October 2, 2022

Selecting Which Business Research Method to Use

Business People Discussing And Sharing Ideas

Selecting Which Business Research Method to Use

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation and Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development.

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Selecting Research Methods

In addition to the information on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Selecting Research Methods. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Before selecting the methods you will use in your research, be sure that you have read the topic Planning
Your Research.

Overview of Research Methods

The following table provides an overview of the major methods used for collecting data during evaluations.

Method	Overall Purpose	Advantages	Challenges
questionnaires, surveys, checklists	when need to quickly and/or easily get lots of information from people in a non threatening way	-can complete anonymously -inexpensive to administer -easy to compare and analyze -administer to many people -can get lots of data -many sample questionnaires already exist	-might not get careful feedback -wording can bias client’s responses -are impersonal -in surveys, may need sampling expert – doesn’t get full story
interviews	when want to fully understand someone’s impressions or experiences, or learn more about their answers to questionnaires	-get full range and depth of information -develops relationship with client -can be flexible with client	-can take much time -can be hard to analyze and compare -can be costly -interviewer can bias client’s responses
documentation review	when want impression of how program operates without interrupting the program; is from review of applications, finances, memos, minutes, etc.	-get comprehensive and historical information -doesn’t interrupt program or client’s routine in program -information already exists -few biases about information	-often takes much time -info may be incomplete -need to be quite clear about what looking for -not flexible means to get data; data restricted to what already exists
observation	to gather accurate information about how a program actually operates, particularly about processes	-view operations of a program as they are actually occurring -can adapt to events as they occur	-can be difficult to interpret seen behaviors -can be complex to categorize observations -can influence behaviors of program participants -can be expensive
focus groups	explore a topic in depth through group discussion, e.g., about reactions to an experience or suggestion, understanding common complaints, etc.; useful in evaluation and marketing	-quickly and reliably get common impressions -can be efficient way to get much range and depth of information in short time – can convey key information about programs	-can be hard to analyze responses -need good facilitator for safety and closure -difficult to schedule 6-8 people together
case studies	to fully understand or depict client’s experiences in a program, and conduct comprehensive examination through cross comparison of cases	-fully depicts client’s experience in program input, process and results -powerful means to portray program to outsiders	-usually quite time consuming to collect, organize and describe -represents depth of information, rather than breadth

Also consider:

Four Levels of Research Results

There are four levels of information that can be gathered from customers or clients, including getting their:
1. reactions and feelings (feelings are often poor indicators that your service made lasting impact)
2. learning (enhanced attitudes, perceptions or knowledge)
3. changes in skills (applied the learning to enhance behaviors)
4. effectiveness (improved performance because of enhanced behaviors)

Usually, the farther your research results get down the list, the more useful is your research results. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to reliably get information about effectiveness. Still, information about learning and skills is quite useful.

For the Category of Business Research:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022October 2, 2022

Sample Case Study Report

Business person looking at a report statistics

Sample Case Study Report

(This document is referenced from Case Study Design.)

Here is a sample of a case study report. Evaluation included focus on the program’s process, outcomes and facilitation. The following case study was used to convey the funder, a holistic depiction of the experience and outcomes from the program. “Jack” is a fictional name in this sample.

“Jack”
Jack is a chief executive of an organization with a small budget and staff. Jack’s overall goal in his circle was to communicate with other executives about projects and challenges they face, including brainstorming solutions together. He mentioned numerous challenges that he faced in running his organization, some of which needed specific, technical information to address.

In the first meeting, he mentioned other issues that he wanted to address. In comparison to other members in his circle, he had the most issues. He also wanted help managing his time more effectively and he wanted to improve the effectiveness of his board. He stated, “They don’t even know what we’re about. They just sit there when we meet.” And he wanted to improve his understanding of his role as a chief executive. He asked, “How do I know what I can ask the board to do?” “What is my role with them?” In another area, he said he wanted some ideas about how to expand his organization’s revenue.

In the first meeting, members asked him many questions, mostly to obtain additional information about
his issues. Jack responded that his most pressing project was time management. Another member responded, “I’d challenge you on that,” and asked Jack if he would have more time if he got more support from his board. Jack laughed and answered, “I suppose so.” Other group members concurred. From his first meeting, he took away actions including listing and ranking his issues, scheduling a time management course, and identifying a course that would provide an overview of the chief executive’s role. One member asked him to also list and rank his issues for the next meeting.

In the second meeting, Jack produced the following list: improving his understanding of the chief executive and board roles, developing/energizing the board, and conducting strategic planning with the board that would include expanding the revenue in his organization. Other group members agreed with Jack’s list.

