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ERIC Number: EJ848663
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 15
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1056-7879
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Getting Good Results from Survey Research: Part II
McNamara, James F.
International Journal of Educational Reform, v13 n1 p84-98 Win 2004
This article is the second contribution to a research methods series dedicated to getting good results from survey research. In this series, "good results" is a stenographic term used to define surveys that yield accurate and meaningful information that decision makers can use with confidence when conducting program evaluation and policy assessment studies. From a research methods perspective, a survey earns a decision maker's confidence when it achieves "high marks" for population validity (provides a representative sample), measurement validity (provides a well-designed questionnaire), and conclusion validity (yields an accurate data analysis and report preparation strategy). More detailed information on these validity requirements was presented in the initial article in this series (McNamara, 2004). The specific intent of this article is to recommend a basic reference library that practitioners can use to understand all that is involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a survey. This survey research library has six basic reference sources. Each source addresses one of the following essential knowledge domains: (1) theory of survey research; (2) practice of survey research; (3) sampling plans; (4) questionnaire design; (5) data analysis and report preparation; and (6) the informed consumer of survey research. With these ideas in place, the balance of this article is organized into seven sections. The first section provides a rationale indicating how the basic reference sources were selected. Each of the six remaining sections has a twofold purpose. Each section begins with a brief description of a single knowledge domain. Attention in individual sections then turns to a review of the corresponding reference source. Each review identifies the segments of the reference source (book chapters in most cases) that are directly linked to the knowledge domain of interest.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A