Essay about Conducting Surveys - 866 Words

Conducting Surveys A survey can either be administered as a census survey where every member of the appropriate population is surveyed, or a sample can be selected. A census survey gives you the most information and the most accurate picture of the population as a whole. When a population to be surveyed is small, census surveys are often recommended. When larger populations are considered, however, a census survey is sometimes not feasible because of cost and time constraints. When this is the case, there are several types of sampling that can be used to make inferences about the population you sample from. Simple Random Sample When the population is homogeneous, (e.g., all business†¦show more content†¦The collective group is the strata. Stratifying continues by dividing each stratum into more sub-groups until the strata accurately reflect the population. Random samples are then drawn from each stratum. Each sample size should reflect the stratums size in the overall population Qualitative Research ==================== Sampling Qualitative research does not generate statistical information and most of the concepts of statistically valid data do not apply; therefore, quantitative sampling issues do not apply to qualitative research. However, as the results of qualitative research are typically generalized to a population of customers or employees, a customer/employee profile is typically developed to help ensure the validity of these generalizations. The first step is to categorize the population of people about which you want to be able to generalize the research results. For example, customers who purchase specific types of products, live in specific locations, and purchase a minimum dollar amount of products on an annual basis. This profile will be used to ensure that the data collected is as representative as possible. As with any sampling discussion, sample size increases with the complexity of the population being studied. The next step in sampling is to develop a screening routine that will identifyShow MoreRelatedLiterature641 Words   |  3 Pagesstudy: It is important to be specific and clear when stating your purpose at the study. 4. Develop a research plan: Steps for developing and conducting your research that includes also how and when to collect data. 5. Contact stakeholders: Includes internal and external members of an institution who must review your research before conducting it, explaining and describing the potential benefits and plans of your research. 6. Conduct the study: Data collection begins and then isRead MoreListening During A Rehearsal And Performance1484 Words   |  6 Pagesof previous music experiences. Waggoner (2011) found that there was not a significant difference when testing error detection in undergraduate students at two different universities. Conducting has been found to inhibit listening skills (Forsythe Woods, 1983). Error detection skills were affected during conducting, suggesting that directors may not always hear problems in the ensemble. Directors should first develop a strong sense of inner hearing (the sound image developed during score study)Read MoreWhen Conducting The Research For My Survey, I Will Be Studying1680 Words   |  7 PagesWhen conducting the research for my survey, I will be studying the political preference of people in correlation to the political preference of the town they grew up in. For example, a person is more likely to be a Republican if they originate from a Republican-dominated town. The independent variable, the variable whose variation does not depend on the other, that will be studied is political preference of the participant: Republican, Democratic or Independent. A person’s political preference canRead MoreThe Importance of Conducting Baseline Surveys Before a Particular Project Has Commenced.2572 Words   |  11 PagesIMPORTANCE OF CONDUCTING BASELINE SURVEYS BEFORE A PARTICULAR PROJECT HAS COMMENCED. The Baseline Survey is the first step in the project. A Baseline Survey gathers key information early in a project so that later judgments can be made about the quality and development results achieved of the project. The project’s monitoring and evaluation plan is closely linked to each (objective) level of the log frame and includes indicators of achievement and means of verification. The Baseline Survey is an earlyRead MoreImprovement Plan1423 Words   |  6 Pagesforms for gathering data from official sources such as police or school records; surveys/interviews to gather information from youth, community residents, and others; and focus groups to elicit free-flowing perspectives. Self-administered survey, have special strengths and weaknesses. They are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population and make large samples feasible. In one sense, these surveys are flexible, making it possible to ask many questions on a given topic. This alsoRead MoreDescriptive Research2513 Words   |  11 Pagesdescriptive research (surveys, case studies, documentary analyses, developmental studies, correlational studies) 2. Identify the steps and key principles involved in constructing a questionnaire (determining objectives, delimiting the sample, constructing the questionnaire, conducting a pilot study, writing cover letters, sending the questionnaire, following up, analyzing the results, and preparing the report) 3. Understand the purpose and value of the Delphi Method (repeated surveys to get consensus)Read MoreA Study On Dog Anxiety Essay1300 Words   |  6 PagesResearch Methods- refers to specific ways or techniques of conducting research on A topic. Example: two people do a study on dog anxiety. One uses existing data. The other uses data from research they have conducted through interviews of dog owners. Social Darwinism- The theory that people and groups can be thought to be under the same laws of natural selection as all plants and animals. Example: Believing that one race is superior to another. As if it were thought that one race or ethnic groupRead MoreA Study On The Ismaili Council Essay1704 Words   |  7 Pagesgenerated on the basis of current literature concerning the research topic (Bryman, 2008). Through the findings of my literature review, I developed a testable hypothesis. My methodology consists of an ordered set of steps that I will follow in conducting my research. T his method of pre-planned research is referred to as a linear research path and helps maintain a direct and narrow focus in quantitative research (Neuman Robson, 2014). 