Oral questioning - individual, frontal, condensed. Frontal survey: methods of conducting Oral survey

A survey of various social segments of the population makes it possible to make forecasts in various areas of human activity. Respondent responses are considered one of the most common methods of obtaining information about subjects.

During a survey, the information carrier has the opportunity to give a written answer to them without an experimenter, while a survey is an act of direct communication. In this case, not only skillfully and clearly posed questions play a fairly large role, but also interpersonal relationships established during the conversation.

The researcher, after formulating the initial hypothesis, determines the factors that he intends to study and, based on goals and objectives, considers a system of questions. In this case, initial information about the respondent - age, level of education - is important.

By type, survey methods can be standardized or non-standardized:

• Standardized surveys are considered rigorous surveys. They give a general idea of ​​the problem being studied;
• Non-standardized surveys, in comparison with the first ones, are less strict, without strict boundaries and allow, depending on the response of respondents to questions, to vary the behavior of the researcher.

There are certain rules when writing questions:

1. Questions should be logical and separate;
2. Special, specific terminology should not be used;
3. Each question should be brief;
4. Each question must be specific;
5. Questions should not contain a hint;
6. Preventing the possibility of obtaining template answers in the formulation of the question;
7. The language of the question should not cause rejection, for example, not be too expressive;
8. Questions of a suggestive nature are unacceptable.

The survey may include both closed and open-ended questions, depending on the nature of the study. Closed-ended questions provide a choice of answers from several points, while open-ended questions require the respondent to give a common answer. In the first case, the disadvantage will be the likelihood of an inattentive and thoughtless response, the so-called. "automatism" in filling. The consequence in this case is a distortion of the test results.

Open-ended questions, when answers are given in free form, give more accurate results, but make them more difficult to process.

There are different survey methods, including:

• Questionnaire;
• Personality tests;
• Ladder method;
• Interview method.

These methods make it possible to quickly understand the problem of interest and use this knowledge in the future.

Survey classification criteria

There are certain criteria by which all surveys can be classified:

• By the method of obtaining information and its interpretation. According to this criterion there is:

1. A questionnaire, which is given to the respondent in the form of a questionnaire to fill out;
2. Sociological interview. This is the most flexible form of working with the respondent. It is based on a face-to-face or correspondence (by telephone) conversation with a respondent on a given problem;
3. Expert survey. In this case, experts act as respondents.

1. Continuous surveys covering the entire population;
2. Sample surveys. In this situation, the survey covers part of the general population according to the principles and rules of sampling.

1. Individual surveys, they are always conducted one on one in an individual and personal form;
2. Group surveys are usually conducted with several respondents, sometimes with a whole group.

1. Oral;
2. Written.

1. Contact surveys based directly on personal contact during the survey process;
2. Contactless surveys.

1. One-time public surveys on any issue;
2. Repeated surveys.

Basic survey methods

It is known that a survey can be conducted in various forms - a questionnaire, an interview, a conversation, a sociometric method, a polar point method, an expert survey. Let's take a closer look at the expert survey method.

Expert survey method

The expert survey method is understood as a combination of various methods, techniques, techniques, and procedures. The following procedures are distinguished:

• A regular survey that involves conducting a one-time anonymous survey. This is the easiest survey, both organizationally and economically;
• Multi-stage survey. The task of experts here becomes more complicated, because multi-stage is introduced so that at each subsequent stage experts solve more complex problems. A multi-stage survey can be organized in different ways, from general questions to more specific questions or vice versa. At the end, experts make generalizations using the pyramid method.

Due to the specific nature of the expert audience, the main survey method is a questionnaire filled out by an expert, rather than an interview. The questionnaire often uses open-ended questions to establish the expert’s creative potential and express an original point of view;

