Data Collection on the Cheap: A System for Small Budgets and Small Organizations Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College Ann Martin, Assessment Coordinator amartin1@lco-college.edu

Introduction and Acknowledgments LCO Ojibwa Community College Principia Products and Remark Office OMR Demo data collection One page handout also available on the LCOOCC Web Site Resource Room has sample forms Paper in the Collection of Papers

Working Assumptions of a Good System Easy to design the forms Easy to produce the forms Easy to process the data collected Or better yet: Easy to capture the data Easy to analyze the data

1998 AIR Reenactment

Really……

Current Setup at LCO OCC

Short Demo If you have not already done so, please complete the survey that was on your chair when you came in. Pass your completed surveys to the center aisle where they will be collected. Watch and wait while the software is demonstrated.

Features that were Attractive: #2 pencils not needed  $ Use desktop word processing software to produce forms to be scanned  $$ !!! Scanning software appeared easy to use Training the software to scan  ! Scanning  !!! Error detection and correction options  ! Analysis of results  !!!

Examples of Fields Defined by Software Training www. PrincipiaProducts Examples of Fields Defined by Software Training www.PrincipiaProducts.com

Types of Fields Bar codes (3of9 is alphanumerical) Image (takes a picture for transcription) OMR Multiple (like a MC exam, only 1 answer) Grid (name or SSN or course number) List (one answer out of a group of rows/columns) Add (to sum up responses to a single value) Boolean (yes/no for each, check as many that apply) Binary (yes/no for all to one value)

Common Uses of Remark Office OMR Student evaluation of instruction Self-study surveys/questionnaires Evaluation forms, like this session Point of contact questionnaires Rubrics and Checklists Answer sheets for quizzes and exams Other tasks for automated data collection or tracking

Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 1 Organizing the self-study process Need to assign all faculty and staff to self-study committees Goal: to have individuals self-select by areas of interest Form designed to gather preferences based on descriptions of areas of interest.

Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 2 Assessment Plan already had a form designed by faculty: Student Research Skills but it collected only aggregate info. Adapted this form to begin to collect longitudinal data on individual students Used Mail-Merge capabilities of Word to generate bar coded forms for each student in selected courses.

Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 3 Orientation Course: Introduction to Higher Education, EDC 110. In the Assessment Plan, faculty had written an instrument to gather information about student self-assessment of skills and attitudes. Adapted for scanning.

Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Case 4 One of the most resource intensive projects on most campuses: Student Evaluations # classes x # students = lots of work! Now: all of the data can be captured in about a week of work. Data are in a form for analysis and reporting. Instructors report that they find the reports more useful and some instructors intend to use the reports as indirect measures of student learning and as a basis for the improvement of instruction.

Uses at LCO Ojibwa Community College: Cases 5,6,7…. Once words gets out, other uses come into being More focused on gathering information for decision making Clearer forms appeal to the respondent The burden of tabulation is lessened Easier reporting means that the results are more likely to be used Data are more easily saved in formats for future study

Before and After… 1. Please rate the level of importance and level of satisfaction with the following elements: a. Recreation Facilities 1 2 3 4 5 b. Law Enforcement c. Fire Protection d. Ambulance 5 1 2 3 4 e. All Roads within LCO f. Clean Drinking Water g. Educational Facilities h. Tribal Government Services 1 2 3 4 5 i. Health and H uman j. Medical Services k. Job Opportunities 1 2 3 4 5 l. Shopping Facilities m. Cost of Living n. Housing 1 2 3 4 5 o. Environmental Quality p. Cultural Resources

Advantages of Remark Office OMR Cost-effective Intuitive and easily learned Flexible form design for a variety of purposes Data capture and transcription both possible Data analysis built in Test grading and item analysis also possible Save data in other file formats Scanner can be used for page or image scanning

In Summary If you don’t ask the questions, you won’t get the answers… If you are going to ask the questions, then make sure you can get the answers In a way that respects those who are providing the answers In a way that is cost-effective and efficient In a way that you can share and use the information effectively

Any Questions? Web Site for this presentation and resources: http://www.lco-college.edu/facstaff/asmnt/hlc_2004.htm Email me: amartin1@lco-college.edu Miigwech!!