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not reachable ( did not respond to phone or personal contacts , or had ceased to operate ), we reached out to the next randomly selected alternative , repeating the process described above . Overall the number of congregations that were reached but declined to participate was very low .
Most interviews were conducted with the congregation ’ s senior clergy ; key staff and assistant clergy were also interviewed . Each interview lasted an average of two and a half hours . Given the comprehensiveness of the data gathered , most congregations could not provide everything needed on the first visit ; additional visits , emails , and phone calls were made to complete the data collection .
Data Gathering and Analysis
Data were gathered and centralized at Partners for Sacred Places ’ office . A designated employee , in consultation with Dr . Cnaan , reviewed the data and flagged potential errors , logical doubts , and misstatements . These cases were verified with the people who provided the data and numbers were revised if needed . This careful review of all submitted questionnaires prevented Partners from using erroneous , inflated , or under-reported data .
Once data were collected and verified , the designated staff entered them into a spreadsheet . At that stage the raw data was translated into dollar value based on a procedure that was predetermined and based on the methodology developed in the pilot study . When calculations were completed they were aggregated into an overall valuation estimate and into the key Halo categories . Dr . Cnaan and his staff performed the detailed data analysis presented in this article .
Conservative Approach in Applying Valuation Methodology
When an interviewee could not provide a numerical response to a particular question or category , we assigned the value of zero , even if the real value was obviously higher . For example , if an interviewee could not provide data on the number of hours a volunteer spent with a soup kitchen , we assigned a value of zero . In the same way , when an interviewee could not assess the market value of a good or service , we assigned the value of zero . For example , if the interviewee could not assess the market value of renting an equivalent space outside the sacred place for a social service program , we assigned it the value of zero , even if the real value was likely to be significant .
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