This course deals with the first type of data that you can collect: qualitative data. The next course, How to do Quantitative Data, will cover the second type.
This video will set you up for success as you learn to work with qualitative data.
Building an Impact Framework & Next Steps
Your framework has 3 parts:
- Impact Statements – the big idea of the change you want to see.
- Indicators – how you’ll know if the impact is present or absent.
- Principles of Change – why you work the way you do, and what you believe drives change.
Now that you have this framework, the next step is to gather data to see whether impact is happening—and where it may not be.
Two Pathways for Gathering Data:
- Outside the Triangle (Quantitative): What people know, do, and feel — measured through surveys.
- Inside the Triangle (Qualitative): How people are believing, becoming, and loving differently — explored through qualitative methods.
Qualitative Evaluation Steps (next lessons):
- Design good qualitative questions that surface real change.
- Conduct interviews in a way that draws out deep insights.
- Analyse qualitative data to identify transformation.
Key Idea:
- Qualitative evaluation is not just open-ended questions or anecdotes.
- It reveals deeper transformation — shifts in beliefs, identity, and what people love.
This is where we begin: exploring qualitative evaluation as a way to uncover evidence of inner change.
As you think about qualitative evaluation and learning about impact, keep the Heart Triangle™ in mind. This will keep you oriented to the kind of change you are seeking to see. Remember, qualitative is not a style of question or an absence of numbers. Qualitative is a kind of change happening in people’s lives. You will be seeking data on the qualitative change in people. This means that you are paying attention to significant shifts in their thinking (believe), a new kind of presence, poise, courage, or lifestyle and who they are becoming (become), and a transformation in what they care about most significantly in their heart (love). This is what qualitative is all about.