3.1 Sample Selection The Ismaili Council is a volunteerRead MoreSurveys and Experiments2029 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction Surveys and experiments can prove to be an extremely valuable tool that organizations can use to gain pertinent information. In order to effectively utilize these tools firms must pay careful attention to the design, methodology, and ethical issues of the experiment chosen. Among these issues are variables in conducting experiments with human subjects, design elements affecting the accuracy of the experiment, and questions of methodology. The information below addresses each of theseRead MoreReliability, And Validity Of The Population Of Women With Diabetes1240 Words   |  5 Pagesquestionnaire on fluidsurvey.ca. Upon REB’s approval, the online survey invitation and questionnaire link were stated in detail on comefromchina.com and researcher’s private network with the criteria of qualified participants for this study (see Appendix C for the survey invitation). After reading the invitation, interested people were directed to the consent form page (see Appendix D for the informed consent form) by clicking the survey link. Once the terms were accepted, the questionnaire starting-page

Reliabilty and Validity Free Essays

Test Reliability and Validity: Evaluation of the GRADE A+ Standardized Reading Assessment Assessment is the key to instruction and intervention, but according to Salvia, Ysseldyke and Bolt (2007), â€Å"reliability is a major consideration in evaluating an assessment procedure† (p. 119). Reliability refers to the stability of a tests’ results over time and test reliability refers to the consistency of scores students would receive on alternate forms of the same test, for example Test form A and Test form B. We will write a custom essay sample on Reliabilty and Validity or any similar topic only for you Order Now If a test is reliable then one would expect a student to achieve the same score regardless of when the student completes the assessment, but if it’s not reliable then a students’ score may vary based on factors that are not related to the purpose of the assessment. An assessment is considered reliable when the same results occur regardless of when the assessment occurs or who does the scoring, but a good assessment is not only reliable but minimizes as many factors as possible that could lead to the misinterpretation of the tests’ results. It is important to be concerned with a tests’ reliability for two reasons: First, reliability provides a measure of the extent to which a students’ score reflects random measurement error. If there is relatively little error, the ratio of true-score variance to obtained score variance approaches a reliability index of 1. 00 (perfect reliability); if there is a relatively large amount of error, the ratio of true-score variance to obtained score variances approaches. 0 (total unreliability) (Salvia et al. , 2007, p. 121) Therefore, it is warranted to use tests with good measures of reliability to ensure that the test scores reflect more than just random error. Second, reliability is a precursor to validity, which I will go more into detail about later. Validity refers to the degree to which evidence supports the fact that the test interpretations are correct and that the manner in which these interpretations are used is appropriate and meaningful. However, a formal assessment of the validity of a specific use of a test can be a very lengthy process and that is why test reliability is often viewed as the first step in the test validation process. If a test is deemed unreliable, then one need not spend time examining whether it is valid because it will not be, but if the test deems adequately reliable, then a validation study would be worthwhile. The Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE) is a normative diagnostic reading assessment that determines developmentally what skills students have mastered and where they need instruction. Chapter Four of the GRADE Technical Manual focuses on three sections: reliability, validation and validity; but I will only be evaluating the first and last sections which are reliability and validity. The first section presents reliability data for the standardization sample by test at 11 levels (P, K, 1-6, M, H and A) and 14 grade enrollment groups (Preschool- 12th) to describe the consistency and stability of GRADE scores (Williams, 2001, p. 77). In this section, Williams addresses Internal Reliability- which addresses consistency of the items in a test, Alternate Form Reliability- which are derived from the administration of two different but parallel test forms, Test-Retest Reliabilities- which tells how much a students score will change if a period of time has lapsed between test and Standard Error of Measurement- which represents a band of error around the true score. The GRADE Technical Manual reported 132 reliabilities in table 4. that presents the alpha and split half total test reliabilities for the Fall and Spring. Of these, 99 were in the range of . 95 to . 99; which indicates a high degree of homogeneity among the items for each form, level and grade enrollment group (Williams, 2001, p. 78). In the GRADE alternate form reliability study, Table 4. 14, 696 students were tested. The forms were given at different times and ranged anywhere from eight to thirty two days. The coefficients in the table ranged from . 81 to . 94 with half being higher than . 9 indicating that Forms A and B are quite parallel (Williams, 2001, p. 85). In the GRADE test- retest reliability study, Table 4. 