• Correspondence and face-to-face expert survey. Correspondence surveys include a written survey, questionnaires, the method of independent characteristics, and the Delphi technique. The survey is associated with organizational difficulties, which manifest themselves in the low rate of return of questionnaires. A face-to-face survey is an interview, meeting, exploratory conversation, brainstorming;
• Formal survey of experts. This is a regular survey on questions formulated in both open and closed forms. It is distinguished from a written collection of opinions by goals, objectives and content. Data analysis is usually statistical;
• Method of independent characteristics. It gives a generalized assessment of one phenomenon, and information about it comes from different sources. At the initial stage, different opinions are compared and contrasted. At the second stage, using mathematical and statistical procedures, they are processed and compared. Reliable conclusions are formulated at the final third stage;
• "Delphic technique". This is the most common procedure for conducting an expert survey. The survey of experts takes place in several rounds, processing the results of each round, informing about the results and repeating the same procedure:

1. First round – answers without argumentation. Identification of extreme and average judgments after processing and reporting to experts;
2. Repeatedly turning to the assessments of the experts interviewed in order to reconsider your views and judgments, because they had time to think. After this round, new assessments are also processed, extreme and average opinions are summarized, and the results are again reported to the experts. This repetition occurs 3-4 times. As practice has shown, after the fourth round the opinion of experts no longer changes. The result is a consistent assessment.

The general assessment using the Delphi method is derived not by mathematics and statistics, but by the people themselves;

System

Oral survey

Examination

Qualities of knowledge

in history lessons

Social studies

Knowledge control methods

Solve the crossword puzzle;

Assessment

"Great"

"Fine"

"Satisfactorily"

"Unsatisfactory"

Preview:

System

Oral survey

Examination

Qualities of knowledge

in history lessons

Social studies

Knowledge control methods

Control methods are methods of activity of the teacher and students, during which the assimilation of educational material and the students' mastery of the required knowledge, skills and abilities are revealed.
In secondary specialized educational institutions, the main methods of monitoring students' knowledge, skills and abilities are: oral questioning, written and practical tests, standardized control.
The objectives of control determine the choice of methods, and it should be taken into account that these methods can be used in all types of control.
Only the correct and pedagogically appropriate combination of all control methods helps improve the quality of the educational process.
Oral questioning is the most common method of monitoring students' knowledge.
An oral survey requires a lot of preliminary preparation from the teacher: careful selection of content, comprehensive thinking through the questions, tasks and examples that will be proposed, ways to enhance the activities of all students in the group during the testing process, creating a business-like and friendly environment in the lesson.
There are frontal, individual and combined surveys. The frontal survey is carried out in the form of a conversation between the teacher and the group. Its advantage is that all students in the group can be involved in active mental work.
Questions should be predominantly exploratory in nature in order to encourage students to engage in independent thinking.
An individual survey involves detailed, coherent answers from students to a question related to the educational material being studied, therefore it serves as an important educational tool for the development of students’ speech, memory, and thinking.
In order for the group to listen to the answer of their friend, experienced teachers use different techniques. For example, students are asked to draw up an answer plan, evaluate (analyze) the answer (completeness and depth, consistency, independence, form). You can carry out similar work in the form of reviewing a friend’s answer.
The final part of the oral survey is a detailed analysis of student responses.
Oral questioning as a method of monitoring knowledge, skills and abilities requires a lot of time, in addition, it is impossible to test all students on the same question. Therefore, experienced teachers, in order to rationally use working time, conduct a combined, condensed survey, combining an oral survey with other methods: with a written survey on cards, with independent work.
Professional tasks (technological, diagnostic, economic, etc.) and business games are widely used for control.

Practical testing is the leading method of control during industrial practice. Control of knowledge, skills and abilities is carried out both during students’ performance of specific production activities and according to its results.
Standardized control involves the development of tests. The test consists of two parts - a task and a standard. The task will be given to students to complete; the standard is an example of correct and consistent completion of the task. By comparing the standard with the student’s answer, one can objectively judge the quality of learning the educational material.
In pedagogical practice, knowledge testing is carried out in the form of students’ answers to various questions written on special task cards. The correctness of the answer can be checked in two ways: using machine and machine-free control.
With machine control, responses are encoded and entered into a monitoring device, where they are compared with standards, and the machine issues a rating based on a given criterion.
With machineless control, students' answers to assignment questions are also coded, but the teacher checks the answers using various devices - templates.
Test control makes it possible to test all students with little investment of classroom time. The main disadvantage of this control is its limited application: it can only be used to check the reproductive activity of students, familiarity with educational material and its reproduction, therefore it is most applicable in the process of ongoing control.

