Survey research and design in psychology/Assessment/Data collection and entry

Data collection and entry

Overview

This assessment exercise provides hands-on involvement in real world survey data collection and data entry. It requires collecting data using a survey, entering data, submitting an electronic data file, and submitting the hard copy surveys in an accurate, timely fashion as part of a larger class project. The specific steps are to:

1. Collect 5 cases of survey data by following the survey administration guidelines.
2. Enter the survey data by following the data entry guidelines.
3. Submit:
   1. Electronic data file via UCLearn by Monday 09:00 AM of Week 4 - no late submissions accepted
   2. Hard copy surveys as a single bundle with a coversheet by Monday 09:00 AM of Week 6 - no late submissions accepted - see hard copy survey guidelines

Important note: In order to earn any marks, it is necessary to submit both electronic and hard copy data on time. No marks will be provided if either the electronic or hard copy submissions are missing or late.

Survey administration guidelines

1. Print off 5 x A4 portrait style hard copy

Surveys

These surveys were designed for use by an undergraduate psychology class (Survey Research and Design in Psychology, 2005-2018):

• Time and Stress Questionnaire for University Students v.1 (TSQFUS1)
• The University Student Satisfaction and Time Management Questionnaire v.9 (TUSSTMQ9)
• The University Student Motivation & Satisfaction Questionnaire v.2 (TUSMSQ2)

Students used these surveys to collect data, entry data, and conduct analyses for a lab report.

Using these surveys

These instruments and their items are free to use, adapt etcetera under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 license.

However, be aware that the surveys in their current format are intentionally designed to not be "perfect" so that emerging scholars studying subjects such as "Survey research and design in psychology" can collect data and then practice exploratory factor analysis .

There is also intentionally no scoring key . Factor analysis is recommended to help determine the underlying factor structure and to identify which items to use to calculate composite scores. In other words, there is a latent structure, but you'll need to work it out. For example, for university student motivation, see these suggestions. Composite scores representing underlying constructs can then be used for descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing.

Psychometrics

There are no reported psychometrics for newly developed items and scales in these survey instruments. Where intact, previously published measures were included, psychometrics may be available.

Users of these surveys should be prepared to conduct their own psychometric analyses (factor structure, reliability, and validity) based on their own samples.

See also

• University student motivation surveys:

1. 1. The first page must be single-sided (as participants should be given the opportunity to remove and retain this page)
   2. The rest of the survey may be single-sided or double-sided. Ensure that the printing is the same way up on both sides on the page.
   3. The pages for each survey should be stapled together through the top-left corner.
2. Complete one survey yourself (to familiarise yourself with the survey).
3. Collect four other cases of real survey data using convenience sampling with systematic selection:
   1. Have clipboards (or something to lean on) and pens available.
   2. Only approach potential participants during daylight hours outside the exits to the UC library, refectory, HUB area etc. (i.e., approach people in the central concourse area (between the library and buildings 1 and 2) as they pass by or exit buildings.
   3. Systematically pick every nth person who walks past (pick a number and stick to it - do not just pick whoever you like).
   4. Introduce yourself and your purpose:
      1. Approach and ask whether the person would be interested in participating in a survey about university student satisfaction and time management as part of a psychology class exercise.
      2. Explain that the survey is voluntary, confidential and would take approximately 15 mins of their time.
      3. Check that the person is a current UC student.
   5. Record the number of refusals and any reasons that respondents provide or circumstances that may have influenced the administration.
   6. Direct interested participants to read the cover page instructions, ask any questions, and then complete the questionnaire.
   7. When the person is finished, quickly check over the survey pages to ensure that it is complete - invite participants to complete items they may have missed or didn't complete properly. If someone drops out (e.g., by partially completing survey or leaving chunks missing), ask a new participant to complete a fresh survey. However, if a survey only has missing responses for a question or two here and there, use the survey.
   8. Thank the participant for his/her time.
   9. Report any problems to the unit convener (james.neill@canberra.edu.au).

