Thesis Structure and Interviews and Surveys

Thesis Structure

Chapter 1. Introduction

Thesis Structure Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Literature Review

Thesis Structure Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Literature Review Chapter 3. Design

Thesis Structure Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Literature Review Chapter 3. Design Chapter 4. Development

Thesis Structure Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Literature Review Chapter 3. Design Chapter 4. Development Chapter 5. Evaluation

Thesis Structure Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Literature Review Chapter 3. Design Chapter 4. Development Chapter 5. Evaluation Chapter 6. Conclusion and Future Work

Thesis Structure Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Literature Review Chapter 3. Design Chapter 4. Development Chapter 5. Evaluation Chapter 6. Conclusion and Future Work

Interviews and Surveys

Interviews

Unstructured Semi-structured Structured

Interviews Establish a rapport Treat interviewees with respect Think about your appearance Think about body language Maintain firm eye contact Don’t Invade their space

Interviews How are you going to record  Tape recorder  Pen and paper - veratim  Video recorder

How are you going to analyse Colour Coding “Gist Analysis” <> “Verbatim Analysis”

Questionnaires

Questionnaire Identify which organisation you work for, or are studying at. Check your grammar, twice (Rule of Thumb – two proofreads get rids of 95% of errors).

Questionnaires Open-ended Close-ended Combination of both

Questionnaires Open-ended Close-ended

Questionnaires Open-ended  Slower to administer  Harder to record responses  Does not stifle response  Answerer can raise new issues  Answerer feels they can speak their mind  What does a blank answer mean ????

Questionnaires Close-ended  Faster to administer  Easier to record responses  Answerer can only give predefined answers  Answerer cannot raise new issues  Answerer feels constrained  More likely to answer all questions (box tick)

Questionnaires Self-administered Interviewer administered

Questionnaires

Keep questions short and simple Avoid questions with “not” Avoid questions with bias Avoid sensitive questions (ask indirectly) Do not ask compound questions, just ask one question at a time  e.g. "Do you know what services are available to you and how to find out?"

Questionnaires Likert scales  Poor, Weak, O.K., Good, Excellent  Very Low, Low, O.K., High, Very High  1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Thank them "Thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey"

Incentives Survey research suggests that there is a chance that offering an incentive may add bias to a survey e.g. Singer, E., Bossarte, R., 2006, “Incentives for Survey Participation: When Are They “Coercive”?, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 31, Issue 5, Pages