Purpose of control and requirements for it

Monitoring students' knowledge and skills is one of the most important elements of the educational process.

Control of students' knowledge and skills performs testing, teaching, development, educational and methodological functions in the learning process, the most important and specific is the testing function.
Properly organized control of knowledge and skills serves both testing and learning purposes. Therefore, the teaching function is another important purpose of control. During the implementation of control tasks, repetition and consolidation occur, improvement of previously acquired knowledge by clarifying and supplementing it, students rethink and generalize the material covered, and use knowledge in practical activities.
The developmental function of control is that it provides great opportunities for the development of the student’s personality, the formation of his cognitive abilities, since in this process there is tension in mental activity. During any test, students need to reproduce what they have learned, process and systematize existing knowledge, draw conclusions, generalizations, and provide evidence, which effectively contributes to the development of the student.
Control of knowledge and skills also solves the educational function, because it always deeply affects the emotional sphere of the individual. Control disciplines the student, instills in him a sense of responsibility for his work, accustoms him to systematic educational work, stimulates regular active learning activities, a serious and conscientious attitude towards it.
Control of knowledge and skills performs a methodological function. Its process and results are very important for improving the work of the teacher himself. Control allows you to evaluate teaching methods, see its strengths and weaknesses, and choose the best options for teaching activities.
Control provides the necessary educational and educational effect if a number of requirements are met. Control must be: planned and systematic, i.e. be carried out in accordance with the planned course of the educational process, constitute its organic part and be built on the main issues of the training program.
- Objective, allowing a realistic and comparable assessment of the successes and shortcomings of students’ educational activities, correctly establishing the degree of mastery of knowledge and skills, excluding subjective value judgments;
- comprehensive, i.e. most fully identify the actual level of students’ strengthening of educational information, cover all sections of the program, ensure testing not only subject knowledge, but also the assimilation of ideological ideas, general educational and special skills.
- pedagogically tactful, carried out in a calm business environment.

Oral questioning is the most common method of monitoring student knowledge.

During an oral survey, direct contact is established between the teacher and the student, during which the teacher receives ample opportunities to study the individual characteristics of the students’ assimilation of educational material.
An oral survey requires a lot of preliminary preparation from the teacher: careful selection of content, comprehensive thinking through the questions, tasks and examples that will be proposed, ways to enhance the activity of all students in the group during the testing process, creating a business-like and friendly environment in the lesson.
There are frontal, individual and combined surveys.
The frontal survey is carried out in the form of a conversation between the teacher and the group. It is organically combined with repetition of what has been covered, being a means for consolidating knowledge and skills. Its advantage is that all students in the group can be involved in active mental work. To do this, the questions must allow a short answer, be concise, logically linked to each other, and given in such a sequence that the students’ answers together can reveal the content of the section and topic.