In discussion in the second meeting, Jack acknowledged that he was doing more as an chief executive than is usually expected from that role. He also realized that he was overloaded because he got little or no support from his board. He indicated that he did not feel confident, though, approaching his board members for more support. As a result of other circle members’ support and coaching, he resolved to approach the board — and a month later, he had. He and the board members committed to complete board training. He arranged training to include strong focus on strategic planning, which included expanding revenue. To further build rapport, he elected to have lunch with one board member a month, including giving them a tour of the organization.

Jack noted on his evaluation questionnaire: “[The process had!!] just the right amount of structure. The conversation is pretty free-flowing, but there’s enough attention paid to time so that everyone gets a fair chance.” His top reported outcomes were in the categories of access to a network, professional development, and effectiveness. “[The program provided me!!] an opportunity to meet other chief executives and hear about projects that they faced and how they handled those projects.” He stated, “The program has restored some order to my job,” and “A lot has happened with my job.”

For the Category of Evaluations (Many Kinds):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022October 2, 2022

Basics of Developing Questionnaires

Basics of Developing Questionnaires

Adapted from the Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development.

Whether developing questions for questionnaires or interviews or focus groups, there are certain guidelines that help to ensure that respondents provide information that is useful and can later be analyzed.

Sections of This Topic Include

Types of Information Collected by Questions
Two Types of Questions
Key Preparation
Directions to Respondents
Content of the Questions
Wording of the Questions
Order of the Questions

Also consider

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Developing Questionnaires

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Developing Questionnaires. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

Types of Information Collected by Questions

Questions are geared to find out what people know, did, feel and think.
1. To find out what information they know, ask them to describe something, e.g., “Please describe …”
2. To find out what they feel, ask them, e.g., “How do you feel about …?” or “How did you feel when …?”
3. To find out what they think, ask them for their opinion on something, e.g., “How could the .. be improved?”
4. To find out what they did, ask them to describe an activity they did.

Two Types of Questions

1. Open-ended:
No options are provided for the respondent to answer the question. They must think of their own response and describe it in their own words. If respondents have and take the time to reflect on answers to the question, you can get more meaningful information than from closed questions.

2. Closed:
The respondent is given a set of alternative choices from which he or she can choose to answer the question, i.e., “yes,” “no,” multiple choice, a rating, ranking, etc. Closed questions can usually be answered quickly, allowing you to get a get a lot of information quickly. However, respondents may rush through the questions and not take enough time to think about their answers. Your choices may not include the answer they prefer.

How you configure your questions together, depends on whether they’re used in questionnaires, interviews or focus groups.

Key Preparation

Before you start to design your questions, clearly articulate what problem or need is to be addressed using the information to be gathered by the questions. Review why you’re doing the evaluation and what you hope to accomplish by it. This provides focus on what information you need and, ultimately, on what questions should be used. (See Planning Your Program Evaluation.)

Directions to Respondents

Include a brief explanation of the purpose of the questionnaire.
Include clear explanation of how to complete the questionnaire.
Include directions about where to provide the completed questionnaire.
Note conditions of confidentiality, e.g., who will have access to the information, if you’re going to attempt to keep their answers private and only accessed by yourself and/or someone who will collate answers. (Note that you not guarantee confidentiality about their answers. If a court sued to see answers, you would not likely be able to stop access to this information. However, you can assure that you will make every reasonable attempt to protect access to their answers. You should consider using an informed consent form, as well.)

Content of Questions

Ask about what you need to know, i.e., get information in regard to the goals or ultimate questions you want to address by the evaluation.
Will the respondent be able to answer your question, i.e., do they know the answer?
Will respondents want to answer the question, i.e., is it too private or silly?

Wording of Questions

Will the respondent understand the wording, i.e., are you using any slang, cultural-specific or technical words?
Are any words so strong that they might influence the respondent to answer a certain way? Attempt to avoid use of strong adjectives with nouns in the questions, e.g., “highly effective government,” “prompt and reliable,” etc.
To ensure you’re asking one question at a time, avoid use of the word “and” in your question.
Avoid using “not” in your questions if you’re having respondents answer “yes” or “no” to a question. Use of “not” can lead to double negatives, and cause confusion.
If you use multiple choice questions, be sure your choices are mutually exclusive and encompass the total range of answers. Respondents should not be confused about whether two or more alternatives appear to mean the same thing. Respondents also should not have a clearly preferred answer that is not among the alternative choices of an answer to the question.