How to cite: Wikiversity (2018). Survey administration guidelines. Retrieved from http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Survey_research_and_design_in_psychology/Assessment/Project/Survey_administration

Data entry guidelines

Steps

1. Follow the survey administration guidelines to collect 5 cases of data using the

Surveys

These surveys were designed for use by an undergraduate psychology class (Survey Research and Design in Psychology, 2005-2018):

• Time and Stress Questionnaire for University Students v.1 (TSQFUS1)
• The University Student Satisfaction and Time Management Questionnaire v.9 (TUSSTMQ9)
• The University Student Motivation & Satisfaction Questionnaire v.2 (TUSMSQ2)

Students used these surveys to collect data, entry data, and conduct analyses for a lab report.

Using these surveys

These instruments and their items are free to use, adapt etcetera under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 license.

However, be aware that the surveys in their current format are intentionally designed to not be "perfect" so that emerging scholars studying subjects such as "Survey research and design in psychology" can collect data and then practice exploratory factor analysis .

There is also intentionally no scoring key . Factor analysis is recommended to help determine the underlying factor structure and to identify which items to use to calculate composite scores. In other words, there is a latent structure, but you'll need to work it out. For example, for university student motivation, see these suggestions. Composite scores representing underlying constructs can then be used for descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing.

Psychometrics

There are no reported psychometrics for newly developed items and scales in these survey instruments. Where intact, previously published measures were included, psychometrics may be available.

Users of these surveys should be prepared to conduct their own psychometric analyses (factor structure, reliability, and validity) based on their own samples.

See also

• University student motivation.

1. Download the blank SPSS data file: (u000000.sav). Do not change any of the variable properties (e.g., do not add or remove any variables and do not change variable widths or column widths).
2. Rename the data file with your student number - the format of the file name should be, for example, u923374.sav.
3. Give each of the surveys a unique Participant ID (from 1 through 5); put this ID # in the top-right corner of the first page of each survey.
4. Enter all of the data from each of the surveys into the data file template (using the detailed coding information) and save the file.
5. Submit the file via the UCLearn site.
6. Late submissions: IMPORTANT: No late submissions are accepted because the electronic data files are collated and distributed for the lab report immediately after data collection submission closes.

Hard copy guidelines

1. Hard copy surveys for verification of the electronic data file:
   1. Number the surveys from 1 to 5 by clearly hand-writing this number in the top-right hand corner of the first page of each survey.
   2. Order the surveys from Participant ID 1 to 5.
   3. Create a single document by putting a top-left-hand corner staple through:
      • a completed cover sheet and
      • all the hard copy surveys.
   4. Do not use plastic covers, bulldog clips, paper clips etc.
   5. Submit to the unit convener at lectures, tutorials, or in the unit convener's mailbox opposite 12D27 or send to James Neill, Locked Bag 1, University of Canberra, ACT 2601.
2. Marking criteria:
   1. Procedure: Following of the detailed survey administration guidelines and data entry guidelines.
   2. Veracity: Electronic data files are verifiable by matching hard copy surveys.
   3. Penalties: Penalties are applied for not following any of the specified guidelines, particularly where integrity of the sampling or data may be compromised and/or where error leads to the need for additional file handling and/or data checking.
3. Late submissions: No late submissions are accepted because the hard copy surveys are checked immediately after they are due.

Common feedback

This section summarises the most feedback about the data submission exercise.

Feedback for 10/10 submissions included:

1. Data file
   1. Received on time
   2. Followed the guidelines
2. Hard copies
   1. Received on time
   2. Followed the guidelines

Feedback for less than 10/10 submissions:

1. Data file
   1. Not received on time
   2. The filename did not follow guidelines and the file was manually renamed (e.g., didn't include the .sav file extension)
   3. The data enterer's student ID wasn't provided in all rows - this was fixed manually
   4. The data file included one or more blank cases and/or additional variables - this/these were manually deleted
2. Hard copies
   1. Not received on time
   2. No staple was provided in the top-left corner through the cover sheet and the five surveys (makes it harder to sort/check surveys)
   3. Clipped (not stapled) in top left corner (harder to shred)
   4. Presented in a plastic cover (makes it harder to check and shred)
   5. The instruction pages for the surveys were double-sided (should be single-sided) - this doesn't allow participants the option to take away this information
   6. Surveys were not clearly numbered in the top-right corner of the 1st page of each survey from 1 to 5 (makes it harder to check against the data file)
   7. Surveys were not ordered from 1 to 5 (makes it harder to sort and check against the data file)

See also

• Data download
• Data screening
• Data recoding