Researchers are frequently confronted with unanswered questions or items on their questionnaires and tests, due to factors such as item difficulty, lack of testing time, or participant distraction. This paper first presents results from a poll confirming previous claims (Rietveld & van Hout, 2006; Schafer & Graham, 2002) that data…

'Everybody can quickly collect data using questionnaires'--this is an incorrect assumption among not only students but also veteran researchers. As a researcher and lecturer for research methods, I have more than once came across carelessly conducted studies using poorly constructed questionnaires meant to inform the implementation of…

The study examined distance education as a tool for human resource development for junior secondary schools in Ebonyi State, Nigeria and it adopted a descriptive survey as the design. The population of the study consists of 2,410 secondary school teachers. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to select 690 respondents. The…

The uptake of technology and specifically, GeoGebra software, in teaching mathematics has had mixed success in spite of its documented benefits. This study investigated teachers' perspective towards training and eventual use of GeoGebra as a tool to enhance learning of mathematics. In this article we share findings from a larger study that was…

Lists and discusses 17 "do" and 8 "don't" guidelines for educators and trainers to consider when designing data collection questionnaires. (MF)

Discusses the design of effective questionnaires based on the concept of a hierarchical classification of Levels of Information: global (Level I), general concept (Level II), and specific (Level III). By tying question types to the information desired, the entire questionnaire can be improved. (JJD)

The basic qualities which questionnaires must have in order to serve best the purpose for which they are designed are emphasized. A description of the preliminary planning necessary to questionnaire construction, as well as the construction of the form itself, is provided. Various types of questionaire items and the advantages and disadvantages of…

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)'s Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provides internationally comparative data about students' reading achievement in primary school (the fourth grade in most participating countries). PIRLS also provides extensive information about the home and…

This study tested a variation of the random response surveying strategy designed for lengthy questionnaires to be used in group administrations or mail surveys. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 3,000 company grade officers divided into three groups. One group received a conventional questionnaire. The second group received a random…

Reports on a study that tested methods to control or reduce spurious response in order to improve survey technique. Examines two methods of controlling spurious response: alerting respondents that some questionnaire items are false, and using the "don't know" response option. Finds that only the "don't know" option actually…

Ego development data were collected from two groups of subjects. One group consisted of 175 students from junior high, senior high, and college. The second group was comprised of 136 adults who were either teachers and administrators of a medium-sized public school system, or long-time employees of a large chemical manufacturing corporation.…

The combined field tests for the third follow-up survey of High School and Beyond (HSB) and the fifth follow-up survey of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) were conducted during the spring of 1985. The overall purposes of the field tests were to evaluate questionnaires and procedures to be used for the…

The paper describes the instruments and procedures for collecting process information (information describing components of the planned educational process) for the Management Information System for Occupational Education (MISOE). The selection of variables and the decision to assess interactive rather than isolated process variables are…

This document supports the survey questionnaire to be administered to a sample of over 22,000 young adults in the second follow-up of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Data collection activities were scheduled to start in October 1974 and be completed by March 1975. The field test of the survey questionnaire,…

In anticipation of the base-year survey of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), a field test of the questionnaire and test items was conducted in 1987. NELS:88 is a national, longitudinal study designed to provide trend data about the critical transitions of young people as they develop, attend school, and enter the work…