Using a frontal survey, the teacher has the opportunity to check students’ completion of homework, find out the group’s readiness to study new material, determine the formation of basic concepts, and the assimilation of new educational material that has just been discussed in class.
It is advisable to use a frontal survey also before conducting laboratory and practical work, since it allows you to check the students’ preparedness for their implementation.
Questions should be predominantly exploratory in nature in order to encourage students to engage in independent thinking. This requirement is met, for example, by questions of the following types: to establish the sequence of action, process, method (“What will happen...”, “How will it change...”); for comparison (“What are the similarities and differences…”, “What is different…”); to explain the reason (“Why...”, “For what...”); to identify the main characteristic features, signs or qualities of objects of phenomena (“Indicate the important properties...”, “In what cases...”, “What conditions are necessary...”); to establish knowledge of a particular phenomenon or process (“What is the significance of...”, “What is the impact of...”); for explanation (“How to explain...”, “How to justify...”).
An individual survey involves an explanation and coherent answers from students to a question related to the educational material being studied, therefore it serves as an important means of developing students’ speech, memory, and thinking.
To make such a test more in-depth, it is necessary to pose students questions that require a detailed answer.
Questions for an individual survey must be precise, clear, specific, succinct, have an applied nature, and cover the main, previously covered material of the program. Their content should encourage students to think logically, compare, analyze the essence of phenomena, prove, select convincing examples, establish cause-and-effect relationships, draw reasonable conclusions, and thereby contribute to the objective identification of students’ knowledge.
Questions are usually asked to the whole group and after a short pause necessary for all students to understand it and prepare to answer, a specific student is called to answer.
In order for the group to listen to the answer of their friend, experienced teachers use different techniques. For example, students are asked to draw up an answer plan, evaluate (analyze) the answer (completeness and depth, consistency, independence, form). You can carry out similar work in the form of reviewing a friend’s answer. This work is initially difficult for students, so they should be taught the basic rules of reviewing, for example, offering the following review plan: determine the completeness of the answer, its correctness, identify errors, shortcomings, and the sequence (logic) of presentation. Students can propose their own answer plan. To prepare a review, students should be encouraged to write down their comments as they answer. In such cases, you can evaluate not only the person answering at the board, but also those who participated in the discussion.
You can also use a technique that arouses interest in testing, such as asking questions to a student answering at the board. In cases where a student experiences difficulty, the teacher invites the group to ask questions in such a sequence that the answers to them allow them to fully and logically reveal the content of the assignment received.
To organize the collective work of the group during an individual survey, the teacher can also give such a task as giving examples of this or that position of the answer.
Thus, in order to evoke the cognitive activity of students in the entire group during testing, it is advisable to combine individual and frontal questioning.
The teacher's ability to manage the survey is important. It lies in the ability to listen to the student, observe the process of his activity, and correct this activity. The teacher should not rush or unnecessarily interrupt the student. This is allowed only in cases where the student makes gross mistakes or answers are not relevant. If the respondent is unable to understand and correct the error, the teacher calls another student to correct it. In necessary cases, it is advisable to help the student with leading questions without telling him the correct answer.
The duration of the oral survey depends on the academic subject, type of classes, and individual characteristics of the students.
During the oral questioning process, the teacher needs to encourage students to use diagrams, drawings, working models, laboratory and factory equipment when answering.

To deepen and expand students' knowledge, you can give individual research assignments, for example, prepare a report on problematic issues of educational material, on the history of the issue.
The final part of the oral survey is a detailed analysis of student responses.
The teacher notes the positive aspects, points out the shortcomings of the answers, and draws a conclusion about how the educational material has been studied. When assessing the answer, it takes into account its correctness and completeness, consciousness, logical presentation of the material, culture of speech, and the ability to link theoretical principles with practice, including with future professional activities.
Oral questioning as a method of monitoring knowledge, skills and abilities requires a lot of time, in addition, it is impossible to test all students on the same question. Therefore, experienced teachers, in order to rationally use teaching time, conduct a combined, condensed survey, combining an oral survey with other methods: a written survey on cards, with independent work. All this makes it possible to monitor the work of a large number of students with the same amount of time. So, while some work at the board, others do the work using cards.

In the process of testing knowledge in history and social studies, I use various types of surveys: frontal, group, individual. At each lesson, several types of surveys are carried out at once: work on cards, frontal answers, work with test tasks. This allows you to survey students as much as possible and waste less time.

The survey in repetition-generalizing lessons is somewhat different from the survey in each lesson. A large amount of material needs to be repeated. Basically, all repeating and generalizing lessons are built according to the same plan with minor differences. During the survey, the following types of tasks are distinguished:

Match dates and events;

Solve historical problems;

Solve the crossword puzzle;

Write a historical dictation;

Do the work using the cards;

Determine which document these lines are taken from, determine the author of this document;

Answer the question in writing.

In the process of conducting a survey, it is necessary to correctly evaluate children’s answers and teach children to evaluate the answers of their comrades.

Assessment - a method of indirect observation, consisting of studying a phenomenon through assessment (3), the process of grading (4). Assessment of knowledge and skills is the determination and expression in conventional marks-scores, as well as in the teacher’s value judgments, of the degree of students’ assimilation of knowledge, skills and skills established by the program, level of diligence in mastering the discipline (5). Evaluative activity is carried out on the basis of a standard or standards, which serve as criteria for determining the correctness or incorrectness of the progress of individual parts of the activity, the activity as a whole, and the quality of the result obtained (6).