Order of Questions

Be careful not to include so many questions that potential respondents are dissuaded from responding.
Attempt to get recruit respondents’ motivation to complete the questionnaire. Start with fact-based questions and then go on to opinion-based questions, e.g., ask people for demographic information about themselves and then go on to questions about their opinions and perspectives. This gets respondents engaged in the questionnaire and warmed up before more challenging and reflective questions about their opinions. (Consider if they can complete the questionnaire anonymously; if so, indicate this on the form where you ask for their name.)
Attempt to get respondents’ commentary in addition to their ratings, e.g., if the questionnaire ask respondents to choose an answer by circling an answer or provide a rating, ask them to provide commentary that explains their choices.
Include a question to get respondents’ impressions of the questionnaire itself. For example, ask them if the questionnaire was straightforward to complete (“yes” or “no), and if not, to provide suggestions about how to improve the questionnaire.
Pilot or test your questionnaire on a small group of clients or fellow staff. Ask them if the form and questions seemed straightforward. Carefully review the answers on the questionnaires. Does the information answer the evaluation questions or provide what you want to know about the program or its specific services? What else would you like to know?
Finalize the questionnaire. Finalize the questionnaire according to results of the pilot. Put a date on the form so you can keep track of all future versions.

For the Category of Evaluations (Many Kinds):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022October 2, 2022

Basic Advice About Planning Your Research

A-person-planning-and-using-sticky-notes-on-his-wall

Planning Your Business Research

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
A Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation

Sections of This Topic Include

Research Plans Depend on Information You Need and Available Resources
Key Considerations to Design Your Research Approach

Also consider

Description

The following information is intended to give the reader some general guidance about planning a basic research effort in their organization. The rest of the information in the section presents an overview of methods used in business, how to apply them, and how to analyze and interpret and report results.

Research Plans Depend on Information You Need and Available Resources

Often, organization members want to know everything about their products, services, programs, etc. Your research plans depend on what information you need to collect in order to make major decisions about a product, service, program, etc. Usually, you’re faced with a major decision due to, e.g., ongoing complaints from customers, need to convince funders / bankers to loan money, unmet needs among customers, the need to polish an internal process, etc.

The more focused you are about what you want to gain by your research, the more effective and efficient you can be in your research, the shorter the time it will take you and ultimately the less it will cost you (whether in your own time, the time of your employees and/or the time of a consultant).

There are trade offs, too, in the breadth and depth of information you get. The more breadth you want, usually the less depth you’ll get (unless you have a great deal of resources to carry out the research). On the other hand, if you want to examine a certain aspect of a product, service, program, eta., in great detail, you will likely not get as much information about other aspects as well.

For those starting out in research or who have very limited resources, they can use various methods to get a good mix of breadth and depth of information. They can understand more about certain areas of heir products, services, programs, eta., and not go bankrupt doing so.

Key Considerations to Design Your Research Approach

Good business research is about collecting the information you really need, when you need it, to answer important questions and make important business decisions. What is the key to doing good business research? To make the best use of your time, get the information you really need, and make the best business decision, consider the following key questions before doing your research:

1. Why am I doing this research? What important decision am I trying to make?

Always have an important decision in mind when you are doing your research. You are too busy to waste time collecting information to help make a decision that is not vital to your business, or worse yet – collecting information with no purpose in mind. With a clear decision in mind, you will be able to keep your research focused.

2. When do I need to make my decision?

Timing is everything in business. Having 60% of the questions answered in time to make your decision is better than having 100% of the answers after the deadline’s passed. But on the other hand, if your important decision really can wait, there’s no sense in rushing into things and acting on less information that you might have been able to get if you had taken your time. So you need to have a clear sense of when you need to make your important decision.

3. What questions do I really need to answer to make my decision? What information do I really need to answer my questions?

This is where many people get lost in their research. What do you really need to know to be able to make your business decision? Do you need to know a little about a bunch of things, or a lot about a few things? What kind of information do you need? Numbers? Opinions? And how much is enough? (A good rule of thumb is, the more important the decision, the better the information you should collect.) How you answer these questions will have a big impact on where you are going to have to go to get your information, and how you are going to get it.

4. Where is the best place (and who are the best people) to get the information I really need?

Overall, information sources can be broken down into two kinds: primary and secondary. Primary sources are those people and organizations in your marketplace, for example, your potential customers, suppliers, and competitors. Secondary sources are reports, articles, and statistics about the people in your marketplace.

While there are exceptions, it is usually safe to start with your secondary sources, because the information’s usually readily available at low or no cost. Once you have gotten what you can from the secondary sources, ask yourself the question, “Do I really need more information to make my decision?” If you really do, turn your attention to your primary information sources to get the last vital pieces of information you need. But often you can get what you really need from secondary sources.

