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# Collection

In the collection phase of a PNI project, community members tell stories around a topic of concern, and those stories are collected in some way. The nature of collection can vary widely, from twenty stories gathered and used in an hour-long workshop to a thousand stories gathered over a year and used for many years afterward. But in one way or another, all PNI projects start with stories.

Plan your story collection

- Choose collection methods

Design your questions, forms, and sessions

- Write story eliciting questions
- Write questions about stories
- Write questions about participants
- Build story forms
- Translate story forms
- Print story forms
- Plan story collection sessions

Gather your stories

- Start story collection
- Enter or import stories. If you collect your data outside of NarraFirma, you might want to read our Guide to importing data.
- Review incoming stories
- Review graphs

Wrap up the collection phase

- Stop story collection
- Export stories or story forms
- Enter story collection session records
- Reflect on the collection phase

## Frequently-asked questions

### What kinds of story collection does NarraFirma support?

You can collect stories over the internet; you can collect them in any other way and enter them yourself; you can import them from another survey system.