Transcript Tailored Design Method - KU Information Technology

Tailored Design Method
Social Exchange Theory
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Asking questions is a social exchange
that is facilitated when
• Rewards are perceived as high
• Costs are perceived as low
• Trust is established
Rewards for Responding
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Show positive regard
Thank the respondent
Ask for advice
Support group values
Provide incentives
Make the questionnaire interesting
Inform respondents that time to respond
is limited
Reduce Cost of Responding
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Avoid demanding language
Avoid using language that respondents will
not understand
Include a stamped return envelope
Make the questionnaire appear short and
easy to respond to
Do not ask for personal information that is
not critical to the design of the study
Establish Trust
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Provide a token of appreciation
Secure sponsorship
Put forth enough effort in
constructing the survey to make the
task appear important
Designing Survey to Reduce Four
Common Errors
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Sampling Error
Coverage Error
Measurement Error
Non-response Error
Research-based Findings
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Multiple contacts are needed to
achieve a high response rate.
Incentives increase response rates.
Surveys that appear easy to
complete yield higher response rates.
Writing Questions
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The goal in writing questions is to
construct items that respondents will
be willing and able to answer.
Classification of Item Types
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Format of the item
Content of the item
Topic of the items
Format of the Item
Open vs. Closed
Middle position offered vs. omitted
Filtered vs. unfiltered
Balanced vs. unbalance
Unbalance with/without substantive
counter argument
Example Open Questions
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What should be done to improve the
attendance policy in this school?
What factors explain the increased
level of violence in schools?
How many times during the last
week did you eat in a restaurant with
table service?
Closed Questions with Ordered
Choices
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The attendance policy in this school
needs to be made more stringent?
• Strongly agree
• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Strongly disagree
Closed Question with Ordered
Choices
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In general, how consistently do you
think teachers in this building apply
the attendance policy?
• Not at all consistently
• Somewhat consistently
• Very consistently
Closed Question with Ordered
Choices
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How often do you send students to the
office because they are late to your class?
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Every day
Three or four times a week
One or two times a week
Two or three times a month
About once a month
Closed Questions with
Unordered Choices
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Which of the following actions would improve the
attendance policy in our school?
a. Uniform enforcement of the attendance policy
by all teachers in the building
b. Strong parental notification policies for
tardiness
c. Consistent enforcement of the attendance
policy by administrators
d. More liberal definitions of tardiness
e. Stricter punishments for tardiness
Partially Closed Question
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Why do you think the school had a low rate of
attendance at the last parent meeting?
• The meeting conflicted with some other event
• The meeting was scheduled at a time when many
parents were working
• There was no student program at the meeting
• The topic of the meetings was of low interest to parents
• Parents who work all day are unwilling to attend evening
meetings
• Other reason ______________________________
Middle Position
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Omitted Form
In your opinion should penalties for using
marijuana be more strict or less strict than
they are now?
Offered Form
In your opinion should penalties for using
marijuana be more strict, less strict, or
about the same as they are now?
Filtered Questions
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Filtered questions provide the
respondent with an opportunity to
indicate that he/she does not have
the information needed to respond.
Example of a Filtered Item
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Some teachers believe that out-ofschool suspension is the only way to
control some types of student
behavior; other teachers believe inschool-suspension works better while
some teachers have not thought
about it enough to have formed an
opinion. What is your opinion?
Fully Filtered Item
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I am going to ask your opinion about
punishment for marijuana use. You may
not have an opinion and that is fine. Just
say I don’t have an opinion.
Do you favor or oppose stricter penalties
for marijuana use or have you not formed
an opinion about penalties for marijuana
use?
Examples of Balanced Question
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Do you favor or do you oppose the
State Board of Education’s recent
decision to increase the number of
science credits required for high
school graduation?
Example of Unbalanced Item
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Do you favor the Lawrence School
Board’s current recommendation to
close Riverside School.
Balanced with Counter
Argument
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Some people believe that free and
appropriate public education should be
interpreted to mean tax dollars can be
used to send children to private schools
others disagree because they believe
private schools foster separatist and elitist
attitudes. Do you agree or disagree that
free and appropriate public education
means tax dollars can be used to send
children to private schools?
Classification of Questions
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Content Measured
• Knowledge
• Attitudes
• Behavior
Nature of the Topic Measured
by the Item
Socially desirable/undesirable
 Threatening
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Socially Desirable Topics
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Topics are considered socially
desirable if respondents believe they
will be viewed positively if they
respond in a particular way.
A socially desirable attitude for
teachers is “I try to meet the needs
of all of my students.”
Socially Undesirable Topics
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Attitudes or behaviors individuals do not
want acknowledged even though they
engage in the behavior or hold the
attitude.
Attitudes or behaviors individuals do not
hold or engage in. They also don’t want
people to think they do.
Threatening Topics
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Questions are threatening if the
respondent thinks there is a “right”
answer and they don’t know what it is or
they know what it is and don’t endorse or
practice it.
A threatening item for teachers might be:
“All students should be taught together in
the same classrooms regardless of ability.”
Social Exchange Theory

Asking questions is a social exchange
that is facilitated when
• Rewards are perceived as high
• Costs are perceived as low
• Trust is established
Designing Survey to Reduce Four
Common Errors
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


Sampling Error
Coverage Error
Measurement Error
Non-response Error
Research-based Findings
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Multiple contacts are needed to
achieve a high response rate.
Incentives increase response rates.
Surveys that appear easy to
complete yield higher response rates.