The real challenge for you with secondary information sources is not having too little information. You will likely be faced with a large amount of information for any decision. The real challenge will be to selectively pick the best from what is available. And it is always a good idea to use at least two good sources of information for any decision, and to make sure that these different sources agree with each other.

If you have done things right up to this point, selecting your sources – primary and secondary – should not be too hard. You will know what decision you are trying to make and when you need to make it, and you will know what information you really need to make that decision. And if you can explain this to the reference librarian at your local library, they will get you pointed in the right direction. It is worth noting that many people go “researching” way before they really know what they are researching – and they waste a lot of time in the process.

5. What options do I have to collect that information?

With secondary information sources, collection is straightforward. You go to the source (library, resource center or website) and ask for the information. With primary information sources, deciding upon the right method is a little more involved. When considering your options, always remember to keep your business decision, timing and the information you really need clearly in your mind. These will help you to make the best decision.

6. What resources do I have to collect that information? Who or what can help me?

You are almost ready to go out and do your research. One final consideration is about the resources you have, or have access to. These resources can include:

The time you are willing to commit
Friends and family members who are willing and able to help you
The money you are willing and able to spend
Access to the internet, your trainer
Other resource people in your community like the reference librarian at your local library

7. Given the time, options, and resources I have, what is the best way for me to get the information I need?

Now it is time to make a decision about how you are going to do your research. This is not so much a separate step as it is something that will emerge as you go through the earlier steps. Still, it is good to stop and think it through one last time before you move forward.

8. What am I actually going to do and when?

Okay – it is time to commit to a plan of action. Create a business research action plan to collect your thoughts.

Now you are ready to consider various methods to implement your plan. See Business Research Methods.

9. What ethical considerations might there be in collecting information?

For example, will any of the participants be quoted in research reports? If so, then you should get their explicit information to do that.
Ethics and Conducting Research

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Planning Business Research

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Planning Business Research. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

For the Category of Business Research:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022October 2, 2022

Overview of Basic Methods to Collect Information

Group of people receiving information through a visual design

Overview of Basic Methods to Collect Information

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation, Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development with Nonprofits and Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development.

The following table provides an overview of the basic methods to collect data.

Method	Overall Purpose	Advantages	Challenges
questionnaires, surveys, checklists	when need to quickly and/or easily get lots of information from people in a non threatening way	-can complete anonymously -inexpensive to administer -easy to compare and analyze -administer to many people -can get lots of data -many sample questionnaires already exist	-might not get careful feedback -wording can bias client’s responses -are impersonal -in surveys, may need sampling expert – doesn’t get full story
interviews	when want to fully understand someone’s impressions or experiences, or learn more about their answers to questionnaires	-get full range and depth of information -develops relationship with client -can be flexible with client	-can take much time -can be hard to analyze and compare -can be costly -interviewer can bias client’s responses
documentation review	when want impression of how program operates without interrupting the program; is from review of applications, finances, memos, minutes, etc.	-get comprehensive and historical information -doesn’t interrupt program or client’s routine in program -information already exists -few biases about information	-often takes much time -info may be incomplete -need to be quite clear about what looking for -not flexible means to get data; data restricted to what already exists
observation	to gather accurate information about how a program actually operates, particularly about processes	-view operations of a program as they are actually occurring -can adapt to events as they occur	-can be difficult to interpret seen behaviors -can be complex to categorize observations -can influence behaviors of program participants -can be expensive
focus groups	explore a topic in depth through group discussion, e.g., about reactions to an experience or suggestion, understanding common complaints, etc.; useful in evaluation and marketing	-quickly and reliably get common impressions -can be efficient way to get much range and depth of information in short time – can convey key information about programs	-can be hard to analyze responses -need good facilitator for safety and closure -difficult to schedule 6-8 people together
case studies	to fully understand or depict client’s experiences in a program, and conduct comprehensive examination through cross comparison of cases	-fully depicts client’s experience in program input, process and results -powerful means to portray program to outsiders	-usually quite time consuming to collect, organize and describe -represents depth of information, rather than breadth

General Information and Resources
Ethics and Conducting Research

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Methods of Data Collection

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Methods of Data Collection. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

For the Category of Business Research:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

January 18, 2022April 20, 2022

General Guidelines for Conducting Research Interviews

General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development.

Sections of This Topic Include

Introduction
Preparation for Interview
Types of Interviews
Types of Topics in Questions
Sequence of Questions
Wording of Questions
Carrying Out Interview
Immediately After Interview
Other Resources

*General Information and Resources
*Ethics and Conducting Research

Also consider

Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Doing Research Interviews

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Doing Research Interviews. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Introduction

Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant’s experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around a topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. Usually open-ended questions are asked during interviews.

