Association for Institutional Research
Enhancing Knowledge. Expanding Networks.
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What Works 2nd Edition By Linda A. Suskie Table of Contents Chapter 1: Planning the Survey Chapter 2: Formats for Survey Questions Yes/no questionsMultiple-choice questions Checklists Rankings Likert rating scales Semantic differential rating scales Ecosystem rating scales Other rating scales Open-ended questions Chapter 3: Developing the Survey Instrument What goes into a good questionnaire item?Should you be concerned about the validity and reliability of your questionnaire? What is reliability? What kinds of reliability or consistency can you assess? How is reliability established? What is validity? How is validity established? How should items be ordered in the questionnaire? What else goes into a questionnaire? How long should a questionnaire by? What should you keep in mind as you have the questionnaire typed and duplicated? What software support is available for preparing questionnaires? Chapter 4: Conducting the Survey What is an acceptable response rate?How can you maximize your response rate? What is a questionnaire "package"? What should go into a cover letter? Do you need a return envelope? How should the questionnaire package be assembled? Why does the questionnaire need a pilot test? What is an advance mailing and is it worthwhile? When should the questionnaire package be mailed? What should be done as the completed questionnaires come back? Are follow-up mailings worth the time and expense? What form should follow-ups take? When should follow-ups be mailed? Can you infer anything about non-respondents? Why not administer the survey in person? How should you administer an in-person survey? Why not conduct a telephone survey? How should you administer a telephone survey? Why not use focus groups? How should you conduct a focus group? What tasks can be delegated to someone else? What can a personal computer do? Chapter 5: Processing the Survey Results What should you look for as you edit responses?What is coding? How should responses be coded? What general coding principles should be followed? How are coded data entered into the computer? What are coding sheets and how are they prepared? How can data entry instructions be put directly on a questionnaire? What is a code book? Chapter 6: Analyzing the Survey Data Do you simply want to describe your group?How well do your sample results correspond to the views of the entire student body? How is the error margin calculated? Do you want to try to explain why your group responds or behaves in a certain way? Do you want to see if your group is different from an established nor or a theorized value? Or do you want to see if your sample is truly representative of your population? Do you want to see if two or more subgroups are different from each other? Do you want to see if two or more responses from your group are different? Or do you want to see if your group has changed over a period of time? Do you want to look for interrelationships among your group's responses? Do you want to study the relationship of several responses to one particular response or factor? Do you simply want to examine the relationship among responses to two or more questions? How should census data be analyzed? How should you check if your respondents represent the group from which they're taken? What else should you consider as you choose your analyses? How should the results of a statistical analysis be reported? What else should go into the data analysis computer program? What software is available to analyze the data? How should the data be stored? Chapter 7: Reporting the Survey Results Who will read and use your findings?In what form do your readers need the findings? What are the components of a survey research report? How else can you keep you report interesting, readable, and useful? How can you make your tables and graphs effective? When should you use a graph rather than a table? How can you make an oral presentation interesting and effective? Postscript: Reacting To Other Surveys Appendices Appendix 1. Association for Institutional Research Code of EthicsAppendix 2. Sample time line for a survey research project Appendix 3. Examples of questionnaires using ecosystems Appendix 4. Other examples of questionnaire surveys Appendix 5. Examples of cover letters Appendix 6. Examples of telephone survey interviewer guidelines, advance postcard, and interviewer script/recording form Appendix 7. Example of a summary report of a questionnaire survey For More Information General references on survey research and questionnaire designOther important references on questionnaires and survey design References on survey sampling References on reliability and validity References on telephone surveys References on focus groups References on statistical analysis References on qualitative data analysis References on qualitative data analysis software References on preparing reports and presentations Information available via the Internet: discussion lists Information available via the Internet: World Wide Web sites Information available via organizations, groups, and programs About the Author Linda A. Suskie has conducted numerous workshops on survey research and questionnaire design for institutional researchers and academicians around the country and frequently serves as a consultant on survey research studies. She holds a B.A. in quantitative studies from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. in educational measurement and statistics from the University of Iowa. She has twenty years of experience in institutional research and planning and is currently Director of Assessment Forum with the American Association for Higher Education. |