1. Creating A Good Questionnaire IB Geography Internal Assessment

2. Requirements for the IA 50 Completed Questionnaires (English/Spanish) – No limit on how many questions, though it must not take up more than the front and back of 1 sheet of paper. – Include demographic questions first – 6 Completed Interviews – Typed Transcripts must be submitted

3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires Advantages – Can assess a large group quickly – Easy to analyze if constructed correctly Disadvantages – Requires “good” language skills – Some people give answers they think you want – Not very good for getting in-depth information

4. The Basics The purpose of a questionnaire in this case is to yield quantifiable data based on participant responses. There are 2 main types of questions asked in questionnaires: open and closed.

5. Open Questions Used to explore topics in-depth Advantage: Gives people a chance to respond in detail and explain their opinion Disadvantage: They are time-consuming for you to summarize and analyze

6. Examples of Open Questions What do you think of ….? What do you like about….?

7. Open Questions Open-ended Questions – Example: – What changes would you like to see in our science class? Stem Plus Questions Example: Some things I would like to see change in our science class are _________________

8. Closed Questions A closed question is one where the respondent is limited to one or more of a limited range of options. Advantages: – Questionnaires based on closed questions are much easier and quicker to analyze. – A large amount of information can be processed in a short period of time.

9. Closed Questions Disadvantages: – Respondents tend to presume the answer in advance – Respondents may put what they think you want to see – Data may not be entirely accurate because they may be rounding to fit your answer choices – More inclined to lie when they see possible answers – it is sometimes necessary to add a catch-all category of “Other”. – Questionnaires that have numerous Yes/No questions are unlikely to yield much useful data, or allow for interesting methods of presentation

10. Examples of Closed Questions Here are 2 examples of closed questions: – Do you agree that the new school is good for the community? Yes/No – How many times do you visit the grocery store each month? 1, 1-2, 3-5, >5

11. Closed Questions Dichotomous Questions (2 choices) – Yes/No – Agree/Disagree Do you think a paper recycling program should be started in your school? YesNo

12. Closed Questions Multiple-choice Questions – Give respondents options – May ask for single or multiple answers Example: How did you hear about our Website? ___ Newspaper ___ Magazine ___ Radio ___ Internet ___ Other: Please specify __________

13. Closed Questions Rank Order Questions – Respondents place things in order – Example: – Which activities do you like to do in your spare time? Place a “1” next to the activity that you like to do most, a “2” by the next favorite, and so on to the least favorite. ___ Watch TV ___ Read ___ Visit friends ___ Surf the Internet ___ Shop

14. Closed Questions Rating Scale (Semantic Differential) – Also called a “Likert Scale” – Give a statement; choose your response along a scale – Example: My students are motivated to learn. Strongly Disagree DisagreeNot SureAgreeStrongly Agree

15. Effects of Scales The police need to do a better job of enforcing traffic laws. – 2 Level - 3 level DisagreeAgree 10%90% DisagreeNeither Agree or Disagree Agree 2%28%70%

16. Effects of Scales Strongly Disagree DisagreeUndecidedAgreeStrongly Agree 1% 28%63%7% 5 Level

17. Demographics Questions Demographic questions may ask about personal characteristics such as -- – age – ethnicity – gender – home characteristics

18. Things to Avoid Unclear or ambiguous questions Examples: What do you think about school? What role should the principal play in educating students?

19. Things to Avoid Know your audience Make sure that the length, content, and wording matches the intended audience Keep questions clear and concise Avoid technical wording

20. Things to Avoid Will the question help you to answer the fieldwork question? Will it help you formulate a good argument? A question may be well-written, but possibly won’t yield you good enough data to answer the fieldwork question. This is why it is so important to sit down with your group and really think about what data you need to answer your fieldwork question.

21. Some Guidelines for Interviewees Choose who you interview very intentionally. Divide your interviewees into 2 groups: – Experts: doctors, alderman, police, park district workers, priests, grocery store managers, etc. – Sample of the varying population groups: sample of men/women, black/white/hispanic, high education/low education, many children/no children, good health/poor health, someone who lives in food desert/someone who doesn’t, someone from high crime neighborhood/someone from low crime, etc.

22. The Questions Your questions will change depending on who you’re interviewing. Aim to have enough questions to get an in- depth response in between 15-20 minutes. Questions should all be open ended, providing plenty of opportunity for interviewee to respond with explanations, details, and examples. Avoid bias at all costs!

23. Timeline of due dates Thursday (9/11) and Friday (9/12) (after map quiz): Time in class to work with group on creation of questionnaires 10 blank questionnaires due Monday (9/15) Questionnaire first draft (paper copy, 1 per group) due Wednesday (9/17) Return of graded first drafts/feedback provided Friday (9/19) Final Draft of Questionnaire due, 1 English, 1 Spanish Copy, Thursday (9/25)

24. Making Meaning Protocol Facilitator (1 per group) gives time for students to read the text silently. Facilitator will ask questions and take notes of groups answers. Discussion Questions: – What do you see? (2 minutes) – What questions does this text raise for you? (2 min) – What is significant about this text? (2 min) – What are the implications for our own questionnaires? (2 min)