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Fundamentals of Survey Design: Qualitative Data

August 8, 2023

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Meet our New Team Member!

Beri Tamsen

  • Former New York City math teacher and coach
  • Passionate about policy and public affairs
  • Has a handsome pug named Jano!

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Icebreaker

In Breakout Rooms:

  • Introduce yourself and answer the question:

What is your favorite memory from this summer?

  • You will have 5 minutes for everyone to share.

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Session Norms

Adopt Growth Mindset

Produce Best Quality work

Uphold District Data Privacy

Maximize Engagement

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Introduction (10 Min.)

Top-Line Report (20Min.)

Fundamentals of Survey Design (Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data) and Potential Roadblocks (20 Min.)

Designing Questions for Research Sponsors and Potential Respondents (30 Min.)

Closing (10 Min.)

Agenda

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Introduction to Writing Surveys Framework

  1. Plan research to support decisions

2. Conduct background fact-finding

3. Design survey plan

4. Make questions clear

Adapted from The Complete Guide to Writing Questionnaires: How to Get the Information for Better Decisions

5. Make questions answerable

6. Make questions easy

7. Make questions unbiased

8. Pretest survey

Today’s focus

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Where we are, Where we’re going

  1. Pre-work for survey collection
  2. Writing survey questions
  • Cleaning survey data
  • Creating visuals with survey data

August

September

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Objectives

  • Data Fellows will distinguish qualitative survey data from quantitative survey data.

Data Fellows will identify and describe the key characteristics of qualitative survey data, such as open-ended questions, narrative responses, and subjective opinions.

Success Criteria: By the end of the session, Fellows will be able to:

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Objectives

  1. Data Fellows will understand how to gather background information from stakeholders to ensure they design a survey with the end analysis in mind.

Data Fellows will create a plan to effectively engage with stakeholders to gather relevant background information, such as the purpose of the survey, target audience, desired outcomes, and specific research objectives, ensuring a clear understanding of the context and goals for survey design.

Data Fellows will demonstrate the ability to translate stakeholder requirements and objectives into survey design elements, such as selecting appropriate question types, designing logical survey flow, and incorporating relevant demographic or contextual variables, resulting in a survey instrument that aligns with the intended analysis and facilitates meaningful data collection.

Success Criteria: By the end of the session, Fellows will be able to:

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Fundamentals of Survey Design and Potential Roadblocks

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Fundamentals of Survey Design Qualitative Data

Vignette Scenario

Directions

  1. 3 volunteers to read the vignette
    • Narrator
    • Angelique
    • Marco
  2. All other participants follow along and reflect on the following:
    • What is the potential roadblock?
    • How could it have been proactively prevented

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Angelique clicked to slide seventy-eight. “Now let’s see how respondents answered question forty-five on our teacher professional development survey.”

“Hold on a minute please.” Marco rubbed his eyes to re-energize.

“Do you want me to go over any previous points?”

“No. We all appreciate your attention to detail. But what can we implement based on the responses?”

“This is the last slide and we can dig into the recommendations. It is important to share with you the production of the survey, the output of the survey and then end with recommendations.”

The seven-person committee waited for Marco, the committee lead to respond to Angelique, the survey researcher. Some committee members clasped their hands. Other members laid down the pencils on their pads.

“This presentation is not going where we envisioned.”

Angelique’s cheeks flushed. “I provided a copy of the questions before the survey launched. Could you tell me what I am missing?”

“You did an excellent job crunching the numbers but I am bewildered. How many more hours of professional development should we offer? Which topics would be most relevant to teachers? When is the best time to offer professional development?”

“My understanding from conversations with the committee is that you need to know as much as possible about professional development from the teacher’s perspective.”

“I think we used the wrong blueprint to build the survey.”

“What would you like to do at this point?”

We need three volunteers to play the characters.

Reflect: what is the disconnect between Angelique and Marco?

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Angelique clicked to slide seventy-eight. “Now let’s see how respondents answered question forty-five on our teacher professional development survey.”

