2012 Trafficking In Persons Final Report.pdf - NCJTC Home

FINAL REPORT
Symposium Design and Methodology
The exploratory study employed various forms of qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine
specific child sex and labor trafficking topics including: surveys, focus groups and interviews. 2 The quantitative
pre-event surveys were used to measure participant interest in a variety of topics, identify areas of focus
group discussion and gauge the level of experience and expertise of the Symposium participants. The Symposium
included a combination of informative presentations, and exploratory research methods to gather information
on child trafficking. Presentations were made on pertinent human trafficking legislation and research findings;
engaging victims in investigations and prosecution; and community and faith-based responses to the problem to
prime participants for detailed discussions of child trafficking. Symposium participants were then divided into
mixed focus groups to explore detailed issues of child sex and labor trafficking. To enhance the reliability and
validity of the focus group data, facilitated discussions of focus group findings were conducted at the start of each
day to ensure that the data were complete and accurate. Finally, structured, face-to-face, interviews added supplemental
qualitative data to the exploratory study. After the completion of the Symposium, post-event surveys were
administered to measure the impact of the event on participant learning, policy and procedure. (See Appendix A
for the meeting agenda).
Methods
The project employed qualitative and quantitative research methods to study specific child sex and labor
trafficking topics including: surveys, focus groups and interviews. 3 Qualitative methods such as semi-structured
interviews and focus groups generally produce detailed and valid information on study topics, but suffer from
inconsistent or unreliable data. Alternately, quantitative research involving surveys typically produce consistent
data, but may be hindered by validity concerns due to the limited scope of the questions and content. Using a
mixed approach that incorporates qualitative and quantitative methods in this exploratory study provides data
from various sources through multiple techniques. This allows for a comparison of study data, and generally improves
the validity and reliability of the research results.
The quantitative pre-event surveys were used to measure participant interest in a variety of topics, identify
areas of focus group discussion and gauge the level of experience and expertise of the Symposium participants.
Large and small facilitated focus group Symposium sessions were used to gather information on child sex and labor
trafficking indicators, responses, and restoration practices. Further, structured, face-to-face, interviews added
supplemental qualitative data to the exploratory study. Finally, post-event surveys were made available to all
symposium participants to determine their level of satisfaction with the event, new knowledge and planned use
of Symposium information.
2 While employing traditional research methods and human participants; the Symposium is exempt from the Department of
Health and Human Services Policy for Protection of Human Research Subjects because the study utilizes qualitative techniques (surveys,
interviews, observation of public behavior); and participant information is not linked to specific data or outcomes.
3 While employing traditional research methods and human participants; the Symposium is exempt from the Department of
Health and Human Services Policy for Protection of Human Research Subjects because the study utilizes qualitative techniques (surveys,
interviews, observation of public behavior); and participant information is not linked to specific data or outcomes.
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