There are numerous methods of gathering evidence employed by Sul & Associates.

Talking Circles A Talking Circle, is a culturally-sensitive process to facilitate a group discussion. It is a method meant to facilitate a secure, non-confrontational, traditional discussion familiar to Native populations. While Talking Circles may cover a number of themes, common themes include:

  • personal experience,
  • program strengths and challenges,
  • process of resolution,
  • goal management and
  • recommendations

Talking circles are often run with more than one target group. Groups may include: Elders, Youth, Adult program participants, staff and strategic partners. Information derived from seven different Talking Circles will be used to gain a better understanding for whether participating groups believe strategic goals are being met and to collect recommendations for program improvement.
Online Portfolio Portfolios are collections of program participants’ work over time and document their progress over time. Portfolios may be used for evaluation of a participant’s abilities and improvement and, as a result, are an attractive alternative to more traditional assessment approaches.

To capture the progress being made by all students, an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) can be utilized. In order for the technique to be most effective, all students should be asked to establish and review individual goals. Then, throughout the year, they can gather and select academic, pre-professional, and professional activities that most exemplify their progress toward achieving their goals. Eventually, all students publish their e-portfolio artifacts to the web for review by others including parents, teachers and school administrators.
Family Portrait
  • Provides visual representation of family inclusiveness
  • Representative of “family” as defined by participants
  • Ability to evolve over time
Genograms A genogram is a drawing of a family’s structure. Similar to a family tree, the genogram can provide additional insight to the issues surrounding an individual or family members.
Poetry Poetry can serve as an alternative form for communicating outcomes, or it can be used to inspire conversation from stakeholders that might be critical to authentic reporting. While simple periodic reflective exercises will add depth to participant experience, one can also analyze the text when an entire group responds to the same exercise. In a group exercise, the text will be analyzed for word frequency, tone, depth, and participant experience. These results can either become part of an overall report, or they can inspire direction for additional evaluation design.bility to identify common themes among all participants
Story Telling Depending upon the population to be evaluated, when language or literacy is a challenge for securing deep experiential feedback, storytelling might be the solution. Where the culture of the population encourages and is familiar with storytelling, this strategy may serve as a natural experience to participants. The goal is to identify tools that are already familiar increasing the likelihood for authentic feedback. Sul & Associates relies on the practice of the oral tradition of storytelling. With permission, participants are audio or video recorded as they share their experience, demonstrate a new skill or offer their recommendations for program improvement, based upon experience. In this way, stakeholders give voice to their participation.
1-Word Photo The 1-Word Photo technique offers participants the opportunity to describe their school, family, hopes or dreams using just a single word. Participants are photographed holding their word in an environment of their choice. The entire series of photos can be used to create a group mosaic that may represent a message from the children to their families and teachers. The series of 1-Word Photos, with permission, can be shared as a school-wide activity. Students can be asked to write a personal reflection as to why they selected their particular word and discuss it with a close group of friends and family members.

The process establishes a link between the word, the person, and the environment in the photo. The information gained from this project represents, of course, qualitative data that can then be examined.
Focus Groups Focus groups make use of qualitative data and results are solicited through open-ended questions. They help to determine the perceptions, feelings, and manner of thinking of participants regarding their experiences. Focus group participants are able to influence each other, which provides for a more natural environment. Attention is placed on the thought processes used by the participants as they consider the issues of discussion. The topics in a focus group are carefully predetermined, sequenced, and are logical and understandable for the participants. The focus group questions, called the questioning route or interview guide, are carefully developed and pilot-tested before used.
Interviews Interviews provide valuable and insigtful information about project strengths and weaknesses. Successful interview protocols often begin with a standard set of questions for the interviewee but allow for more in-depth follow-up questions at the discretion of the interviewer. It is important that all interview questions align with what is being looked for in the evaluation.
Observations The use of objective, third-party observers allows for the gathering of standardized qualitative data across multiple classrooms or sites. Observation forms can be used to gather information about project activities and practices using without having to rely on teacher or student memory. Observation protocols are established to maintain consistency in data collection.
Surveys Data gathered from surveys allow organizations to see trends in the opinions and beliefs of participants and can suggest a school or organizational climate. When combined with other forms of information, survey data can be used to evaluate model implementation and practices for effectiveness. Online surveys can be a useful tool when used efficiently.
Community Needs Assessment A community assessment is a broad look across agencies, systems, and community members designed to learn more about the circumstances that a partnership has identified as crucial to its vision. The types of information gathered are derived from the focus of the partnership and the resources it can draw on to conduct the assessment. Most assessments begin by assembling and comparing information already collected by various individual agencies. Interviews, focus groups, and public forums are often used in the gathering of community needs data.
Compiling Existing Data Some organizations already have data located throughout various files, folders, or offices and need assistance gathering and collating it. Once compiled, this data can be prepared for data entry.