Criteria for assessing knowledge are requirements (signs) that should be guided by when assessing knowledge (7).

The criteria can be qualitative characteristics of knowledge. Objective qualities (reflecting the content of learning and independent of the subject) include completeness, depth, efficiency, specificity, generality, systematicity, systematicity, expansion, condensation; to the subjective (constituting a personality characteristic) - awareness, flexibility and strength. The identified qualities of knowledge are interdependent, each contains other qualities in a compressed form (8). Important qualities of knowledge are completeness, depth, and awareness.

Signs of the development of skills are flexibility (the ability to act rationally in various situations), persistence (maintaining accuracy and pace, despite external interference) and strength (preserving a skill even if it is not used for a long time; maximum proximity in performance to real conditions and tasks) (9) .

Since the main type of testing the knowledge and skills of students in the discipline “Theory and Methods of Teaching History” is an oral survey in the form of tests and exams, the criteria for an oral response will be the following qualities of knowledge:

Completeness - the amount of knowledge about the object being studied included in the program;

Depth is the totality of conscious knowledge about an object;

Concreteness - the ability to reveal specific manifestations of generalized knowledge (to prove the main provisions using examples);

Systematicity - representation of knowledge about an object in a system, highlighting its structural elements located in a logical sequence;

Expandability - the ability to expand knowledge in a series of successive steps;

Awareness - understanding the connections between knowledge, the ability to identify essential and non-essential connections, knowledge of the methods and principles of obtaining knowledge.

In addition, it should be added that it is important for a future history teacher to express his thoughts in literary, literate language.

The student’s answer to the question in the discipline “Theory and Methods of Teaching History” is assessed on a four-point system:

"Great" put if a complete, detailed answer to the question posed is given; the totality of conscious knowledge about the object of study is shown, the main provisions are evidently revealed (freely operates with concepts, terms, personalities, etc.); the answer follows a clear structure, arranged in a logical sequence; the answer is presented in literary, literate language; The student gave clear, specific answers to the teacher’s questions, demonstrating the ability to highlight essential and non-essential points of the material.

"Fine" is given if a complete, detailed answer to the question posed is given, the ability to highlight essential and non-essential points of the material is demonstrated; the answer is clearly structured, arranged in a logical sequence, presented in literary, literate language; however, there were inaccuracies in the definition of concepts, personalities, terms, dates, etc.

"Satisfactorily"is given if an incomplete answer to the question posed is given, the logic and sequence of presentation have some violations, minor errors are made in the presentation of theoretical material and the use of terms and personalities; the answer does not contain evidentiary conclusions; The development of skills is poorly demonstrated, speech is illiterate.

"Unsatisfactory"is given if an incomplete answer to the question posed is given, the logic and sequence of presentation have significant violations, significant errors have been made in the theoretical material (facts, concepts, personalities); There are no conclusions in the answer, the development of skills is not shown, the speech is illiterate.

The proposed criteria for assessing the knowledge and skills of students of the Faculty of History in the discipline “Theory and Methods of Teaching History” enable the teacher, in accordance with the requirements for the level of training of a graduate specialist, to evaluate the students’ response in one of the basic disciplines.

Oral questioning is a control method that allows not only to question and control students’ knowledge, but also to immediately correct, repeat and consolidate knowledge, skills and abilities.

Advantages of oral questioning

• More flexible than written.
• Allows you to maintain contact with students and correct their thoughts.
• Develops oral speech (monologue, dialogic).
• Develops speaking skills in front of an audience.
• Forces you to work at a fast pace.

Flaws:

• Requires careful preparation, both on the part of the teacher and on the part of the students. Difficulties often arise with the selection of material and the choice of questions.
• Does not exclude the pressure of the teacher's authority.
• Leaves some students passive.
• It takes a lot of time.

Oral questioning techniques

It is customary to distinguish two types of oral questioning:

• frontal (covers several students at a time);
• individual (allows you to concentrate on one student).

Methods of conducting a frontal survey

A frontal survey can be conducted using the following techniques:

• Traffic light. Each student has two-color cards, red and green. When the teacher asks a question, everyone raises their cards. At the same time, red signals that the student is not ready to answer, green signals “I know.” Passivity during such a survey is impossible. Of course, the possibility cannot be ruled out that students may be lying. However, the teacher should explain that when picking up a green card, the student must actually be ready to answer.