15, 816 students were tested. All students were tested twice, the test took place during the Fall and ranged anywhere from three and a half to forty two days. Form A of the various GRADE levels appeared similar in stability over time to performance on Form B. However since most of the sampling was done with Form A, further investigation of the stability of scores with Form B may be warranted (Williams, 2001, p. 7). The standard errors of measurement listed in Table 4. 16 of the GRADE was computed from Table 4. 1, but due to the variances in total test reliability, the SEMs ranged from low to high and due to the fact the measure of error is observable, there will always be some doubt about one’s true score. Overall it will be acceptable to assume that the reliability aspect of all levels of the GRADE Technical Manu al provides a significant amount of established evidence between test forms A and B. As noted earlier, validity refers to the degree to which evidence supports the fact that the test interpretations are correct and that the manner in which these interpretations are used is appropriate and meaningful. For a test to be fair, its contents and performance expectations should reflect knowledge and experiences that are common to all students. Therefore, according to Salvia et al. (2007), â€Å"validity is the most fundamental consideration in developing and evaluating test† (p. 143). A valid assessment should reflect actual knowledge or performance, not just test taking skills or memorized equations and facts, it should not require knowledge or skills that are irrelevant to what is actually being assessed and more so, it should be as free as possible of cultural, ethnic and gender bias. The validity of an assessment is the extent to which the assessment measures what it intended or was designed to measure. The extent of a test’s validity determines (1) what inferences or decisions can be made based on test results and (2) the assurance one can have in those decisions (Williams, 2001, p. 2). Validation is the process of accumulating evidence that supports the appropriateness of student responses for the specified assessment and because tests are used for various purposes, there is no single type of evidentiary validity that is apt for all purposes. Test validation can take many forms, both qualitative and quantitative, and in an assessment case such as the GRADE, can be a continuing process (Williams, 2001, p. 92). As stated previously, I will be evaluating two sections from Chapter Four. Section one is complete so it brings me to the last section, which deals with validity. In this section, Williams addresses Content Validity- which addresses the question of whether the test items adequately represent the area that the test is supposed to measure, Criterion- Related Validity- which addresses the relationship between the scores on the test being validated and some form of criterion such as rating scale, classification, or other test score and Construct Validity- which addresses the question of whether the test actually measures the construct, or trait, it purports to measure. The content validity section of the GRADE Technical Manual addressed 16 subtests in various skill areas of pre-reading and reading and documents that adequate content validity was built into the reading test as it was developed. Therefore, if the appropriate decisions can be made, then the results are deemed valid and the test measures what it is suppose to measure. For the GRADE criterion-related studies, scores from other reading tests were used as the criteria and included both concurrent and predictive validity. For the concurrent validity study, the section compares the GRADE Total Test scores to three group administered test and an individual administered test. They were administered in concurrence with the Fall or Spring administering of the GRADE, with data being collected by numerous teachers throughout the U. S. and all correlations being corrected using Guilford’s formula. The three group administered test given in concurrence with the GRADE Total Test suggested they all measured what they were suppose to but the individual administered test showed evidence of discriminative and divergent validity. For the predictive validity study, the section compared how well the GRADE Total Test from the Fall predicted performance on the reading subtest of a group administered achievement test given in the Spring. Three groups totaling 260 students were given the GRADE in the Fall and the TerraNova in the Spring of the same school year, but the final samples were a little small because some of the students that tested in the Fall had moved so the scores were correlated and corrected for both assessments using Guilford’s formula. Instead of 260 there were now 232 and Table 4. 2 list the corrected correlations between the GRADE and TerraNova which indicates that the GRADE scores in the Fall are predictive of the TerraNova reading scores in the Spring. The construct validity of the GRADE focuses on two aspects which are convergent validity shown by higher correlations and divergent validity shown by lower correlations. In the GRADE/PIAT-R study, shown in Table 4. 21, convergent validity is demonstrated by the high correlation coefficients of the GRADE and PIAT-R reading scores and divergent validity is demonstrated by the lower correlation between the GRADE and PIAT-R general information subtest (Williams, 2001, p. 7). Performances on reading tasks is represented by the first set of correlations and for the second set of correlations the GRADE represents performance on reading and the PIAT-R represents world knowledge. Convergent/divergent information was also provided for the GRADE/ITBS study shown in Table 4. 23. Evidence of higher correlations for the GRADE convergent validity was provided with the ITBS reading subtest, but evidence of extensively lower correlations for the GRADE divergent validity was provided with the ITBS math subtest, which would be expected for divergent validity because reading was minimal. Overall the validity data provided a considerable amount of evidence to show that in fact the GRADE Technical Manual measures what it purports and apt conclusions from test can be correctly made. So according to my judgment in evaluating the GRADE Technical Manual in the areas of reliability (internal, alternate form, test-retest and SEM) and validity (content, criterion-related and construct), the content provided by the authors in the manual and cross referenced with the content provided in the text book denotes the manual is consistent, has acceptable correlation coefficients and measures what it is suppose to measure. References Salvia, J. , Ysseldyke, J. E. , Bolt, S. (2007). Assessment In Special and Inclusive Education (10th ed. ). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Williams, K. T. (2001). Technical Manual: Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation. Circle Pine: American Guidance Service, Inc. How to cite Reliabilty and Validity, Papers

