Getting access to good quantitative data in education research, such as test sco
Getting access to good quantitative data in education research, such as test scores, can often be problematic for a variety of reasons. This kind of empirical data can be very useful for demonstrating impact, for example that the introduction of open textbooks on a course led to an improvement in overall performance of the cohort. However, you may be unable to get this sort of data, or be interested in other issues, such as perceptions of content, attitudes to OER, understanding the context, etc. For this type of research, surveys can be very useful.
The OER Research Hub used and openly released a set of 54 core survey questions, which comprised of demographics, teacher and learner specific questions and questions specifically aligned to each of the eleven hypotheses that underpinned the project’s research.
Selected hypotheses were aligned to individual research collaborations and provided a consistent framework for the project’s research activity. This common bank of questions therefore enabled comparison across different user groups, e.g. teachers and learners in both non-formal and formal contexts and across different sectors (e.g. higher education, college or further education, informal learning and school or K12). You can review the reusable and remixable, CC BY licensed, question bank (a copy is also available in the Appendix).
Some hypotheses were applicable only to specific collaborations whilst in some instances hypotheses were better answered through looking at other data sources or by reviewing selected responses to questions (e.g. demographics and other questions).
A quick checklist of things to consider when designing your survey:
- Are your survey questions answering your research question(s)?
- Is a survey the best way of gathering evidence for your research question(s)? Data for the OER Hub’s Hypothesis C (“open education models lead to more equitable access to education, serving a broader base of learners than traditional education”) was better addressed by combining demographic information (the “broader base of learners”) with responses to questions for Hypotheses A and B, for example;
- If you’re planning to carry out further research, e.g. interviews, will you be using the survey as a way of identifying potential volunteer participants? If so you will need to add in further questions at the end of the survey.
- Ensure each question counts and think of your respondents… keep the survey as short as possible!
- Don’t ask people irrelevant questions;
- Don’t forget appropriate ethical clearance when planning your survey (see the Ethics chapter) and provide an opening statement at the start of your survey to advise potential participants on the survey’s purpose, how long it will take to complete, how you will use and store survey data, etc. We’ve provided an example from the project below.
There are several reasons why you might want to repurpose existing survey questions. The questions used and devised by the OER Research Hub were