Before you start to design your interview questions and process, clearly articulate to yourself what problem or need is to be addressed using the information to be gathered by the interviews. This helps you keep clear focus on the intent of each question.

Preparation for Interview

Choose a setting with little distraction.
Avoid loud lights or noises, ensure the interviewee is comfortable (you might ask them if they are), etc. Often, they may feel more comfortable at their own places of work or homes.
Explain the purpose of the interview.
Address terms of confidentiality. Note any terms of confidentiality. (Be careful here. Rarely can you absolutely
promise anything. Courts may get access to information, in certain circumstances.) Explain who will get access to their answers and how their answers will be analyzed. If their comments are to be used as quotes, get their written permission to do so. See getting informed consent.
Explain the format of the interview.
Explain the type of interview you are conducting and its nature. If you want them to ask questions, specify if they’re to do so as they have them or wait until the end of the interview.
Indicate how long the interview usually takes.
Tell them how to get in touch with you later if they want to.
Ask them if they have any questions before you both get started with the interview.
Don’t count on your memory to recall their answers.
Ask for permission to record the interview or bring along someone to take notes.

Types of Interviews

Informal, conversational interview – no predetermined questions are asked, in order to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee’s nature and priorities; during the interview, the interviewer “goes with
the flow”.
General interview guide approach – the guide approach is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but
still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting information from the interviewee.
Standardized, open-ended interview – here, the same open-ended questions are asked to all interviewees (an open-ended question is where respondents are free to choose how to answer the question, i.e., they don’t select “yes” or “no” or provide a numeric rating, etc.); this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be more easily analyzed and compared.
Closed, fixed-response interview – where all interviewees are asked the same questions and asked to choose answers from among the same set of alternatives. This format is useful for those not practiced in interviewing.

Types of Topics in Questions

Patton notes six kinds of questions. One can ask questions about:

Behaviors – about what a person has done or is doing
Opinions/values – about what a person thinks about a topic
Feelings – note that respondents sometimes respond with “I think …” so be careful to note that you’re looking for feelings
Knowledge – to get facts about a topic
Sensory – about what people have seen, touched, heard, tasted or smelled
Background/demographics – standard background questions, such as age, education, etc.

Note that the above questions can be asked in terms of past, present or future.

Sequence of Questions

Get the respondents involved in the interview as soon as possible.
Before asking about controversial matters (such as feelings and conclusions), first ask about some facts. With this approach, respondents can more easily engage in the interview before warming up to more personal matters.
Intersperse fact-based questions throughout the interview to avoid long lists of fact-based questions, which tends to leave respondents disengaged.
Ask questions about the present before questions about the past or future. It’s usually easier for them to talk
about the present and then work into the past or future.
The last questions might be to allow respondents to provide any other information they prefer to add and their impressions of the interview.

Wording of Questions

Wording should be open-ended. Respondents should be able to choose their own terms when answering questions.
Questions should be as neutral as possible. Avoid wording that might influence answers, e.g., evocative, judgmental wording.
Questions should be asked one at a time.
Questions should be worded clearly. This includes knowing any terms particular to the program or the respondents’ culture.
Be careful asking “why” questions. This type of question infers a cause-effect relationship that may not truly exist. These questions may also cause respondents to feel defensive, e.g., that they have to justify their response, which may inhibit their responses to this and future questions.

Conducting Interview

Occasionally verify the tape recorder (if used) is working.
Ask one question at a time.
Attempt to remain as neutral as possible. That is, don’t show strong emotional reactions to their responses. Patton suggests to act as if “you’ve heard it all before.”
Encourage responses with occasional nods of the head, “uh huh”, etc.
Be careful about the appearance when note taking. That is, if you jump to take a note, it may appear as if you’re surprised or very pleased about an answer, which may influence answers to future questions.
Provide transition between major topics, e.g., “we’ve been talking about (some topic) and now I’d like to move on to (another topic).”
Don’t lose control of the interview. This can occur when respondents stray to another topic, take so long to answer a question that times begins to run out, or even begin asking questions to the interviewer.

Immediately After Interview

Verify if the tape recorder, if used, worked throughout the interview.
Make any notes on your written notes, e.g., to clarify any scratchings, ensure pages are numbered, fill out any notes that don’t make senses, etc.
Write down any observations made during the interview. For example, where did the interview occur and when, was the respondent particularly nervous at any time? Were there any surprises during the interview? Did the tape recorder break?

Other Resources

For the Category of Evaluations (Many Kinds):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.