Surveys Sarah Galloway

Surveys Surveys – an introduction E-surveys Longitudinal surveys/Secondary data

Surveys Advantages A good response rate can generate a lot of data in a short time Can be relatively easy to administer requiring little fieldwork With an appropriate sample size the results might be generalised Can be repeated at a date in the future, allowing comparisons to be made Disadvantages Statistics and charts become the main focus of findings Produces a snapshot; the underlying processes or problems are not revealed The researcher is not in a position to make judgements about the reliability of participants individual responses, or barriers preventing participation Validity of data may be reliant on large sample sizes – a crucial issue for small scale research projects (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006, p79)

Undertaking a survey – the process The research question has already been selected and a decision made to answer it by collecting data through using a survey Determine the survey population e.g. Library users, inhabitants of Motherwell Determine mode of sampling and sample size Convenience Randomised/Probability Representative Decide the mode of administration e.g. face-to-face, web, postal Develop questionnaire and review it to check it addresses the research question Pilot the questions and make revisions Decide strategy for sampling Administer questionnaire, including following up non-respondents Transform completed questionnaires into computerised data Analyse data Interpret findings (Bryman, 2008)

Questions.... to avoid 1.Exactly how many times have you phoned the College in the last calendar year? 2.Which applies to you? When studying, usually I use: The library The University shuttle bus Energy drinks Encyclopaedia Britannica? 3. Achieving success at university is impossible without excellent access to library facilities. Do you agree that the library should be open 24 hours a day? Yes No 4. How do you feel about the other people, including the tutors, on this course? to, c

Questions.... to avoid 1.Exactly how many times have you phoned the College in the last calendar year? Remembering the exact amount is difficult 2.Which applies to you? When studying, usually I use: The library The University shuttle bus Topics seem unrelated and random Energy drinks Encyclopaedia Britannica? 3. Achieving success at university is impossible without excellent access to library facilities. Do you agree that the library should be open 24 hours a day? Yes No The respondent is being forced to tick YES 4. How do you feel about the other people, including the tutors, on this course? Ethical issues. Makes respondent feel uncomfortable. Trust issues. to, c

Questions.... alternatives 1.How often have you phoned college in the last year? 0 1 to 5 times 10 or more times 2.Which of these college services do you use regularly (i.e. at least once a week ) The library The University shuttle bus University Gym Moodle 3.Do the current opening hours of the library meet your needs? Never Sometimes Usually Almost always Always 4. Please use the space below to give us any other feedback about the course c ccc c

More questions to avoid 5. Which of the following is a good type of research sample? RS PS CS 6.There isn’t always not a reason to conduct research. Don’t you agree? Yes No ccc cc

More questions to avoid 5. Which of the following is a good type of research sample? RS PS CS Respondent might not know the acronyms How is the respondent supposed to know what is meant by ‘good’? No option to tick ‘none of these’ – respondent forced to tick that at least one option is ‘good’ 6.There isn’t always not a reason to conduct research. Don’t you agree? Yes No Double negatives – difficult to understand ccc cc

More alternative questions 5. Which types of research sample have you utilised? Representative Probability/randomised Convenience None of these 6.Are there circumstances in which you think this research should not be conducted? Yes No ccc cc c

E-Surveys Google docs

E-Surveys Advantages of online surveys: Low administration costs Quick process of design, administration and data generation Might be useful for dealing with some sensitive questions Can be completed at respondent’s convenience Possible to reach large numbers of respondents Disadvantages: Excludes some participants Issues about reliability of data: respondents ‘click-happy’ respondent may not have answered the questions themselves respondent loses control over order of completion

Secondary Data Many publically funded data sets are available for public access Local council research and planning departments – phone your council Scottish Government Topics include lifelong learning, justice and children Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) - Scottish Government's tool for identifying small area concentrations of multiple deprivation Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics Scottish Governments tool for developing statistics on health, education, poverty, unemployment, housing, population, crime and social/community by local geographical area

Secondary Data National records of Scotland Includes population and Census data

UK data (inc England and Wales) Office for National Statistics, includes: Labour market Children, education and skills International UNESCO Institute for Statistics, includes: Literacy Education Culture OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) Surveys 15 year olds’ competency in key subjects such as reading and writing International Survey of Adult Skills

Large scale longitudinal surveys Longitudinal Surveys are repeated periodically so that results can be compared True longitudinal surveys involve returning to the same participants, allowing individual people to be tracked over time Example: The Millennium Cohort Survey based at the University of London. The survey follows a sample of children, and their parents, who were born in year

Secondary Data Uses Can set primary data in context, e.g. socio-economic data concerned with the geographical area in which your practice research is based Can describe evidence of a problem that your research is concerned with e.g. boys underachievement, unemployment, access to services in rural areas etc Caution There is ongoing controversy about how large scale survey data is collected and used in the context of adult education. For example, the tests utilised in the OECD’s International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) have been criticised for being inadequate (e.g. Moser, 1999) and for encouraging restrtictive understandings of adult learning (eg Fulford, 2010, Oughton, 2007).