Asking people what they had for dinner is unlikely to be relevant to any peer program evaluation. However, so to, may be questions, relating to gender, marital status and age. It is important to think about what information is actually relevant and required when you are planning its collection. Only ask questions for components which are of relevance to the item you are assessing. In other words, to use our ‘boat’ example, asking about the colour of the hull is not going to tell us anything about our location (unless of course we want someone in another boat to find us ????).
People who live with disability are asked, far too often, for their confidential information. This may be by service providers, medical practitioners, governmental bodies (including the NDIS) and other groups. There is usually no need to ask a peer group member for details of their disability or other demographics (e.g. age, gender, marital status, sexuality) not relevant to their peer program experiences and views. As such, before we ask questions, we need to contemplate whether every item is essential. This is particularly relevant because of the likely frustration asking for such details may cause the respondent.
It is good practice to keep questions, as simple as possible and to limit their number. What information is gathered should be planned with cognisance of the skills and abilities of the people you are questioning. Ensure that the questions you ask remain focused on what purpose you will use the data gathered. If you are unsure of how you will use some of the information you are collecting; ask yourself, should I really be collecting it at all?