About Data Collection Using the Submission Forms Within the Project

Data collection fulfils the function to (1) support the report of our project with facts, about the practice of and training for AMAT measures in all the partner countries. Further to (2) support our Framework and Code of good practice by important publications and research results on the affectivity of AMAT. Finally (3) they organize the collection of important contacts for AMAT organizations, practitioners and training providers, politicians, health organizations, insurance companies, scientists… and persons and organizations for dissemination of the final results.

Aim:

• What types of AMAT or animal assisted therapy exist
• What are the models, the training they offer
• What are the facts, what are the problems and when do we address politicians with our problems

The points of activity for data collection were and are:

The Survey: Questionnaire

Get a good idea of problems, aims, opportunities. Beginning of the project: we agreed on “criteria for carrying out the survey”. Goal: get an idea of the situation at the moment, compare different countries. Two types of questionnaires were used, so not to compare. We wanted to do a second phase of the questionnaire to fill up missing data and cases in some countries. Ivana and Ulrike came together several times and prepared everything. Experiences in the Netherlands were very good: if answers are there quickly to analyze in SPSS. Netherlands had very interesting results. First done with computer program Parantion, now Google docs. How to get questionnaire. Netherlands analysed the answers of open questions to make multiple response questions in order to shorten the Questionnaire of the second phase. From next week the English one will be available. Every country can put questions in their own language into this form. Once you get used to it, it is an easy program. Done in time if every country is fast in distributing. Distribution by link, mail and webpage possible. Countries who have problems with techniques get help.

Internet Survey

Some organizations won't answer. Internet research on those companies. We can phone them or look up on the internet to get models, visions. In each country you should know which forms of organizations didn't answer. We have to collect something that shows the situation is different if we want politicians to involve.

Collection of Publications

Electronic forms, to start up bibliography to use for publication. Which we could exchange later on. Submission via LDV database. Collect in excel, fits to everything, when later to be used within the project or by partners after the project.

Collection of Contact Addresses

Already from the electronic submitted questionnaires we have a lot of contact addresses of organizations and persons in AMAT for dissemination of results and as contact AMAT data Base. We want to fill it up with submissions of all partner countries in order to gain a big contact data base for important AMAT contacts (practitioners, organizations, scientists, press, politicians, decision makers…).

We start up bibliography. We developed electronic forms. Data collection is using space at the SHP homepage. DATABASE of contact for AMAT. An individual person or an organisation can come on the form. Everybody had a look at the form now, so look it up. Everybody can fill it in, whatever you think it's important. As to the addresses, we can discuss who gets access at the following meeting. Persons who submit addresses are responsible for ensuring that submitted contacts agree with being in our bibliography.

All addresses of participants of the questionnaire can already be asked if they want their addresses in our address database. The NL has already gathered in this way 150 addresses through the questionnaire. The countries who are going to do the survey again, can use the questions for submitting too.

Collection of Literature and Research on AMAT

Ulrike shows the collection form Literature under construction.

Literature can be submitted by giving the citation, a summary and a description why it is considered important for AMAT. This leads to a big bibliography which can be used after the project by all partners and can be published. If we want another form than Excel files, a data conversion program has to be made. Germany looks if they can find someone to do this.

We prefer to get summaries, because otherwise the literature is not easy to be estimated only by having the title and the author. If a summary is not possible then very clear arguments why it is important. Keywords have to be made. Next to data collection every participant is asked to give ideas for keywords not only to be used within AMAT but also for politicians and Press.

Short discussion about when to make this bibliography public before end of the project. We decide to wait what we collect till the coming meeting and decide then.

Connecting Results with Other Working Groups

Results of data collection can be used for building the framework and assisting PR and Definitions.

Ulrike: Data collection in this phase is a lot of work and “dirty work”, with a lot of typing and analysing but after that it will be very helpful for extracting our framework and for report of the state of the art and problems in the partner countries with AMAT.

Source: Notes of the 4th partner meeting in NL