Zoot Zoot Essay free essay sample

Discrimination is like looking at a box of crayons and not seeing all of the colors. The police brutalize to people in the U. S. who they frequently arrest entire groups of Mexican American kids who socialize on street corners and they charge them with vagrancy, crimes. Since Mexican Americans are the largest racial minority in Los Angeles, discussions about youth crime waves and rebellion inevitably focused on them. This is an example of how youth are criminalized in our community today and major theme in the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. According to Luis Valdez the police create conflicts for marginalized groups as they try to form an identify that is resistant to hegemony. This is relevant to society today because the police are racial profiling people of color, dehumanizing of immigrants. The young generation of 1943 consisted of Mexican Americans who came up with their own distinguished style. This new look would become known as the zoot suit. Wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coasts high wasted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains were part of this fashion trend. According to the book Zoot suit â€Å"They called themselves pachucos, originating in El Paso Texas, and then moving into the city of Los Angeles California. They would take their look to a new level, creating their own street slang of Calo†, a new walk and stance, â€Å"an attitude with their dark skin, tattoos, pompadours, and ducktails. SWAG) In the article, PBS American Experience (2002): The Sleepy Lagoon Murder the origin of the Rios is explains that â€Å"On August 1, 1942 the Sleepy Lagoon became part of Los Angeles history when the murder of a young man on the Williams ranch resulted in a violent clampdown by the police against Mexican American young people. The Author support his argument explaining by telling that the morning of August 2, 1942, a man named Jose Diaz was found unconscious but later died in hospital. 0 year old Henry Leyvas and 24 members of what the media termed the 38th Street gang were arrested for the murder. They suspected that rival Pachuco gang fights were the cause of Diazs death. The Author purpose is to inform that zoot suit symbolize for youth of color a style paradoxical, since Latinos teens sought to be more American; they wanted to be part of higher society. This paradox revels that that Pachucada was a symbol of strength and hope to the Mexican people, the zoot suit was the young men’s way of trying to look â€Å"American†. The zoot suit represents pride to Pachuco youth and rebellion to the dominant culture. This is clear in the prologue of the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. The play was written in the 1940’s and describes the sailor Riots when Mexican-American youth were being discriminated against by institutions. In the prologue of the play the Pachuco states â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen the play you are about to see is a construct of fact and fantasy. † In addition the press played a major role in the Sleepy Lagoon Trial Valdez highlights this in the play in the prosecution the press criminalized youth of color and his determined the ensconce of the sleepy lagoon trial. In scene 11, the press, also the prosecution argues â€Å"set these Pachuco’s frees and you will unleash the forces of anarchy and destruction (35). From this one can infer that the media’s language had the power to shape people’s opinions which ultimately defined. The result of the trial words like â€Å"anarchy† and â€Å"destruction† characterize Mexican youths as delinquent. Clearly, this is an example of criminalization and media bias Valdez is demonstrating the extent to which our society is corrupt. In today’s society, it is known to see police cars roaming around the poorest neighborhoods. Racial profiling in the education zone is a major problem that we still see it today’s society and in the poorest communities. Even though students, parents, and examples of student English learners that we can see against racial inequality, cultural, linguistic and socio-economic. The unfair treatment of an individual based solely on their use of language. This use of language may include the individuals native language or other characteristics of the persons speech. Therefore Latinos teens and people of color sought to be dehumanized by the dominate culture. To the dominant culture it might have represented, challenge and marginalized group getting well educated. Education is considering a power to express your thought in various ways which affects the dominant culture, since we learn to fight four rights. Consequently in the 1940s exited tensions between young Chicanos in East Los Angeles and white military personnel. for instance in the book Zoot Suit say They came into our community and took our hospitality for shit, said Lucy Rivera and also in this same decade exactly 1943, thousands of whites filling the streets between Main and Broadway, destroying property breaking into bars and restaurants and dragging chicanos into the street. Dehumanization was so present in those times. But in today’s society, the inequalities that target both Latino teens and people of color. One might even hear the radio station and televisions blasting with words of inequalities to elaborate our minds with trash and hatred. Even still regarded the criminalization in California, of course in the days of the Sailor Riots There was more, but every day it gets better. Work Cited Cosgrove, Stewart.