EDRE 5644 Questionnaire Design and Survey Research in Education

Dr. Gabriella Belli

Educational Research Program, School of Education

office 703.538.8477
home 301.951.5291
e-mail: gbelli@vt.edu

TEXT

Czaja, R. & Blair, J. (2005) Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

READINGS AND ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Cobanoglu, C. Warde, B., & Moreo, P.J. (2001) A comparison of mail, fax, and web-based survey methods. International Journal of Market Research, 43(4), 441-452.
Griffis, S.E., Goldsby, T.J. & Cooper, M. (2003). Web-based and mail surveys: A comparison of response, data, and cost. Journal of Business Logistics, 24(2), 237-258.
Hutchinson, S.R. (2004) Survey Research. In K. deMarrais and S. D. Lapan (eds.) Foundation for research: Methods of inquiry in education and the social sciences (pp. 283-301). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Presser, S. and Blair, J. (1994). Survey pretesting: Do different methods produce different results? Sociological Methodology, 24, 73-104.
Trochim, W. M. The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd Edition. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/). (version current as of 10/20/06)
A web resource for statistical and research information. Sections to be used are:
• Survey Research Section
• Sampling Section
• Measurement Section
• Data Preparation

NOTE: Paperback version of text is available at a discount. If interested, ask me for code #.
Finding Published Instruments (http://www.apa.org/science/faq-findtests.html) A web guide for locating and using published and unpublished instruments: American Psychological Association, Science Directorate (2002), FAQ/Finding Information About Psychological Tests.
Boros Institute: Mental Measurements Yearbook Test Reviews Online
NOTE: Get to this via VT library page.

Optional readings:
DeVellis, R.F. (2003). Scale Development: Theory and Applications. Newbury Park: Sage.
Dillman, D. (2000). Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (2nd ed.). NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Rea, L.M. and Parker R.A. (1997). Designing and Conducting Survey Research: A Comprehensive Guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tourangeau, R., Rips, L., & Rasinski, K. (2000). The Psychology of Survey Response. Boston: Cambridge University Press.
Catalogue Description
This course provides an overview of survey research for graduate students in education. It covers the process from project formulation and sampling, through instrument design and question formulation, to data processing and report writing. Emphasis will be on questionnaire design, providing students with an opportunity to create and revise their own questionnaire and critique instruments used in educational surveys.
Additionally, published measures of different constructs will be found and examined.
Educational Objectives
The main objective of this course is to develop an understanding of the “soup to nuts” of survey research. After successfully completing this course, the students should be able to:
1. Explain the place and role of survey research within the broader arena of educational and behavioral science research.
2. Distinguish between different survey designs and sampling techniques.
3. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of different types of surveys.
4. Compare different methods of survey data collection in terms of advantages and disadvantages.
5. Design a simple questionnaire for a specific purpose.
6. Understand the use of focus group interviews as an aid to developing questionnaires.
7. Describe the difference between composing individual questions and creating item scales to measure constructs.
8. Locate and evaluate published instruments from web sources.
9. Locate and evaluate published instruments from text sources.
10. Plan for data analysis given a specific questionnaire and survey design.

Internet and Email Usage
To enhance the text, information about surveys and survey research is available on the Internet. Links to specific Web sites and class notes will be available on Blackboard (http://learn.vt.edu) as HTML or PDF files. If you do not have an e-mail address, you can get a Virginia Tech PID from the library. Blackboard uses your VT PID’s to communicate. If you do not use this for your email, please configure it so that messages are resent to your own mail program.
Please use the following conventions or your notes & documents might get lost.
•SENDING EMAIL – Put SURVEY in subject line.
•SENDING ATTACHMENTS – Send files using the following format for file names: SURVEY-your last name-descriptive name for file.doc

Course Organization
The course is organized with an introductory overview lesson and four topical sections. We will follow the sequence presented in the topic outline. The
general format for class sessions will be part lecture and part group work and/or informal presentations and group discussions.
MP3 files of class lectures and discussions will be uploaded to Blackboard the day after class.

Assignments & Grading

Assignments listed within each topic’s section are to be initiated after the first lesson in that section and presented/discussed in subsequent class
sessions. Section assignments must be written and prepared for class presentation & discussion. These assignments are mainly to be used as learning/practice exercises and for class discussion. Class participation is an important aspect of this course.
A major class project/paper will be due at the end of the semester, but will also include interim reports. Written feedback and grades will be assigned based on these reports. Informal project presentations will be made throughout the semester. The nature of these reports may vary across students and will depend on individual student needs and goals. Several options will be offered and the choice will be based on a mutually agreed outline of each individual project.
The VT Graduate Honor Code includes a discussion of plagiarism and how to avoid it. This is an important aspect of research writing and you will be honor bound to abide by this.

 

 

Published by admin on September 23 of 2008