Data Collection Data Collection is the second of six books in the Measurement and Evaluation Series from Pfeiffer. The proven ROI Methodology--developed by the ROI Institute--provides a practical system for evaluation planning, data collection, data analysis, and reporting. All six books in the series offer the latest tools, most current research, and practical advice for measuring ROI in a variety of settings. Data Collection offers an effective process for collecting data that is essential to the implementation of the ROI Methodology. The authors outline the techniques, processes, and critical issues involved in successful data collection. The book examines the various methods of data collection, including questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observation, action plans, performance contracts, and monitoring records. Written for evaluators, facilitators, analysts, designers, coordinators, and managers, Data Collection is a valuable guide for collecting data that are adequate in quantity and quality to produce a complete and credible analysis.

This book showcases the different ways in which contemporary forms of data analysis are being used in urban planning and management. It highlights the emerging possibilities that city-regional governance, technology and data have for better planning and urban management - and discusses how you can apply them to your research. Including perspectives from across the globe, it’s packed with examples of good practice and helps to demystify the process of using big and open data. Learn about different kinds of emergent data sources and how they are processed, visualised and presented. Understand how spatial analysis and GIS are used in city planning. See examples of how contemporary data analytics methods are being applied in a variety of contexts, such as ‘smart’ city management and megacities. Aimed at upper undergraduate and postgraduate students studying spatial analysis and planning, this timely text is the perfect companion to enable you to apply data analytics approaches in your research.

In the era of big data, this book explores the new challenges of urban-rural planning and management from a practical perspective based on a multidisciplinary project. Researchers as contributors to this book have accomplished their projects by using big data and relevant data mining technologies for investigating the possibilities of big data, such as that obtained through cell phones, social network systems and smart cards instead of conventional survey data for urban planning support. This book showcases active researchers who share their experiences and ideas on human mobility, accessibility and recognition of places, connectivity of transportation and urban structure in order to provide effective analytic and forecasting tools for smart city planning and design solutions in China.

Find the right big data solution for your business or organization Big data management is one of the major challenges facing business, industry, and not-for-profit organizations. Data sets such as customer transactions for a mega-retailer, weather patterns monitored by meteorologists, or social network activity can quickly outpace the capacity of traditional data management tools. If you need to develop or manage big data solutions, you'll appreciate how these four experts define, explain, and guide you through this new and often confusing concept. You'll learn what it is, why it matters, and how to choose and implement solutions that work. Effectively managing big data is an issue of growing importance to businesses, not-for-profit organizations, government, and IT professionals Authors are experts in information management, big data, and a variety of solutions Explains big data in detail and discusses how to select and implement a solution, security concerns to consider, data storage and presentation issues, analytics, and much more Provides essential information in a no-nonsense, easy-to-understand style that is empowering Big Data For Dummies cuts through the confusion and helps you take charge of big data solutions for your organization.

This book will help you understand how to integrate data-based decisions into the daily work of the school. It is a practical and relevant handbook for converting data into wise decision-making and planning. It will give you the skills to successfully make data-based decisions, measure student learning and program effectiveness, evaluate student progress, use data to improve instruction, integrate a "Dynamic Planning" process into the daily operation of your school.

This is a comprehensive survey of key issues associated with planning and designing enterprise data warehouses.Covers the process of implementing a data warehouse end-to-end, from planning a data warehouse, to achieving management support, to implementing metadata repositories that make it easier to access real information, rather than mere data. One chapter is dedicated to helping managers avoid mistakes that can limit the effectiveness of a data warehouse. Once the data warehouse is in place, this book provides guidance on helping end users make the most of it. Two detailed case studies are also included.Information technology managers, and database professionals, including administrators, programmers and designers.

This book assembles and organizes a selected range of methods and techniques that every planning practitioner should know to be successful in the contemporary global urban landscape. The book is unique because it links different aspects of the planning/policy-making enterprise with the appropriate methods and approaches, thus contextualizing the use of specific methods and techniques within a sociopolitical and ethical framework. This volume familiarizes readers with the diverse range of methods, techniques, and skills that must be applied at different scales in dynamic workplace environments where planning policies and programs are developed and implemented. This book is an invaluable resource in helping new entrants to the planning discourse and profession set aside their own disciplinary biases and empowering them to use their expert knowledge to address societal concerns.