Many agencies use easy-to-navigate Excel spreadsheets to enter data. The completed file is sent to an evaluator and imported into a statistical file format (e.g. SPSS) for analysis. Here are some common data entry errors and how to fix them:

• Entering words instead of numbers – Numerical data is best; text fields cannot be used in most statistical analyses. Convert text to numeric values. For example, data collection sites can be coded like this: park =1, store =2, agency=3, etc.
• Mishandling skipped questions. Do not type the word “blank” when someone failed to answer a question. If the survey has a blank, leave that cell blank, too.
• Entering more than one value in a cell – Each cell in your Excel file should contain only ONE number. It should not look like this: 1,2,6. If the question asked respondents to “check all that apply”, then every response option must be its own variable.
• Guessing what a respondent meant. When respondents are having trouble choosing just one response, they often circle more than one answer. Do not enter more than one value (see above) and do not randomly choose one of their answers. Because you can’t discern which option they truly wanted, this data is lost. Leave the cell blank.

Well-written and well-conceived program objectives guide your evaluation plan; they indicate what will be measured to track program impact. SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-phased.

Specific: Who? (Target population / Persons doing the activity) What? (Action / Activity)
Measurable: How much change is expected
Achievable: Can be realistically accomplished given current resources and constraints
Realistic: Addresses the scope of the problem and proposes reasonable programmatic solution
Time-phased: Provides a timeline indicating when the objective will be met

Example

Not SMART: All students will attend the new class on nutrition and physical activity and will pass the quiz at the end of class.

SMART: Over the next 18 months, 80% of overweight and obese students at My Middle School will participate in the new 2-hour class on improving nutrition and increasing physical activity, and 80% will record scores of 80% or higher on the quiz at the end of the class.