You have been asked to find out about the experiences of clients at your setting.

Your manager has suggested that you create a questionnaire that will be posted to all clients who have used your service in the past 3 months.

A colleague has suggested that you would get better results by telephoning each client and asking the questions over the phone. You wonder whether the best approach would be to simply ‘listen in’ to conversations between clients, and between clients and staff without revealing why you are there.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the 3 types of data gathering?
2. Are there any ethical issues surrounding any of the data gathering methods?
3. Which of the methods would you choose, and why?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.