“Hold on a minute please.” Marco rubbed his eyes to re-energize.

“Do you want me to go over any previous points?”

“No. We all appreciate your attention to detail. But what can we implement based on the responses?”

“This is the last slide and we can dig into the recommendations. It is important to share with you the production of the survey, the output of the survey and then end with recommendations.”

The seven-person committee waited for Marco, the committee lead to respond to Angelique, the survey researcher. Some committee members clasped their hands. Other members laid down the pencils on their pads.

“This presentation is not going where we envisioned.”

Angelique’s cheeks flushed. “I provided a copy of the questions before the survey launched. Could you tell me what I am missing?”

“You did an excellent job crunching the numbers but I am bewildered. How many more hours of professional development should we offer? Which topics would be most relevant to teachers? When is the best time to offer professional development?”

“My understanding from conversations with the committee is that you need to know as much as possible about professional development from the teacher’s perspective.”

“I think we used the wrong blueprint to build the survey.”

“What would you like to do at this point?”

What was the disconnect between Angelique and Marco?

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Poll: Survey Experience

  • Have you designed a survey?
  • How many have you designed?
  • Have you analyzed the results of a survey?
  • How many surveys have you analyzed?

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Research Roadblocks

  • Research rarely organized to support decisions
  • Often no background fact-finding or pre-work conducted; no purpose set
  • Unclear, unanswerable, too complex, and biased
  • Too little real pretesting (cognitive interviewing)

Please expound upon a roadblock that resonates with you!

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Goal for August Sessions

Survey design best practices to minimize the following:

  1. Misunderstandings and bad decisions
  2. Inaccurate or biased information
  3. Measurement error

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Designing Questions for Research Sponsors and Potential Respondents

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Reflection

Survey design must start with qualitative research. Why?

  • Be user-centered.
  • How will you know if your survey questions are relevant to your respondents?
  • Start with the end in mind.
  • How will your responses be used for decision-making?

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Gathering Qualitative Data

There are 2 key steps in gathering qualitative data

  1. Ask research sponsors about expected outcomes.

2. Ask potential respondents sample questions to test question validity.

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Step 1: Plan your research

Who do you want to ask? What do you want to ask?

Research Sponsors

Research Sponsors: Commission and approve research launch, analysis, and publication

Research Sponsors can be district administrators, RSSP lead, etc.

Questions for Research Sponsors

Begin with the end in mind

Three questions to frame the survey before undertaking the task of writing questions.

  1. What are you hoping to find when the study is complete?
  2. How will the research help you make decisions?
  3. What choices are the team considering when the study is complete?

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Step 1: Plan your research

Who do you want to ask? What do you want to ask?

Research Sponsors

Research Sponsors: Commission and approve research launch, analysis, and publication

Research Sponsors can be district administrators, RSSP lead, etc.

Questions for Research Sponsors

Begin with the end in mind

Three questions to frame the survey before undertaking the task of writing questions.

  • What are you hoping to find when the study is complete?
  • How will the research help you make decisions?
  • What choices are the team considering when the study is complete?

If your research sponsors cannot answer all three questions, you likely do not need a survey.

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Step 2: Test your questions

Qualitative Research overview

  • Who to ask
  • What to ask
  • Tools to use:
    • Interviews and Focus Groups
  • Skills needed:
    • Empathetic prodding
    • Use discussion guide or protocol

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Let’s Practice

Example Survey: ISD Parent Satisfaction Survey

Respondents: Parents of students in school district

Sponsors’ Goal: Determine the extent to which parents are satisfied having their children enrolled in Lost Pines ISD.

Look at each question on the table and reflect on the questions located on your Note-Catcher.

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Example Survey: ISD Parent Satisfaction Survey

Respondents: Parents of students in school district

Sponsors’ Goal: Determine the extent to which parents are satisfied having their children enrolled in Lost Pines ISD.

Qualitative Topic Guide

Translation

Survey Sample Question

Tell me why you chose to enroll your child in our school district.

