Peer Review

Research methods: Some Ideas to Make Your Questionnaires More Effective RLO

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Reviewed:: May 21, 2020 by Sociology

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Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This brief module is designed primarily for students who will be developing questionnaires for their own research. It provides a series of tips and briefly explains how they can guide a student in designing an effective questionnaire. This resource has been created within the Open Educational Resources project "Evaluating the Practice of Opening up Resources for Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences" [C-SAP OER], undertaken by the Subject Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics based at University of Birmingham, for further information see here: http://www.c-sap.bham.ac.uk/subject_areas/elearning/oer/default.htm. The project is part of UK-wide Open Educational Resources programme [UKOER]. Within the programme, JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) and the Higher Education Academy are collaborating with the aim of enabling higher education institutions, consortia and individuals to share learning materials freely online. The programme supports universities and colleges in exploring processes and policies, intellectual property rights, cultural issues, technical requirements and data management issues.
Type of Material:: Presentation
Recommended Uses:: Self-paced work by students who already have basic knowledge of research design.
Technical Requirements:: Web-browser with Flash enabled.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: This site provides students with some basic tips for creating social sciences surveys. It addresses types of questions to ask and common mistakes made when crafting them. Students who review the material will be able to identify a few principles to guide them in more effectively designing survey questionnaires.
Target Student Population:: College General Ed
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Must have a basic knowledge of research methodology or the content will not be helpful.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: Material is succinct and accurate. Students can review material quickly and easily. It includes a concise description of approaches to create better questionnaires.
Concerns:: It is perhaps too concise. It would benefit from more clear examples, demonstrations and links to additional information. Uses Flash.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: This is a good introduction to social science surveys and can be completed as a self-study or as a starting point for deeper discussions of survey research development and issues. It lists clear learning objectives.
Concerns:: While it provides a good overview of some key areas of social science survey research, there is an opportunity to go into more detail on the topics.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: It is easy to use and navigate from one content page to the next.
Concerns:: Multiple links within the material do not work. Students would be better served by a more in-depth research methods book that includes examples.

Other Issues and Comments:: Overall, this material is useful only as supplemental material. It presents a few tips and suggestsions but it is lacking depth and examples to really guide students along.
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