Data Collection Plan

For this week’s discussion, continue your work on the Project Charter. The sections you will be completing are:
• Data Collection Plan.
In addition to this section, be sure to make revisions for the sections you posted in the previous discussion based on the feedback you received from faculty.
Data Collection Plan
A quality improvement team should develop a well-documented plan with detailed steps for collecting each data element. This detailed data collection plan should be in place prior to collecting the data. A successful approach to reliable data collection includes valid and reliable tools, techniques, processes, and frameworks.
Once you have chosen your outcome measures, you need to plan exactly how you collect the data for each outcome. When planning how you will collect data, you need to translate the conceptual definition of what you want to measure into what you will actually measure. Sometimes your variables can be measured directly. For example, age can be directly measured, but other more abstract concepts or variables cannot be directly observed. An operational definition is a clear, concise, and detailed definition of a measure. You will need to define your operational definitions in this section, which means laying out specific step-by-step instructions so that everyone on your team collects data in a consistent way. This helps ensure the reliability of your data.
You also need to decide how you will organize and store your data. You should not be collecting identifiable information. All data must be deidentified. You will need to anonymize and safeguard the data to prevent breach of confidentiality. If you are collecting data on paper such as surveys, you will need to decide how you will store this data. It is highly recommended that data be stored in an organization system that is routinely backed up.
In this section, develop a plan for the collection, management, and stewardship of the data you will collect for your Project Charter.
• Describe the data to be collected: Identify the specific data the team intends to collect. Describe attributes of the data, such as whether it is qualitative or quantitative, etc. Name the systems and/or origins of the data. For example, it may be coming from the EHR, surveys, tally sheets/counts from process observers, etc.
• Who will collect it? Include specific names of team members who are responsible for collecting data.
• When will it be collected? Frequency? Develop a timeline. Document how often the data will be collected.
• How will the data be stored?
• How will the data be protected? Who will have access?
• Consider aspects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Is the data stratified by gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, socioeconomic status? How might this information be utilized to address population health, equity, and health disparities? Use citations as needed to support your conclusions.