The project was initiated in July, and concluded in July of Simultaneously, it introduced de-escalation training among the police force. This was a short-term policy that Salinas City Hall was considering for adoption on a more long-term basis. META Lab was tasked with answering whether the program had a noticeable effect on the population.
They filled almost every role in the project, including the IRB application process; question design for surveys, interviews, and focus groups; in-person data collection; site contacts; strategic planning; interviews with news organizations; analysis; and dissemination of the findings.
In the process, they learned both the theory of why we would do what we were doing as we were actually getting ready to do it. Reflections, site checks, and periodic tune-ups reinforced those lessons. We used a combination of surveys, interviews, and focus groups to collect data. All of the students were trained in each before going out to conduct any data collection.
To tell the community about what we were doing, and raise the interest of potential respondents, students made videos that we posted to social media. We were using a mixed methods approach for this research.
So, we used a variety of tools to collect and analyze data. Simple voice recorders were used for the interviews and focus groups. We used Qualtrics survey suite for the surveys. While in the field, we used tablets on a pay-as-you-go cellular so that respondents could respond to the survey anonymously if they preferred.
