Survey Design
What are the corresponding steps for designing surveys? Consider the implications of skipping or not carefully approaching each step. Brainstorm a purpose statement for a survey and operationalize your purpose statement. Consider how you would gather evidence of the reliability and validity of a survey. Give examples.
Scholars have engaged in scientific reviews to determine the most reliable method of designing effective surveys for quantitative studies. Despite the disagreements, which are mostly based on the subjective nature of the study, or the study environments, scholars agree on some main chronological activities to be undertaken during survey designs. The omission of any of these step leads to a lower data value, which could lead to biased extrapolations misleading stakeholders adopting the study as well as future studies based on the findings. These steps include identifying a problem and forming a hypothesis, designing the study, conducting the study, analyzing the study, and presenting the findings (Miller & Lovler, 2018) .
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The first step is the most important and sets the course of the study. By identifying the problem, the researcher communicates the gaps that the study intends to fill. This also communicates the objective of the study. A hypothesis is a tentative guess about the variables under investigation. Forming a hypothesis puts the entire study into perspective through a detailed correlation of the investigated variables. The study design is the second step and the most technical. This step involves a critical analysis of the study questions, objectives, sample size, and analysis methods. The objective of the study design is to ensure that the selected methods of data collection and analysis have the capability and integrity to answer the study questions. The third step is conducting the study. This step involves the actual collection of data using the selected study design. Each study design offer guidelines on data selection based on the confounding variables under investigation. Afterward, the researcher uses the selected and universally accepted analysis methods to analyze the raw data and come up with conclusions. The final state is the communication of findings with the shareholders.
The omission of any of these stages would lead to lower data validity. Surveys are reliable study methods but require technical know-how for efficiency. Their universally accepted design allows scholars across the globe to use different analysis methods and different settings to come up with group-specific estimations. Validity and reliability measures seek to determine the accuracy of surveys and the findings. Reliability measures the ability of study design to offer consistent studies when used over and over again, while validity is the measure of how a study answers the research questions. In reliability measures, scholars use pretesting techniques. For instance, survey design could have a trial design to control the expected outcomes. A deviation from the expected outcome indicates a lower reliability of survey design. Validity, content and criterion-related are the most reliable measure of evidence validity. These methods investigate the correlation between analysis and hypothesis as well as the accuracy of findings to a specific variable rather than a general approach.
Designing a Test Plan
Develop a test plan, including defining the constructor constructs the test measures, choosing the test format, and specifying how to score the test. Now that you have read and studied Chapter 11, develop a test plan using a multiple-choice or essay test format to measure the information learned from this chapter.
Test Objectives
This test seeks to identify whether the students have understood the concept of the course and could implement in real life situations. The texted course outcomes include
Students understand the design survey and can comprehensively use it in real life scientific study
Students understand the different stages of survey design development
Students can identify various study variables and create a correlation through hypothesis and throughout the study
Students can design and implement effective data analysis model depending on the nature of the study variables.
Task
Each student is required to write three pages summarizing an intended research proposal using surveys as the primary data collection tool. The essay should contain all aspects of study design including the statement problem, hypothesis, research design, sample size, and sampling methods, proposed analysis method, reliability, and testing methods, and reporting. Each project should reflect originality and the potential to be used to solve a real-life problem associated with college students.
Grading Rubric |
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A | B | C | D | E |
The student examines all the aspects of survey design put in a real-life context. The proposal includes main aspects such as population size, sampling methods, research design, data collection design, analysis, reliability and validity testing, and reporting. Overall, the project shows a high mastery of course concepts without structural or grammatical errors. | The summary proposal highlights all the key concepts highlighted in (A) but has minor structural and grammatical errors. | The project misses some of the sections highlighted in A and has grammar and structural errors. | The project misses the key points but still shows a marginal understanding of the nature of the study and key concepts such as objectives and the survey designs. The students, however, fail to offer a comprehensive connection of these elements. | The project misses the content has multiple grammatical and structural errors. The student does not show any understanding of the course concepts. |
Reference
Miller, L. A., & Lovler, R. L. (2018). Foundations of psychological testing: A practical
approach . Sage publications.