Source: Robert C.

Bogdan and Sari Knopp Bilken, Qualitative Research for Education: An

Introduction to Theory and Methods, Second Edition, Boston:Allyn and Bacon, 1992, p.235.
M13.1

Developing and Conducting a Survey 1

Most people have responded to surveys that ask their impressions about areas such as consumer products,
political issues, or entertainment. A survey is questionnaire that consists of carefully constructed questions
addressing a topic of interest to a researcher. Surveys can be mailed to a large number of randomly selected
respondents, or they can be done in person or by telephone. In education, researchers use surveys to study
topics such as teachers’ beliefs about learning, level of parental involvement in the schools, or teacher and
student behaviors in the classroom. Surveys are a form of descriptive, quantitative research; that is, the
research is nonexperimental, describes what exists, and results in numerical values. The annual Gallup Poll
of the public’s attitude toward the schools is a well-known survey. This survey has been conducted since
1969, and each year’s results are published in the journal Phi Delta Kappan.

Completed questionnaires provide researchers with quantitative data (i.e., participants’ responses) that they
analyze and interpret. Typically, researchers gather general demographic data about respondents (e.g., age,
gender, educational level, type of school, enrollment, and subject or grade level taught) and their attitudes
or perceptions about an issue or topic. The latter data are often in the form of responses to a numerical scale
(e.g., 1-5, where 1 = “disagree strongly” and 5 = “agree strongly.”) The low and high numbers on the scale
can represent a variety of responses; “least descriptive” and “most descriptive,” “very low” and “very high,”
“very unfavorable” and “very favorable,” and “fits perfectly” and “doesn’t fit at all,” for example. In
addition, questionnaires may include items that present respondents with a set of 4-6 responses from which
they chose one (the format is much like multiple choice test items) or open-ended items for which
respondents construct a response or complete a sentence.

In this activity, you will develop a short questionnaire and then administer it to a sample of teachers. The
question that guides your research is: How do experienced teachers prepare for the first day of school?

Begin by identifying the demographic information you wish to gather from survey respondents. Next,
brainstorm with your classmates a set of steps teachers might take to prepare for the first day. Possibilities
might include arranging the classroom, reviewing classroom rules and procedures, gathering materials and
supplies, examining school records to determine students’ prior learning experiences, or developing a get-
acquainted activity. Use these steps to develop survey items. In addition, develop a few open-ended, or
sentence completion items; these will give respondents an opportunity to provide information not covered
by your survey.

After giving your survey to a group of teachers, analyze the results and prepare a report of your findings.
For each item, report the actual number of teachers who selected that response, then convert these numbers
to percentages. For items that included a numerical scale, report averages for each response.

After completing your report, pool your findings with those of your classmates. For any identical items
along the surveys, combine the results and calculate overall actual numbers, percentages, and averages.
Then discuss the group’s findings. What do you and your classmates conclude about how teachers prepare
for the first day of school? Are there similarities and differences between the responses of elementary and
secondary teachers? Do certain strategies emerge as most preferred and most effective? Least preferred and
least effective?

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