Goal: Get a list of reasons why parents enroll children into Lost Pines ISD

Below are reasons why parents enroll their children in Lost Pines ISD. Please check all that apply to you.

Reason 1

Reason 2

Reason 3

Other (please specify)

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Example Survey: ISD Parent Satisfaction Survey

Respondents: Parents of students in school district

Sponsors’ Goal: Determine the extent to which parents are satisfied having their children enrolled in Lost Pines ISD.

Qualitative Topic Guide

Translation

Survey Sample Question

What is your favorite part about having your children enrolled in Lost Pines ISD? (Probe: what makes this your favorite part?)

What is your least favorite part about having your children enrolled at Lost Pines? (Probe: what makes this your least favorite part?)

Goal: create a relevant rating scale

Please rate each statement on a scale from Least Favorite to Most Favorite:

Statement 1

Statement 2

Statement 3

Other (please specify):

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Example Survey: ISD Parent Satisfaction Survey

Respondents: Parents of students in school district

Sponsors’ Goal: Determine the extent to which parents are satisfied having their children enrolled in Lost Pines ISD.

Qualitative Topic Guide

Translation

Survey Sample Question

What support from the district would increase your satisfaction with teachers at your campus? (Probe: what would you need to make this possible?)

Goal: create a list of ways to increase parent satisfaction with teachers

Please select the statements below that would increase your satisfaction with the teachers at your campus. Please check all that apply:

Statement 1

Statement 2

Statement 3

Other (please specify):

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Let’s Practice

In Breakout Rooms:

  • Create 3 questions for teacher respondents using the parent table as a guide.
  • Fill out the blank table on your handout

Example Survey: Teacher Confidence in HQIM

Respondents: Teachers in Lost Pines ISD

Sponsors’ Goal: Determine the extent to which teachers are confident in implementing Amplify and Eureka curricula.

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Whole Group Recap

  • Share your examples with the team!

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Qualitative Top-Line Report

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Create the Top-Line Report

  • Once you have gathered your research, it’s important to turn them into a top-line report
    • Explains the methodology for your research
  • Great opportunity for you to explain your research to key stakeholders and create a call to action based on your research, and create buy-in for administering the survey
  • Consider key learnings from Data Storytelling sessions and use them in your top-line reports:
    • Know your audience
    • Know their access point
    • Determine the best visuals/wireframes to include (if any)
    • Practice your delivery and edit

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Let’s Practice

In Breakout Rooms:

  • Use the questions you created earlier to create an example Top-Line Report!

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Closing

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Did we Accomplish Our Objectives?

  • Data Fellows will distinguish qualitative survey data from quantitative survey data.

Data Fellows will identify and describe the key characteristics of qualitative survey data, such as open-ended questions, narrative responses, and subjective opinions.

Data Fellows will demonstrate the ability to differentiate quantitative survey data by recognizing its main features, such as closed-ended questions, numerical responses, and the ability to be measured and analyzed statistically.

Success Criteria: By the end of the session, Fellows will be able to:

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Did we Accomplish Our Objectives?

  • Data Fellows will understand how to gather background information from stakeholders to ensure they design a survey with the end analysis in mind.

Data Fellows will create a plan to effectively engage with stakeholders to gather relevant background information, such as the purpose of the survey, target audience, desired outcomes, and specific research objectives, ensuring a clear understanding of the context and goals for survey design.

Data Fellows will demonstrate the ability to translate stakeholder requirements and objectives into survey design elements, such as selecting appropriate question types, designing logical survey flow, and incorporating relevant demographic or contextual variables, resulting in a survey instrument that aligns with the intended analysis and facilitates meaningful data collection.

Success Criteria: By the end of the session, Fellows will be able to:

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Upcoming Events

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Office Hours: Thursday, August 10

Thursday, August 24

Synchronous Session: Tuesday, August 22

Community of Practice: Thursday, August 31

EOM Report will be in your inbox by Friday!

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Exit Ticket