Asking the right questions (part 1 of 4)

Originally posted on Issue №7— October 2022

We all know we should be using data — for fundraising, program design, strategic planning, grantmaking, policymaking, volunteer recruitment, and more. But we don’t always know where to start.

Over the next four months, we’ll share how we get the most out of data through our four-step process:

1. Ask the right question
2. Use the best data
3. Tell a compelling story
4. Make informed decisions

Without a good question to start with, you’ll spend hours and hours in the data before realizing you don’t even know what you’re looking for. It’s like exploring Wikipedia wormholes and finding out a lot of trivia that doesn’t actually tell you anything.

So, it’s important to ask specific and answerable questions that are connected to the decision you’re trying to make.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• What are you trying to do? Design a new program? Build a fundraising case? Understand a local need? This will make sure your question and data are informing your work.
• What’s your hypothesis? What do you think the cause is? What solutions might address it? This will give you something specific to investigate.
• Is this one question or fifty? Sometimes we conflate a bunch of questions into one, making it difficult to understand, answer, or support. Split your questions up and make it easier for yourself!

Your questions will change as you get into the data, but this first step will tell you what kind of information you’re looking for.