Scenario
It is 2018. Having recently graduated from The University of Newcastle with a post-graduate degree in Social Change and Development, you have been busy sending applications off to agencies around the world to secure work in your field of interest. The job that interests you most is with the United Nations (UN). You dream of travelling across the world helping people, communities and environments.
After searching the internet for opportunities, you find your dream job: Project Officer with the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). You send off the application thinking that you won't get to interview, but to your surprise you do. You attend the interviews with many wonderful candidates from across the globe, always thinking that you have no chance against this group of talented people. However,you shine in the week-long interview process and manage to get the job. Well done!!!
Whilst you will have the opportunity to work in all parts of the world, OCHA's main headquarters are in New York. You arrive at the UN headquarters for your first day - excited but nervous given the scale of the organisation and the job in front of you. You have been allocated to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) secretariat, a division whichmanages the global fund that provides essential resources to humanitarian operations world-wide.
On your first day you meet your supervisor, Bernice Kanu. Born in Nigeria, Bernice has risen through the ranks of OCHA to become Chief of CERF. Bernice has worked for many years in emergency/disaster response and recovery and has extensive knowledge in the field. She sits you down in the main meeting room to provide you with an overview of your new role:
'It's wonderful to have you here,' Bernice begins. 'At CERF we are highly skilled in emergency response funding, but I want to implement programs that will benefit communities in the long term. We can't just be focused on immediate response; we have to work with the communities to find out what they want and tailor our disaster relief, recovery and redevelopment to their needs. This will require a rigorous and multi-faceted research program, so that we better understand the communities we fund projects for.
'The problem is, we have very limited research experience here in CERF. We are great at assessment and field activities, but our research qualities are a bit deficient. So, this will be your primary focus in the first 6 months here at CERF. I want you to help us better understand research methods and what our options are.
'I want you to read these task sheets-(she hands you three separate tasks, all due on different dates)--and follow the instructions of what I want you to do. If you have any questions about these tasks, contact my Executive Office, Stephen Smith.'
You walk out of the meeting and head towards your desk with the three task sheets in your hand. (See the three pages that follow.)
It's time to do some work...
Task Sheet 1 - Background Paper
Assessment Task 1: Background Paper (Sampling and Survey design)
Rationale:
The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is seeking to roll out quantitative surveys to various disaster-affected communities in South America, Asia and Africa. These surveys will be targeted at communities that have been impacted by disasters and are now in the redevelopment phase. The surveys will seek to determine the experiences of diverse communities with UN-sponsored disaster management programs.
Within CERF, however, there is relatively little experience with quantitative survey method. There is particular concern within the secretariat that sampling and survey design need to be appropriate, precise and rigorous to uphold the quality of the research. Your team has been asked to prepare a report on the survey development and dissemination.
Task:
Your task is to provide some basic input into the report by developing a Background Paper. There are two issues that must be addressed in your Background Paper:
1. Sampling:
a. Provide an overview of the main quantitative sampling techniques available to the research; and,
b. Select a sampling technique that you feel best aligns with the project and justify why you believe this is the best technique
2. Survey Question Design:
a. Provide an overview of the main survey question types used in research; and,
b. Briefly outline the question design errors that the team need to be aware of