1. Creating an Effective Test or Survey Instrument LaShawnda Purdie EDU:652 Instructional Design and Delivery Instructor: Dr. Judith Marged 04/02/2018

2. “Whether we call them tests, assessments, quizzes, drills, examinations, competence monitors, or demonstrations of mastery, they, nonetheless, remain essential for gauging a learner’s progress and assess learning” (Horton, 2012, p.215).

3. WHAT IS A SURVEY?

4. SURVEYS. “The information collected in a survey is a collection of descriptions, comparisons, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors within a particular study” (Connelly, 2009). “Surveys can be used in many different ways: to rate customer satisfaction, popularity of certain items, or how well an area or department is doing” (Connelly, 2009). Many surveys do not reach their intended target and the results may be adversely effected. It is important to ensure you find your targeted audience.

5. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF A SURVEY?

6. SURVEY GOALS According to Connelly (2009, p.114), the most effective survey will have the following characteristics: 1. A valid measure of the factors of interest 2. Convinces participants to cooperate 3. Elicits acceptable accurate information A survey must ask what is only necessary and not include irrelevant questions. Irrelevant questions may confuse the responder into including false information in their statements. Creating an outline for a survey “…ensures that all important factors are included in the survey and supports the validity of the survey.” (Connelly, 2009, p.114) Surveys need to reach its intended audience so during the development of a survey, it should include a target and sample population of people so that the findings can be related (Connelly, 2009, p.114)

7. SURVEY QUESTION TYPES

8. Open-ended Questions These allow for participants to write/type their own responses. The responses will vary and give a precise feel for what they think, it can be very time consuming (Connelly, 2009, p. 115). Closed Questions These questions require a stem (question, statement, or word) and a response (answer options) (Connelly, 2009, p. 115) Most of the response items include scales that have positive and negative options. Dichotomous Questions Can have more than one response for each question.

9. SURVEY QUESTIONS CONT- Multiple Choice Questions Allows participants to choose one answer from a variety of responses per question. Rank Order Questions Respondents will put preferences in order of their choice. Filter Questions These type of questions will give a yes or no response. Depending upon if you answer yes or no, it will take you to the next question. These questions determine if you have the experience to answer the next set of related questions.

10. QUESTION SEQUENCING

11. Monaghan (2014) gives the following tips on designing a survey: Use simple designs Do not make the survey too long or difficult Do not use leading questions or have questions with overloaded wording Make your language clear and to the point Do not overpower the survey with designs and graphics Lloyd (2012) also gives tips on creating surveys by saying that the questions created should be unbiased and that too much information is not provided. You also do not want to include too much information of the purpose of the survey. Leave personal questions to be answered at the end, such as age, gender, religion, etc. (Creative Research Systems, 2013). Make sure questions and responses are spaced out evenly so that it is easier to read without confusion (Creative Research Systems, 2013).

12. It is a good idea to split questions onto multiple pages so that if the survey is halfway complete, at least there are some responses recorded. It is also good to split questions so that responders do not give the same reply to questions that are similar (Creative Research Systems, 2013). A good survey also includes the following: Questions are in logical order Question responses are not long Questions are interesting and do not include double negatives Questions are understandable (InfoPoll, 1998) Other tips to consider when creating a survey include : Name your survey Add a welcome message Pre-test your survey prior to administering it to your target audience (InfoPoll, 1998)

13. SURVEY FEEDBACK

14. Selecting the right amount of people to participate is key. Along with the number of people, knowing your targeted audience is another reason for having accurate survey results. According to Monaghan (2014),” in order to achieve good results, you need good research, questions and strategy”

15. RESULTS PROCESSING

16. When examining the results, you must consider what is important to know in analyzing the responses (Monaghan, 2014). Knowing the responses you are looking will allow you to categorize the answers into different areas. Analyzing the results may be time consuming, so it is important to stay on track. It is always good to bring in an expert or have a team of people to help analyze the feedback (Monaghan, 2014). Once everything has been categorized and examined, you can begin to summarize the results. Once the results are summarized, the necessary changes can be made.

17. REFERENCES Connelly, L. M. (2009). Survey methods. MEDSURG Nursing, 18(2), 114-133. Creative Research Systems (2013). Survey design. The Survey System. Retrieved from http://surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm.http://surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by design (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.vitalsource.com http://www.vitalsource.com InfoPoll (1998). How to write a good survey. InfoPoll Online Technical Support. Retrieved from http://www.accesscable.net/~infopoll/tips.htm.http://www.accesscable.net/~infopoll/tips.htm Lloyd, S. (2012). Create online survey: How to create the perfect online survey. Qualtrics. Retrieved from http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/create-online- survey/.http://www.qualtrics.com/blog/create-online- survey/ Monaghan, E. (2014). Tips to creating a good survey. TopTenReviews. Retrieved from http://survey-software-review.toptenreviews.com/tips-to-creating-a-good- survey.html.