DATA COLLECTION PART 2 SURVEY

Jodi Herold

Project report: What is included? The basics (80 pts)

Survey Data Collection Criteria and Scoring (60 points)

5 3 1 0 Problem or Detailed description, General description, Vague description of No problem described. need rich portrayal of of the problem the problem. problem Purpose - Contains well Purpose is stated, Purpose is vague, Purpose is poorly Question articulated purpose, Question is Question is vague, not worded, not easily Question is clear, researchable, fully researchable understood, researchable, adequately defined. Question is poorly and is accurately defined or undefined; defined. Not researchable Sample Sample and selection Sample and selection Sample and selection Sample and selection is clearly described, all is described, the most is vaguely described, is not described or is relevant demographics relevant demographics demographics confusing, included included included demographics incomplete or missing Bias and ethics The most likely forms Likely forms of bias Forms of bias are No forms of bias are of bias are identified are identified identified but an identified OR biases Most important ethics Ethics factors are important source of identified are not a factors are identified identified bias is omitted. match for the study Ethics factors are No ethics factors identified but an identified important one is missed Survey Instructions and Survey design follows Survey design follows Survey design follows instrument 15 survey items follow most of the proper some of the proper little of the proper proper survey survey guidelines survey guidelines survey guidelines guidelines Survey Designed on Survey Not designed on instrument 5 Monkey or other Survey Monkey or online survey other online survey generator generator Survey Appropriate steps for Steps for Steps for Steps for Administration administering the administering the administering the administering the survey are clearly survey are outlined or survey are unclear as survey are confusing outlined or described. described outlined or described or steps are inappropriate Data Analysis: All tables, charts, All except one or two Multiple graphs, All graphs, tables, Data graphs, spreadsheets, graphs, tables, charts, tables, charts, charts, spreadsheets, representation etc. and statistics used spreadsheets, etc. and spreadsheets, etc. and etc., statistics and are appropriate, statistics used are statistics used are other data are poorly 10 represent data appropriate, represent inappropriate, represented, some are accurately and are data accurately and are represent data inaccurate or missing, easily understood easily understood inaccurately and/or are and are not easily not easily understood understood

Data analysis: Interpretation of data Most interpretation of Little interpretation of Interpretation of data Interpretation of is accurate; data is accurate, most data is accurate, most is not accurate or is data conclusions are conclusions supported conclusions supported missing. supported sources of by evidence by little evidence 10 evidence.

Reflection on Survey Data Collection (20 points) Purpose of I wanted to know some more about my students’ reading preferences and how much time do and need for they invest in their reading endeavors. My goal this summer is to add to my classroom library, the survey and I wanted to have some ideas as to what genre and topics of books I should purchase. I decided to do a survey with my homeroom children since they have the best perspective on this topic.

What books do children prefer, what books do I need to purchase, and how prolific are my students in reading outside of the classroom? Sample I used my twenty homeroom children (fifth grade). They all are bilingual students, English and Spanish.

Bias and I attempted to include every common genre even though I prefer reading and working with ethics specific ones. I tried to appear that I was not bias in non-fiction, historical fiction, and statements Newberry winners as they are my favorite types of books to use in my reading instruction.

Survey Link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform? instrument formkey=dFZPSmtpV3h2TURMQ1RzZEdPSlExUXc6MQ

Administratio During my students’ media time, the librarian allowed me to use the computer lab, and I n of survey administered the survey as each of the students had their own computer and survey in front of them. I explained each question, and then they answered it. Data analysis: See Below

20pts Reflection See Below and thoughts about using surveys for research

Data Analysis

The graphs do a great job of self-explaining the data. My students usually choose books by looking at the front or back cover (65%) or reading a few pages and seeing if it is interesting (30%). This tells me that I need to make sure that I have books that have inviting jackets and give students plenty of time when selecting books, so the y can read a few pages before committing themselves to a book for the week.

The highest percentage (40%) for favorite genre was novel/fiction. I am not taken aback with this answer due to the fact that they are really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and a new series Big Nate which is being promoted by the Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney. What surprised me was that most of my students read non- fiction exclusively during independently reading time; however, that was not their first choice. This tells me that the fiction genre in my classroom library needs beefing up.

Eighty percent are reading 30+ minutes a day at least five days a week which is the requirement for fifth grade. The aha moment was when I collected their planners and did not see their parent signatures for reading each night. I need to investigate to see if the students are not truthful or if the problem lies in getting a parent signature. Most kids say they read but they just don’t get a signature.

The short answer responses are as follows:

Which book have you recently seen advertised or in a store that you would like to read? Common choices were Big Nate 5 out of 20 and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2 out of 20. Obviously, I need to purchase a few copies of each of these.

What do you like best about reading? The common theme was “The books comes up in my head like a story like in a play when their acting them out”

What do you like least about reading? The common theme was when the book is boring or when the student does not know the words. This tells me to choose interesting books for instructional purposes and give students more choices when choosing reading group texts. I did spend some time at the beginning of the year on how to find “just right books.” I need to reinforce next year the idea that just because it looks cool on the outside does not mean it is a good choice for you. You need to check the words inside to see if you know them If you don’t, then it is not a just right book for you.

Reflection I created several graphs to help me understand the data. I was amazed at how powerful the graphs were and how easy it was to see the similarities and differences. Looking at a spreadsheet was information overload and difficult to see all the responses on the screen. Once I took their answers and transformed them into graphs, I really felt informed about my survey data. I had never created an electronic survey nor any other for that matter. Creating a survey using Google docs was quite easy after penning out my questions, and the organization of the data in a spreadsheet was quite convenient. I was very purposeful in my questions and wanted them to directly relate to my research question. I created possible answers that would be appropriate and not too many to avoid confusion or overwhelming the students. When I gave the survey to the students, they had no difficulty getting to the survey but actually taking the survey took twenty minutes. I was thinking 5-10 minutes. I now realize that if I want them to type in any answers, then I need to take that into consideration when reserving the computer lab. For the most part, students understood what each question was asking for, especially the genre questions since the librarian had just taught a lesson on genres. They liked a certain book but did not know which one to put it under so then I had a lot “others,” so then I had to put them into their correct genres. I was glad to see that most of my students are reading at least 30 minutes a night as that is one of their daily assignments. I require parent signatures, and I noticed that I don’t see as many signatures as what they say they read. This shows me that I need to be diligent in communicating with parents and students the need to have signatures to show proof of completed assignments. There was one type of book that came up on the question about what books I need to purchase, and I had no idea what it was. It was called Shonen Jump. I did some research, and it is a magazine about videogames and anime. It is appropriate for teenagers, so I will not purchase them for my classroom as my students are ten and eleven year olds. However, it is also a type of graphic novel which is a highly requested genre to add to my classroom library. I will need to add some age appropriate graphic novels to the classroom for next year. I think that surveys are a great start in data collection but it can be very limiting if not done correctly. The questions have to be formed in a concise and clear manner to get the information needed. The questions need to obviously be on topic and ask specifically about the areas a researcher wants to focus on in the study. The topic needs to be addressed in a positive light or else the person senses the vibe and will feel that way as s/he takes the survey. Surveys do not allow for follow-up questions and are usually completed anonymously. You cannot go back and ask for clarification and have participants re-answer. Overall, this method of data collection is easy and can be an efficient way to begin action research planning. I think that it would be valuable to survey the participants and review the data and then use it as background information when preparing interview questions. It can be a buildup for more in depth data collection methods, such as interviewing, field notes, and observations.