This survey does not take much time. It can be carried out at the stage of checking homework, after explaining a new topic, in order to find out how much new material has been learned.

• Along the chain- this type of survey is used when you need to give a complete, detailed answer. Its essence is that several students answer one question at once, complementing each other. A very convenient technique when checking homework or working on a creative topic.
• Silent poll conducted individually with one or more students for whom the topic seemed difficult. The survey is conducted in a low whisper while the class is engaged in group or written work.
• Programmable survey- these are essentially oral tests. The student chooses one option from several offered. But the point is that he must justify his answer. The survey takes quite a lot of time and is used at the stages of repetition and consolidation of the topic, to solve creative problems.
• Interrogation- students question each other. The teacher sets the topic, talking through the main points to ask about. Such a survey does not take much time and allows you to involve the whole class. The technique is often used during preparation for tests and tests.

Written survey

A written survey is more loyal than an oral one, as it gives the student time to concentrate and change the order of tasks (for example, start answering with easier questions).

Pros of a written survey

• There is no pressure from the teacher’s authority, the student is free to choose an algorithm of actions. Therefore, a written survey is considered more objective.
• Reaches all (or many) students.
• Provides a comprehensive, in-depth test of knowledge, skills and abilities.
• Using a written survey, it is more convenient to test not only theory, but also practical skills.
• Often you can quickly check the work (using the keys) and assign grades.

Disadvantages of the method

• Requires careful preparation.
• There is less possibility of task variation, which is necessary when implementing a differentiated approach.
• Time is wasted checking answers.

Methods of conducting a written survey

The methods of written survey include all dictations, tests, independent and control work. But there are a few more techniques that can be used in all lessons.

• Blitz control- contains a small number of tasks and is designed for 5-10 minutes. The difference from a regular test is that you do not need to complete the assignments as usual. All that is required is an answer. It can be carried out at the stage of checking homework or at the stage of mastering new knowledge.
• Factual dictation- requires only short answers. Students are given sheets with 5-6 basic questions. The dictation is carried out quickly, at a good pace. Works are checked randomly, but everything can be checked. It is very convenient to conduct such a dictation at the stage of reviewing what has been covered before explaining a new topic.
• Testing using a computer. Special programs allow you to conduct testing online. The result is immediately displayed on the monitor. It is very convenient when you need to quickly check the readiness of the class to perceive a new topic or check how accurately they understood the new material.

The second type of survey is written survey. There are several varieties, but usually it consists of a list of statements (participants answer whether they agree or disagree) or questions to which an answer is given. Questions can be either open or closed. An open-ended question requires a detailed answer that includes some descriptive information. On closed question You can answer “yes” or “no” or choose one of the answer options provided. To understand the difference between these types of questions, consider two versions of the school funding question:

Open: How do you think general education should be financed?

Closed: Do you think that property taxes should go to finance general education?

Interval scales are often used to analyze the results of written surveys containing closed-ended questions. As you remember from Chapter 4, the interval scale does not have a true zero point, and the intervals between scale divisions are the same. Most often, surveys use one of the variants of the interval scale - the Likert scale (named after its inventor, Rensis Likert). The standard Likert scale contains from 5 to 9 points, each of which corresponds to a rating from a certain set of possible ones. For example, in a survey of attitudes toward television news coverage, participants might be asked to rate on a 5-point scale how much they agree with a specific set of statements. The statements may be as follows.

The person presenting the news program must have at least 5 years of experience as a professional journalist.

KNS NS NU WITH AS

The respondent circles the point on the scale that corresponds to his beliefs. KNS means “strongly disagree”, NS - “disagree”, NU - “not sure”, etc. Further, the points can be converted into a 5-point scale (KNS - 1, NS = 2, etc.) and combine answers to different questions on the same topic.

As you know, written surveys can be sent by mail (you may have done this before) or conducted in groups. Obviously, in the latter case, the percentage of people completing and returning the survey will be higher. Returning surveys is always a problem when using mail. A return of 85% or higher is an excellent result (and very rare). 70-85% is very good, and 60-70% is more or less acceptable (Mangione, 1998). If the return is below 60%, then researchers begin to worry about the representativeness of the data. Another problem with return rates arises if those who returned a completed questionnaire differ in some important way from those who did not. This problem is called claimgrief caused by lack of response(Rogelberg & Luong, 1998). In the case of such distortion, drawing conclusions about the population as a whole is at least risky.

When conducting surveys sent by mail, you get a good return rate if: a) the questionnaire is small, easy to fill out and consists mainly of closed questions, and answering open questions is not required; b) it starts with relatively interesting questions, and the more boring ones (for example, demographic ones) are presented at the end; c) before sending questions, participants are warned that they will receive a questionnaire and that they will be very grateful for their help; d) lack of response leads to an additional reminder, resending the questionnaire, and even a telephone call asking you to fill out the questionnaire; e) the letter with the questionnaire looks very professional, the signature on the letter is made by hand, and not printed out on a printer or photocopier and f) the respondent does not have any suspicion that the survey is the number one step in an attempt to sell him something. Return rates can also be increased by using small cash prizes or gifts (Fowler, 1993; Rogelberg & Luong, 1998). With a sufficiently high return rate and well-designed questionnaires, the written survey method can provide valuable information while being more effective and less expensive than an interview.

The second type of survey is a written survey. There are several varieties of it, but usually it consists of a list of statements (participants answer whether they agree or not) or questions to which an answer is given. Questions can be either open or closed. An open-ended question requires a detailed answer that includes some descriptive information. A closed-ended question can be answered “yes” or “no” or you can choose one of the answer options provided. To understand the difference between these types of questions, consider two versions of the school funding question:

Open: How do you think general education should be financed?

Closed: Do you think that property taxes should go to finance general education?

Interval scales are often used to analyze the results of written surveys containing closed-ended questions. As you remember from Chapter 4, the interval scale does not have a true zero point, and the intervals between scale divisions are the same. However, in surveys, one of the variants of the interval scale is used - the Lpkert scale (bearing the name of its inventor, Rensis Likert). The standard Lpkert scale contains from 5 to 9 points, each of which corresponds to an assessment from a certain set of possible ones. For example, in a survey of attitudes toward television news coverage, participants might be asked to rate on a 5-point scale how much they agree with a specific set of statements. The statements may be as follows.

The person presenting the news program must have at least 5 years of experience

professional journalist.

The respondent circles the point on the scale that corresponds to his beliefs. KNS means “strongly disagree”, NS means “disagree”, NU means “not sure”, etc. Further, the points can be converted into a 5-point scale (SNS = 1, NS = 2, etc.) and combine answers to different questions on the same topic.

As you know, written surveys can be sent by mail (you may have done this before) or done in groups.

Obviously, in the latter case, the percentage of people completing and returning the survey will be higher. Returning surveys is always a problem when using mail. A return of 85% or higher is an excellent result (and very rare). 70-85% is very good, and 60-70% is more or less acceptable (Mangione, 1998). If the return is below 60%, then researchers begin to worry about the representativeness of the data. Another problem with return rates arises if those who returned a completed questionnaire differ in some important way from those who did not. This problem is called nonresponse bias (Rogelberg & Luong, 1998). In the case of such distortion, drawing conclusions about the population as a whole is at least risky.

When conducting surveys sent by mail, you get a good return rate if: a) the questionnaire is small, easy to fill out and consists mainly of closed questions, and answering open questions is not required; b) it starts with relatively interesting questions, and the more boring ones (for example, demographic ones) are presented at the end; c) before sending questions, participants are warned that they will receive a questionnaire and that they will be very grateful for their help; d) lack of response leads to an additional reminder, resending the questionnaire, and even a telephone call asking you to fill out the questionnaire; e) the letter with the questionnaire looks very professional, the signature on the letter is made by hand, and it is printed on a printer or photocopier and f) the respondent does not have any suspicion that the survey is the number one step in an attempt to sell him something. Return rates can also be increased by using small cash prizes or gifts (Fowler, 1993; Rogelberg & Luong, 1998). With a sufficiently high return rate and well-designed questionnaires, the written survey method can provide valuable information while being more effective and less expensive than an interview.